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Title: Pharmacologia - Fourth American from the Seventh London Edition
Author: Paris, John Ayrton
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Pharmacologia - Fourth American from the Seventh London Edition" ***
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[Illustration:
MEDICINAL DYNAMETER
_AND
SCALE OF EQUIVALENTS_.
_Engraved for the Second American Edition of Paris’s Pharmacologia._
EXPLANATION.
_This Instrument will shew on bare inspection, the quantity of active
matter contained in any given weight or measure (according as it is
solid or liquid) of any Officinal compound, and the dose of any
preparation which will be equivalent in strength to any given
quantity of any other of the same class. The active principles, or
Medicinal Bases, are distinguished by capital letters, placed in
coloured squares; and each Officinal Preparation is marked by a line
corresponding in colour with that of its active ingredient. If we
require the quantity of active matter in any given dose of an
Officinal Preparation, we have only to bring such preparation to the
number in question and the figure opposite the active ingredient
answers the question, while those opposite to the other compounds of
the same class denote the equivalent quantities. Unless otherwise
expressed, the figures denote Grains for the solids, and Minim for
the liquids._
]
PHARMACOLOGIA.
FOURTH AMERICAN,
_FROM THE SEVENTH LONDON EDITION_.
BY
J. A. PARIS, M.D. F.R.S. F.L.S.
FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON, ETC., ETC., ETC.
Quis Pharmacopœo dabit leges, ignarus ipse agendorum?—Vis profecto dici
potest, quantum hæc ignorantia rei medicæ inferat detrimentum.
GAUB: METHOD: CONCINN: FORMUL.
WITH NOTES AND ADDITIONS,
BY
JOHN B. BECK, M.D.
PROFESSOR OF MATERIA MEDICA AND MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE IN THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF
LONDON, &C., &C.
NEW-YORK:
_W. E. DEAN, PRINTER_.
COLLINS AND HANNAY, COLLINS AND CO., AND WHITE, GALLAHER AND WHITE.
1831.
_Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year One Thousand
Eight Hundred and Thirty-one, by W. E. Dean, in the Clerk’s Office of
the Southern District of New-York._
TO
WILLIAM GEORGE MATON, M.D. F.R.S.
FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS,
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE LINNÆAN SOCIETY,
&c., &c., &c.
MY DEAR SIR,
There is not an individual in the whole circle of the profession, to
whom I could with greater satisfaction, or with so much propriety,
dedicate this work, as to yourself.
Ardent and zealous in the advancement of our science, you must deeply
deplore the prejudices that retard its progress;—eminently enlightened
in Natural History, you can justly appreciate the importance of its
applications to Medicine; while your well known earnestness in upholding
the dignity, and in encouraging the legitimate exercise of our
profession, marks you as the most proper patron of a work, the aim of
which is to extinguish the false lights of empiricism, and to substitute
a steady beacon on the solid and permanent basis of truth and science:
at the same time, the extensive practice which your talents and urbanity
so justly command in this metropolis, must long since have taught you
the full extent of that empiricism which it has been my endeavour to
expose, and the practical mischief of that ignorance which it has been
my object to enlighten.
Nor let me omit to mention the claims of that friendship which has for
many years subsisted between us; be assured that I am gratefully
sensible of those personal obligations which so fully justify this
public avowal of them; confidently trusting that you will not measure
the gratitude which your kindness has inspired, by the merits of the
offering by which it is acknowledged, but rather by the truth and
sincerity of the Dedication, by which I am enabled to express
My respect for your talents;
esteem for your virtues;
and wishes for your happiness;
JOHN AYRTON PARIS.
_Dover-street, April, 1829._
TO THE
STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE
OF
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
IN THE
CITY OF NEW-YORK,
THE PRESENT
EDITION OF THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY THEIR
FRIEND AND INSTRUCTOR,
THE EDITOR.
CONTENTS
PREFACE.
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.
PHARMACOLOGIA. ON THE OPERATIONS OF MEDICINAL BODIES, AND ON THE
CLASSIFICATIONS FOUNDED ON THEM.
ON THE THEORY AND ART OF PRESCRIBING.
A COLLECTION OF FORMULÆ INTENDED TO ILLUSTRATE THE FOREGOING PRECEPTS,
and to furnish the inexperienced Prescriber WITH A SERIES OF USEFUL
AND INSTRUCTIVE LESSONS.
A SYNOPSIS OF THE Principles of Combination, AS INVESTIGATED IN THE
PRECEDING PAGES, ARRANGED IN A TABULAR FORM SO AS TO AFFORD THE
STUDENT AN EASY REFERENCE TO THE KEY LETTERS.
OF THE MEDICINAL DYNAMETER.
PHARMACOLOGIA.
INDEX.
INDEX TO THE PATENT MEDICINES, AND NOSTRUMS, DESCRIBED IN THIS WORK.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE.
The Public are already in possession of many pharmaceutical compendiums
and epitomes of plausible pretensions, composed with the view of
directing the practice of the junior, and of relieving the occasional
embarrassments of the more experienced practitioner. Nothing is farther
from my intention than to disparage their several merits, or to question
their claims to professional utility; but in truth and justice it must
be confessed that, as far as these works relate to the art of composing
scientific prescriptions, their authors have not escaped the too common
error of supposing that the reader is already grounded in the first
principles of the science; or, to borrow the figurative illustration of
a popular writer, _that while they are in the ship of science, they
forget the disciple cannot arrive without a boat_. I am not acquainted
with any book that is calculated to furnish such assistance, or which
professes to teach the GRAMMAR, and ground-work of this important branch
of medical knowledge. Numerous are the works which present us with the
detail, but no one with the philosophy of the subject. We have copious
catalogues of formal recipes, and many of unexceptionable propriety, but
the compilers do not venture to discuss the principles upon which they
were constructed, nor do they explain the part which each ingredient is
supposed to perform in the general scheme of the formula; they cannot
therefore lead to any useful generalization, and the young practitioner,
without a beacon that can direct his course in safety, is abandoned to
the alternative of two great evils—a feeble and servile routine, on one
hand, or a wild and lawless empiricism, on the other. The present volume
is an attempt to supply this deficiency: and while I am anxious to
‘catch the ideas which lead from ignorance to knowledge,’ it is not
without hope that I may also be able to suggest the means by which our
already acquired knowledge may be more widely and usefully extended;
and, by offering a collective and arranged view of the objects and
resources of medicinal combination, to establish its practice upon the
basis of science, and thereby to render its future career of improvement
progressive with that of the other branches of medicine; or, to follow
up the figurative illustration already introduced, _to furnish a boat,
which may not only convey the disciple to the ship, but which may also
assist in piloting the ship herself from her shallow and treacherous
moorings_. That the design however of the present work may not be
mistaken, it is essential to remark that it is elementary only in
reference to the art of prescribing, for it is presumed that the student
is already acquainted with the common manipulations of pharmacy, and
with the first principles of chemistry. When any allusions are made to
the processes of the Pharmacopœia, they are to be understood as being
only supplementary, or as explanatory of their nature, in reference to
the application or medicinal powers of the substance in question. The
term PHARMACOLOGIA, as applied to the present work, may therefore be
considered as contradistinctive to that of PHARMACOPŒIA; for while the
latter denotes the processes for _preparing_, the former comprehends the
scientific methods of _administering_ medicinal bodies, and explains the
objects and theory of their operation. The articles of the Materia
Medica have been arranged in alphabetical order, not only as being that
best calculated for reference, but one which, in an elementary work at
least, is less likely to mislead, than any arrangement founded on their
medicinal powers; for in consequence of the difficulty of discriminating
in every case between the primary and secondary effects of a medicine,
substances very dissimilar in their nature, have been enlisted into the
same artificial group, and when several of such bodies have, from a
reliance upon their unity of action, been associated together in a
medicinal mixture, it has often happened that, like the armed men of
Cadmus, they have opposed and destroyed each other. The object and
application of the black marginal letters, to which the name of _Key
Letters_ has been given, are fully explained in the First Part of the
work, and it is hoped, that the scheme possesses a more substantial
claim to notice than that of mere novelty: it will be perceived that in
the enumeration of the officinal formulæ these letters are also
occasionally introduced, to express the manner in which the particular
substance, under the head of which it stands, operates in the
combination. If any apology be necessary for the introduction of the
medicinal formulæ, it may be offered in the words of Quintillian, who
very justly observes, “_In omnibus fere minus valent præcepta quam
exempla_;” or in the language of Seneca; “_Longum est iter per præcepta,
breve et efficax per exempla_.” Under the history of each article, I
have endeavoured to concentrate all that is required to be known for its
efficacious administration, such as, 1. _Its sensible qualities._ 2.
_Its chemical composition_, or the constituents in which its medicinal
activity resides. 3. _Its relative solubility in different menstrua, and
the proportions in which it should be mixed, or combined with different
bodies, in order to produce suspension, or saturation._ 4. _The
Incompatible Substances_; that is to say, those substances which are
capable of destroying its properties, or of rendering its flavour or
aspect unpleasant or disgusting. 5. _The most eligible forms in which it
can be exhibited._ 6. _Its specific doses._ 7. _Its Medicinal Uses, and
Effects._ 8. _Its Preparations, Officinal_ as well as _Extemporaneous_.
9. _Its Adulterations._ That such information is indispensible for the
elegant and successful exhibition of a remedy, must be sufficiently
apparent; the injurious changes and modifications which substances
undergo when they are improperly combined by the ignorant practitioner,
are not as some have supposed imaginary, the mere _deliramenta
doctrinæ_, or the whimsical suggestions of theoretical refinement, but
they are really such as to render their powers unavailing, or to impart
a dangerous violence to their operation. “_Unda dabit flammas et dabit
ignis aquas._”
In the history of the different medicinal preparations, the pharmacopœia
of the London College is the standard to which I have always referred,
although it will be perceived that I have frequently availed myself of
the resources with which the pharmacopœias of Edinburgh and Dublin
abound. To a knowledge of the numerous adulterations to which each
article is so shamefully exposed, too much importance can be scarcely
attached; and under this palpable source of medicinal fallacy and
failure, may be fairly included those secret and illegitimate deviations
from the acknowledged modes of preparation, as laid down in the
pharmacopœia, whether practised as expedients to obtain a lucrative
notoriety, or from a conceit of their being improvements upon the
ordinary processes; for instance, we have lately heard of a wholesale
chemist who professes to supply a syrup of roses of very superior
beauty, and who, for this purpose, substitutes the petals of the _red_
(rosa gallica) for those of the _damask_ rose (rosa centifolia); we need
not be told, that a preparation of a more exquisite colour may be thus
afforded, but allow me to ask if this _underhanded_ substitution be not
a manifest act of injustice to the medical practitioner, who, instead of
a laxative syrup, receives one which is marked by the opposite character
of astringency. These observations will not apply, of course, to those
articles which are _avowedly_ prepared by a new process; for in that
case the practitioner is enabled to make his election, and either to
adopt or refuse them at his discretion. Thus has Mr. Barry applied his
ingenious patent apparatus for boiling _in vacuo_, to the purpose of
making Extracts; we might almost say _a priori_, that the results must
be more active than those obtained in the ordinary way, but they must
pass the ordeal of experience before they can be admitted into practice.
As a brief notice of the most notorious _Quack Medicines_ may be
acceptable, the formulæ for their preparation have been appended in
notes, each being placed at the foot of the particular article which
constitutes its prominent ingredient; indeed it is essential that the
practitioner should be acquainted with their composition, for although
he would refuse to superintend the operation of a boasted _panacea_, it
is but too probable that he may be called upon to counteract its baleful
influence.
The _Historical Introduction_, comprehending the substance of the
lectures delivered before the Royal College of Physicians of London,
from the recently established chair of Materia Medica, has been prefixed
to the work, at the desire of several of the auditors; and I confess my
readiness to comply with this request, as it enabled me at once to
obviate any misconception or unjust representation of those remarks
which I felt it my bounden duty to offer to the College.
It will be observed that the work itself is divided into two separate
and very distinct parts, the _First_ comprehending the principles of the
art of combination,—the _Second_, the medicinal history, and chemical
habitudes of the bodies which are the subjects of such combination.
These comprise every legitimate source of instruction, and to the young
and industrious student, they are at once the LOOM and the RAW MATERIAL.
Let him therefore abandon those flimsy and ill-adapted textures, that
are kept ready fabricated for the service of ignorance and indolence,
and by actuating the machinery himself, weave the materials with which
he is here presented into the forms and objects that may best fulfil his
intentions, and meet the various exigencies of each particular occasion.
J. A. P.
_Dover-street, January, 1820._
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.
COMPREHENDING
THE
SUBSTANCE OF SEVERAL LECTURES
DELIVERED BY THE AUTHOR
BEFORE THE
_ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS_,
FROM THE
CHAIR OF MATERIA MEDICA,
In the Years 1819–20 and 21.
“_It has been very justly observed that there is a certain maturity of
the human mind acquired from generation to generation, in the_
MASS, _as there is in the different stages of life in the_
INDIVIDUAL _man;—What is history when thus philosophically
studied, but the faithful record of this progress? pointing out
for our instruction the various causes which have retarded or
accelerated it in different ages and countries._”
_Historical Introduction, p. 4._
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.
AN ANALYTICAL INQUIRY INTO THE MORE REMARKABLE CAUSES WHICH HAVE, IN
DIFFERENT AGES AND COUNTRIES, OPERATED IN PRODUCING THE
REVOLUTIONS THAT CHARACTERISE THE HISTORY OF MEDICINAL SUBSTANCES.
“_Historia quoquo modo scripta delectat._”
Before I proceed to discuss the particular views which I am prepared to
submit to the College, on the important but obscure subject of medicinal
combination, I propose to take a sweeping and rapid sketch of the
different moral and physical causes which have operated in producing the
extraordinary vicissitudes, so eminently characteristic of the history
of Materia Medica. Such an introduction is naturally suggested by the
first glance at the extensive and motly assemblage of substances with
which our cabinets[1] are overwhelmed. It is impossible to cast our eyes
over such multiplied groups, without being forcibly struck with the
palpable absurdity of some—the total want of activity in many—and the
uncertain and precarious reputation of all—or, without feeling an eager
curiosity to enquire, from the combination of what causes it can have
happened, that substances, at one period in the highest esteem, and of
generally acknowledged utility, have fallen into total neglect and
disrepute;—why others, of humble pretensions and little significance,
have maintained their ground for so many centuries; and on what account,
materials of no energy whatever, have received the indisputable sanction
and unqualified support of the best and wisest practitioners of the age.
That such fluctuations in opinion and versatility in practice should
have produced, even in the most candid and learned observers, an
unfavourable impression with regard to the general efficacy of
medicines, can hardly excite our astonishment, much less our
indignation; nor can we be surprised to find, that another portion of
mankind has at once arraigned Physic as a fallacious art, or derided it
as a composition of error and fraud.[2] They ask—and it must be
confessed that they ask with reason—what pledge can be afforded them,
that the boasted remedies of the present day will not, like their
predecessors, fall into disrepute, and in their turn serve only as
humiliating memorials of the credulity and infatuation of the physicians
who commended and prescribed them? There is surely no question connected
with our subject which can be more interesting and important, no one
which requires a more cool and dispassionate inquiry, and certainly not
any which can be more appropriate for a lecture, introductory to the
history of Materia Medica. I shall therefore proceed to examine with
some attention the revolutions which have thus taken place in the
opinions and belief of mankind, with regard to the efficacy and powers
of different medicinal agents; such an inquiry, by referring them to
causes capable of a philosophical investigation, is calculated to remove
many of the unjust prejudices which have been excited, to quiet the
doubts and alarms which have been so industriously propagated, and, at
the same time, to obviate the recurrence of several sources of error and
disappointment.
This moral view of events, without any regard to chronological minutiæ,
may be denominated the PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, and should be carefully
distinguished from that technical and barren erudition, which consists
in a mere knowledge of _names_ and _dates_, and which is perused by the
medical student with as much apathy, and as little profit, as the monk
counts his bead-roll. It has been very justly observed, that there is a
certain maturity of the human mind, acquired from generation to
generation, in the _mass_, as there is in the different stages of life,
in the _individual_ man; what is history, when thus philosophically
studied, but the faithful record of this progress? pointing out for our
instruction the various causes which have retarded or accelerated it in
different ages and countries.
In tracing the history of the Materia Medica to its earliest periods, we
shall find that its progress towards its present advanced state, has
been very slow and unequal, very unlike the steady and successive
improvement which has attended other branches of natural knowledge; we
shall perceive even that its advancement has been continually arrested,
and often entirely subverted, by the caprices, prejudices,
superstitions, and knavery of mankind; unlike too the other branches of
science, it is incapable of successful generalization; in the progress
of the history of remedies, when are we able to produce a discovery or
improvement, which has been the result of that happy combination of
Observation, Analogy, and Experiment,[3] which has so eminently rewarded
the labours of modern science? Thus, OBSERVATION led Newton to discover
that the refractive power of transparent substances was, in general, in
the ratio of their density, but that, of substances of equal density,
those which possessed the refractive power in a higher degree were
inflammable.[4] ANALOGY induced him to conclude that, on this account,
water must contain an inflammable principle, and EXPERIMENT enabled
Cavendish and Lavoisier to demonstrate the surprising truth of Newton’s
induction, in their immortal discovery of the chemical composition of
that fluid.
The history of Astronomy furnishes another illustration equally
beautiful and instructive,—The Astronomer _observed_ certain
oscillations in the motions of Saturn and Jupiter; by _Analogy_ he
conjectured that this phenomenon was produced by the influence of a
planet still more remote: a supposition which was happily confirmed by a
telescopic _experiment_, in the discovery of Uranus, by Herschel.
But it is clear that such principles of research, and combination of
methods, can rarely be applied in the investigation of remedies, for
every problem which involves the phenomena of life is unavoidably
embarrassed by circumstances, so complicated in their nature, and
fluctuating in their operation, as to set at defiance every attempt to
appreciate their influence; thus an observation or experiment upon the
effects of a medicine is liable to a thousand fallacies, unless it be
carefully repeated under the various circumstances of health and
disease, in different climates, and on different constitutions. We all
know how very differently opium, or mercury, will act upon different
individuals, or even upon the same individual, at different times, or
under different circumstances; the effect of a stimulant upon the living
body is not in the ratio of the intensity of its impulse, but in
proportion to the degree of excitement, or vital susceptibility of the
individual, to whom it is applied. This is illustrated in a clear and
familiar manner, by the very different sensations of heat which the same
temperature will produce under different circumstances. In the road over
the Andes, at about half way between the foot and the summit, there is a
cottage in which the ascending and descending travellers meet; the
former, who have just quitted the sultry vallies at the base, are so
relaxed, that the sudden diminution of temperature produces in them the
feeling of intense cold, whilst the latter, who have left the frozen
summits of the mountain, are overcome by the distressing sensation of
extreme heat.
But we need not climb the Andes for an illustration; if we plunge one
hand into a basin of hot, and the other into one of cold water, and then
mix the contents of each vessel, and replace both hands in the mixture,
we shall experience the sensation of heat and cold, from one and the
same medium; the hand, that had been previously in the hot, will feel
cold, whilst that which had been immersed in the cold water, will
experience a sensation of heat. Upon the same principle, ardent spirits
will produce very opposite effects upon different constitutions and
temperaments, and we are thus enabled to reconcile the conflicting
testimonies respecting the powers of opium in the cure of fever:
aliments, also, which under ordinary circumstances would occasion but
little effect, may in certain conditions of the system, act as powerful
stimulants; a fact which is well exemplified by the history of persons
who have been enclosed in coal mines for several days without food, from
the accidental falling in of the surrounding strata, when they have been
as much intoxicated by a basin of broth, as a person, in common
circumstances, would have been by two or more bottles of wine.[5] Many
instances will suggest themselves to the practitioner in farther
illustration of these views, and I shall have occasion to recur to the
subject at a future period.
To such causes we must attribute the barren labours of the ancient
empirics, who saw without discerning, administered without
discriminating, and concluded without reasoning; nor should we be
surprised at the very imperfect state of the materia medica, as far as
it depends upon what is commonly called experience, complicated as this
subject is by its numberless relations with Physiology, Pathology, and
Chemistry. John Ray attempted to enumerate the virtues of plants from
_experience_, and the system serves only to commemorate his failure.
Vogel likewise professed to assign to substances, those powers which had
been learnt from accumulated experience; and he speaks of _roasted
toad_[6] as a specific for the pains of gout, and asserts that a person
may secure himself for the whole year from angina by eating a roasted
swallow! Such must ever be the case, when medicines derive their origin
from false experience, and their reputation from blind credulity.
ANALOGY has undoubtedly been a powerful instrument in the improvement,
extension, and correction of the materia medica, but it has been chiefly
confined to modern times; for in the earlier ages, Chemistry had not so
far unfolded the composition of bodies, as to furnish any just idea of
their relations to each other, nor had the science of Botany taught us
the value and importance of the natural affinities which exist in the
vegetable kingdom.
With respect to the fallacies to which such analogies are exposed, I
shall hereafter speak at some length, and examine the pretensions of
those _ultra_ chemists of the present day who have upon every occasion
arraigned, at their self-constituted tribunal, the propriety of our
medicinal combinations, and the validity of our national pharmacopœias.
In addition to the obstacles already enumerated, the progress of our
knowledge respecting the virtues of medicines has met with others of a
moral character, which have deprived us in a great degree of another
obvious method of research, and rendered our dependance upon testimony
uncertain, and often entirely fallacious. The human understanding, as
Lord Bacon justly remarks, is not a mere faculty of apprehension, but is
affected, more or less, by the will and the passions; what man wishes to
be true, that he too easily believes to be so, and I conceive that
physic has, of all the sciences, the least pretensions to proclaim
itself independent of the empire of the passions.
In our researches to discover and fix the period when remedies were
first applied for the alleviation of bodily suffering, we are soon lost
in conjecture, or involved in fable; we are unable to reach the period
in any country, when the inhabitants were destitute of medical
resources, and we find among the most uncultivated tribes, that medicine
is cherished as a blessing and practised as an art, as by the
inhabitants of New Holland and New Zealand, by those of Lapland and
Greenland, of North America, and of the interior of Africa. The personal
feelings of the sufferer, and the anxiety of those about him, must, in
the rudest state of society, have incited a spirit of industry and
research to procure alleviation, the modification of heat and cold, of
moisture and dryness, and the regulation and change of diet and habit,
must have intuitively suggested themselves for the relief of pain;[7]
and when these resources failed, charms, amulets, and incantations,[8]
were the natural expedients of the barbarian, ever more inclined to
indulge the delusive hope of superstition, than to listen to the voice
of sober reason. Traces of amulets may be discovered in very early
history. The learned Dr. Warburton is evidently mistaken, when he
assigns the origin of these magical instruments to the age of the
Ptolemies, which was not more than 300 years before Christ; this is at
once refuted by the testimony of Galen, who tells us that the Egyptian
king, Nechepsus, who lived 630 years before the Christian era, had
written, that a green jasper cut into the form of a dragon surrounded
with rays, if applied externally, would strengthen the stomach and
organs of digestion.[9] We have moreover the authority of the Scriptures
in support of this opinion; for what were the ear-rings which Jacob
buried under the oak of Sechem, as related in Genesis, but amulets? and
we are informed by Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews,[10] that
Solomon discovered a plant efficacious in the cure of Epilepsy, and that
he employed the aid of a charm or spell for the purpose of assisting its
virtues; the root of the herb was concealed in a ring, which was applied
to the nostrils of the Demoniac, and Josephus remarks that he himself
saw a Jewish Priest practise the art of Solomon with complete success in
the presence of Vespasian, his sons, and the tribunes of the Roman
army.[11] Nor were such means confined to dark and barbarous ages;
Theophrastus pronounced Pericles to be insane, because he discovered
that he wore an amulet about his neck; and, in the declining æra of the
Roman empire, we find that this superstitious custom was so general,
that the Emperor Caracalla was induced to make a public edict ordaining
that no man should wear any superstitious amulets about his person.
In the progress of civilization, various fortuitous incidents,[12] and
even errors in the choice and preparation of aliments, must have
gradually unfolded the remedial powers of many natural substances; these
were recorded, and the authentic history of medicine may date its
commencement from the period when such records began.
The Chaldeans and Babylonians, we are told by Herodotus, carried their
sick to the public roads and markets, that travellers might converse
with them, and communicate any remedies which had been successfully used
in similar cases; this custom continued during many ages in Assyria; and
Strabo states that it prevailed also amongst the ancient Lusitanians, or
Portuguese: in this manner, however, the results of experience descended
only by oral tradition; it was in the temple of Esculapius in Greece
that medical information was first recorded; diseases and cures were
there registered on durable tablets of marble; the priests[13] and
priestesses, who were the guardians of the temple, prepared the remedies
and directed their application, and thus commenced the profession of
Physic. With respect to the actual nature of these remedies, it is
useless to inquire; the lapse of ages, loss of records, change of
language, and ambiguity of description, have rendered every learned
research unsatisfactory; indeed we are in doubt with regard to many of
the medicines which even Hippocrates employed. It is however clearly
shewn by the earliest records, that the ancients were in the possession
of many powerful remedies; thus Melampus of Argos, the most ancient
Greek physician with whom we are acquainted, is said to have cured one
of the Argonauts of sterility, by administering the rust of iron in wine
for ten days; and the same physician used hellebore as a purge, on the
daughters of king Prætus, who were afflicted with melancholy.
Venesection was also a remedy of very early origin; for Podalirius, on
his return from the Trojan war, cured the daughter of Damethus, who had
fallen from a height, by bleeding her in both arms. Opium, or a
preparation of the poppy, was certainly known in the earliest ages; it
was probably opium that Helen mixed with wine, and gave to the guests of
Menelaus, under the expressive name of _nepenthe_,[14] to drive away
their cares, and increase their hilarity; and this conjecture receives
much support from the fact, that the _nepenthe_ of Homer was obtained
from the Egyptian Thebes;[15] and if we may credit the opinion of Dr.
Darwin, the Cumæan Sibyll never sat on the portending tripod without
first swallowing a few drops of the juice of the _Cherry-laurel_.[16]
“At Phœbi nondum patiens, immanis in antro
Bacchatur Vates, magnum si pectore possit
Excussisse deum: tanto magis ille fatigat
Os rabidum, fera corda domans, fingitque premendo.”
ÆNEID, l. vi. 78.
There is reason to believe that the Pagan priesthood were under the
influence of some powerful narcotic during the display of their oracular
powers, but the effects produced would seem to resemble rather those of
Opium, or perhaps of Stramonium, than of the Prussic acid. Monardes
tells us that the priests of the American Indians, whenever they were
consulted by the chief gentlemen, or _casiques_ as they are called, took
certain leaves of the Tobacco, and cast them into the fire, and then
received the smoke, which they thus produced, in their mouths, in
consequence of which they fell down upon the ground; and that after
having remained for some time in a stupor, they recovered, and delivered
the answers which they pretended to have received, during their supposed
intercourse with the world of spirits.
The sedative powers of the _Lactuca Sativa_, or Lettuce,[17] were known
also in the earliest times; among the fables of antiquity, we read that
after the death of Adonis, Venus threw herself on a bed of lettuces, to
lull her grief, and repress her desires. The sea onion or _Squill_, was
administered in cases of dropsy by the Egyptians, under the mystic title
of the _Eye of Typhon_. The practices of incision and scarification were
employed in the camp of the Greeks before Troy, and the application of
spirit to wounds was also understood, for we find the experienced Nestor
applying a cataplasm, composed of cheese, onion, and meal, mixed up with
the wine of Pramnos, to the wounds of Machaon.[18]
The revolutions and vicissitudes which remedies have undergone, in
medical as well as popular opinion, from the ignorance of some ages,
the learning of others, the superstitions of the weak, and the designs
of the crafty, afford ample subject for philosophical reflection; some
of these revolutions I shall proceed to investigate, classing them
under the prominent causes which have produced them, viz.
Superstition—Credulity—Scepticism—False Theory—Devotion to Authority,
and Established Routine—The assigning to Art that which was the effect
of unassisted Nature—The assigning to peculiar substances Properties,
deduced from Experiments made on inferior Animals—Ambiguity of
Nomenclature—The progress of Botanical Science—The application, and
misapplication of Chemical Philosophy—The Influence of Climate and
Season on Diseases, as well as on the properties, and operations of
their Remedies—The ignorant Preparation, or fraudulent Adulteration of
Medicines—The unseasonable collection of those remedies which are of
vegetable origin,—and, the obscurity which has attended the operation
of compound medicines.
SUPERSTITION.
A belief in the interposition of supernatural powers in the direction of
earthly events, has prevailed in every age and country, in an inverse
ratio with its state of civilization, or in the exact proportion to its
want of knowledge. “In the opinion of the ignorant multitude,” says Lord
Bacon, “witches and impostors have always held a competition with
physicians.” Galen also complains of this circumstance, and observes
that his patients were more obedient to the oracle in the temple of
Esculapius, or to their own dreams, than they were to his prescriptions.
The same popular imbecility is evidently allegorized in the mythology of
the ancient poets, when they made both ESCULAPIUS and CIRCE the children
of APOLLO; in truth, there is an unaccountable propensity in the human
mind, unless subjected to a very long course of discipline, to indulge
in the belief of what is improbable and supernatural; and this is
perhaps more conspicuous with respect to physic than to any other affair
of common life, both because the nature of diseases and the art of
curing them are more obscure, and because disease necessarily awakens
fear, and fear and ignorance are the natural parents of superstition;
every disease therefore, the origin and cause of which did not
immediately strike the senses, has in all ages been attributed by the
ignorant to the wrath of heaven, to the resentment of some invisible
demon, or to some malignant aspect of the stars;[19] and hence the
introduction of a rabble of superstitious remedies, not a few of which
were rather intended as expiations at the shrines of these offended
spirits, than as natural agents possessing medicinal powers. The
introduction of precious stones into the materia medica, arose from an
Arabian superstition of this kind; indeed De Boot, who has written
extensively upon the subject, does not pretend to account for the
virtues of gems, upon any philosophical principle, but from their being
the residence of spirits, and he adds that such substances, from their
beauty, splendour and value, are well adapted as receptacles for _good_
spirits![20]
Every substance whose origin is involved in mystery,[21] has at
different times been eagerly applied to the purposes of medicine: not
long since, one of those showers which are now known to consist of the
excrement of insects, fell in the north of Italy; the inhabitants
regarded it as Manna, or some supernatural panacea, and they swallowed
it with such avidity, that it was only by extreme address, that a small
quantity was obtained for a chemical examination.
A propensity to attribute every ordinary and natural effect to some
extraordinary and unnatural cause, is one of the striking peculiarities
of medical superstition; it seeks also explanations from the most
preposterous agents, when obvious and natural ones are in readiness to
solve the problem. Soranus, for instance, who was cotemporary with
Galen, and wrote the life of Hippocrates![22] tells us that honey proved
an easy remedy for the aphthæ of children, but instead of at once
referring the fact to the medical qualities of the honey, he very
gravely explains it, from its having been taken from bees that hived
near the tomb of Hippocrates! And even those salutary virtues which many
herbs possess, were, in these times of superstitious delusion,
attributed rather to the planet under whose ascendancy they were
collected or prepared, than to any natural and intrinsic properties in
the plants themselves; indeed such was the supposed importance of
planetary influence,[23] that it was usual to prefix to receipts a
symbol of the planet under whose reign the ingredients were to be
collected, and it is not perhaps generally known, that the character
which we at this day place at the head of our prescriptions, and which
is understood, and supposed to mean _Recipe_, is a relict of the
astrological symbol of Jupiter, as may be seen in many of the older
works on pharmacy, although it is at present so disguised by the
addition of the down stroke, which converts it into the letter ℞, that
were it not for its _cloven_ foot, we might be led to question the fact
of its superstitious origin.
[Illustration]
A knowledge of this ancient and popular belief in Sideral influence,
will enable us to explain many superstitions in Physic; the custom, for
instance, of administering cathartic medicines at stated periods and
seasons, originated in an impression of their being more active at
particular stages of the moon, or at certain conjunctions of the
planets: a remnant of this superstition still exists to a considerable
extent in Germany; and the practice of bleeding at ‘spring and fall,’ so
long observed in this country, owed its existence to a similar belief.
It was in consequence of the same superstition, that the metals were
first distinguished by the names and signs of the planets; and as the
latter were supposed to hold dominion over time, so were astrologers led
to believe that some, more than others, had an influence on certain days
of the week; and, moreover, that they could impart to the corresponding
metals considerable efficacy upon the particular days which were devoted
to them;[24] from the same belief, some bodies were only prepared on
certain days in the year; the celebrated earth of Lemnos was, as Galen
describes, periodically dug with great ceremony, and it continued for
many ages to be highly esteemed for its virtues; even at this day, the
pit in which the clay is found is annually opened, with solemn rites by
the priests, on the sixth day of August, six hours after sun rising,
when a quantity is taken out, washed, dried, and then sealed with the
Grand Signior’s seal, and sent to Constantinople. Formerly it was death
to open the pit, or to seal the earth, on any other day in the year. In
the botanical history of the middle ages, as more especially developed
in Macer’s Herbal, there was not a plant of medicinal use, that was not
placed under the dominion of some planet, and must neither be gathered
nor applied but with observances that savoured of the most absurd
superstition, and which we find were preserved as late as the
seventeenth century, by the astrological herbalists, Turner, Culpepper,
and Lovel.
It is not the least extraordinary feature in the history of medical
superstition, that it should so frequently involve in its trammels
persons who, on every other occasion, would resent with indignation any
attempt to talk them out of their reason, and still more so, to persuade
them out of their senses; and yet we have continual proofs of its
extensive influence over powerful and cultivated minds; in ancient times
we may adduce the wise Cicero, and the no less philosophical Aurelius,
while in modern days we need only recall to our recollection the number
of persons of superior rank and intelligence, who were actually
persuaded to submit to the magnetising operations of Miss Prescott, and
some of them were even induced to believe that a beneficial influence
had been produced by the spells of this modern Circe.
Lord Bacon, with all his philosophy, betrayed a disposition to believe
in the virtue of charms and amulets; and Boyle[25] seriously recommends
the thigh bone of an executed criminal, as a powerful remedy in
dysentery. Amongst the remedies of Sir Theodore Mayerne, known to
commentators as the Doctor Caius of Shakspeare, who was physician to
three English Sovereigns, and who, by his personal authority, put an end
to the distinctions of chemical and galenical practitioners in England,
we shall find the secundines of a woman in her first labour with a male
child; the bowels of a mole, cut open alive; mummy made of the lungs of
a man who had died a violent death; with a variety of remedies, equally
absurd, and alike disgusting.
It merits notice, that the medicinal celebrity of a substance has not
unfrequently survived the tradition of its superstitious origin, in the
same manner that many of our popular customs and rites have continued,
through a series of years, to exact a respectful observance, although
the circumstances which gave origin to them have been obscured and lost
in the gloom of unrecorded ages. Does not the fond parent still suspend
the coral toy around the neck of her infant, without being in the least
aware of the superstitious belief[26] from which the custom originated?
while the chorus of _derry down_ is re-echoed by those who never heard
of the Druids, much less of the choral hymns with which their groves
resounded, at the time of their gathering the misletoe; and how many a
medical practitioner continues to administer this sacred plant, (_Viscus
Quercinus_) for the cure of his epileptic patients, without the least
suspicion that it owes its reputation to the same mysterious source of
superstition and imposture? Nor is this the only faint vestige of
druidism which can be adduced. Mr. Lightfoot states, with much
plausibility, that in the highlands of Scotland, evidence still exists
in proof of the high esteem in which those ancient Magi held the Quicken
tree, or Mountain Ash, (_Sorbus Aucuparia_) for it is more frequently
than any other, found planted in the neighbourhood of druidical circles
of stones; and it is a curious fact, that it should be still believed
that a small part of this tree, carried about a person, is a charm
against all bodily evils,—the dairy-maid drives the cattle with a switch
of the _Roan_ tree, for so it is called in the highlands; and in one
part of Scotland, the sheep and lambs are, on the first of May, ever
made to pass through a hoop of _Roan wood_.
It is also necessary to state, that many of the practices which
superstition has at different times suggested, have not been alike
absurd; nay, some of them have even possessed, by accident, natural
powers of considerable efficacy, whilst others, although, ridiculous in
themselves, have actually led to results and discoveries of great
practical importance. The most remarkable instance of this kind upon
record is that of the _Sympathetic_ powder of Sir Kenelm Digby,[27]
Knight of Montpellier. Whenever any wound had been inflicted, this
powder was applied to the weapon that had inflicted it, which was,
moreover, covered with ointment, and dressed two or three times
a-day.[28] The wound itself in the mean time was directed to be brought
together, and carefully bound up with clean linen rags, but, ABOVE ALL,
TO BE LET ALONE for seven days; at the end of which period the bandages
were removed, when the wound was generally found perfectly united. The
triumph of the cure was decreed to the mysterious agency of the
sympathetic powder which had been so assiduously applied to the weapon;
whereas, it is hardly necessary to observe, that the promptness of the
cure depended upon the total exclusion of air from the wound, and upon
the sanative operations of nature not having received any disturbance
from the officious interference of art; the result, beyond all doubt,
furnished the first hint, which led surgeons to the improved practice of
healing wounds by what is technically called the _first intention_.
The rust of the spear of Telephus, mentioned in Homer as a cure for the
wounds which that weapon inflicted, was probably _Verdegris_, and led to
the discovery of its use as a surgical application.
Soon after the introduction of Gunpowder, _cold water_ was very
generally employed throughout Italy, as a dressing to gun-shot wounds;
not however from any theory connected with the influence of diminished
temperature or of moisture, but from a belief in a supernatural agency
imparted to it by certain mysterious and magical ceremonies, which were
duly performed immediately previous to its application: the continuance
of the practice, however, threw some light upon the surgical treatment
of these wounds, and led to a more rational management of them.
The inoculation of the small-pox in India, Turkey, and Wales, observes
Sir Gilbert Blane, was practised on a superstitious principle, long
before it was introduced as a rational practice into this country. The
superstition consisted in buying it—for the efficacy of the operation,
in giving safety, was supposed to depend upon a piece of money being
left by the person who took it for insertion. The members of the
National Vaccine Establishment, during the period I had a seat at the
board, received from Mr. Dubois, a Missionary in India, a very
interesting account of the services, derived from superstitious
influence, in propagating the practice of vaccination through that
uncivilized part of the globe. It appears from this document, that the
greatest obstacle which vaccination encountered was a belief that the
natural small-pox was a dispensation of a mischievous deity among them,
whom they called MAH-RY UMMA, or rather, that this disease was an
incarnation of the dire Goddess herself, into the person who was
infected with it; the fear of irritating her, and of exposing themselves
to her resentment, necessarily rendered the natives of the East
decidedly averse to vaccination, until a superstitious impression,
equally powerful with respect to the new practice, was happily effected;
this was no other than a belief, that the Goddess MAH-RY UMMA had
spontaneously chosen this new and milder mode of manifesting herself to
her votaries, and that she might be worshipped with equal respect under
this new shape.
HYDROMANCY is another superstition which has incidentally led to the
discovery of the medicinal virtues of many mineral waters; a belief in
the divining nature of certain springs and fountains is, perhaps, the
most ancient and universal of all superstitions. The Castalian fountain,
and many others amongst the Grecians, were supposed to be of a prophetic
nature; by dipping a fair mirror into a well, the Patræans of Greece
received, as they imagined, some notice of ensuing sickness or health.
At this very day, the sick and lame are attracted to various hallowed
springs; and to this practice, which has been observed for so many ages
and in such different countries, we are no doubt indebted for a
knowledge of the sanative powers of many mineral waters. There can be no
doubt, moreover, but that in many cases, by affording encouragement and
confidence to a dejected patient, and serenity to his mind, whether by
the aid of reason or the influence of superstition, much benefit may
arise; for the salutary and curative efforts of nature, in such a state
of mind, must be much more likely to succeed; equally evident is it,
that the most powerful effects may be induced by the administration of
remedies which, from their disgusting nature, are calculated to excite
strong and painful sensations of the mind.[29] Celsus mentions, with
confidence, several medicines of this kind for the cure of Epilepsy, as
_the warm blood of a recently slain Gladiator_, or a certain portion of
_human_, or _horse flesh_! and we find that remedies of this description
were actually exhibited, and with success, by Kaw Boerhaave, in the cure
of Epileptics in the poor-house at Haerlem. The powerful influence of
confidence in the cure and prevention of disease, was well understood by
the sages of antiquity; the Romans, in times of pestilence, elected a
dictator with great solemnity, for the sole purpose of driving a nail
into the wall of the temple of Jupiter—the effect was generally
instantaneous—and while they thus imagined that they propitiated an
offended deity, they in truth did but diminish the susceptibility to
disease, by appeasing their own fears. Nor are there wanting in modern
times, striking examples of the progress of an epidemic disease having
been suddenly arrested by some exhilarating impression made upon the
mass of the population.
In the celebrated siege of Breda, in 1625, by Spinola, the garrison
suffered extreme distress from the ravages of Scurvy, and the Prince of
Orange being unable to relieve the place, sent in, by a confidential
messenger, a preparation which was directed to be added to a very large
quantity of water, and to be given as a specific for the epidemic; the
remedy was administered, and the garrison recovered its health, when it
was afterwards acknowledged, that the substance in question was no other
than a little colouring matter.
Amongst the numerous instances which have been cited to shew the power
of faith over disease, or of the mind over the body, the _cures
performed by Royal Touch_[30] have been generally selected; but it would
appear, upon the authority of Wiseman, that the cures which were thus
effected, were in reality produced by a very different cause; for he
states, that part of the duty of the Royal Physicians and Serjeant
Surgeons was to select such patients, afflicted with scrofula, as
evinced a tendency towards recovery, and that they took especial care to
choose those who approached the age of puberty; in short, those only
were produced whom nature had shewn a disposition to cure; and as the
touch of the king, like the sympathetic powder of Digby, secured the
patient from the mischievous importunities of art, so were the efforts
of nature left free and uncontrolled, and the cure of the disease was
not retarded or opposed by the operation of adverse remedies. The
wonderful cures of Valentine Greatracks, performed in 1666, which were
witnessed by cotemporary prelates, members of parliament, and fellows of
the royal society, amongst whom was the celebrated Mr. Boyle, would
probably upon investigation admit of a similar explanation; it deserves,
however, to be noticed, that in all records of extraordinary cures
performed by mysterious agents, there is a great desire to conceal the
remedies and other curative means, which were simultaneously
administered with them; thus Oribasius commends in high terms a necklace
of _Pœony root_, for the cure of Epilepsy; but we learn that he always
took care to accompany its use with copious evacuations, although he
assigns to them no share of credit in the cure. In later times we have a
good specimen of this deception presented to us in a work on Scrofula,
by Mr. Morley, written, as we are informed, for the sole purpose of
restoring the much injured character and use of the _Vervain_; in which
the author directs the root of this plant to be tied with a _yard of
whited satin ribband_, around the neck, where it is to remain until the
patient is cured; but mark,—during this interval he calls to his aid the
most active medicines in the materia medica!
The advantages which I have stated to have occasionally arisen from
superstitious influence, must be understood as being generally
accidental; indeed, in the history of superstitious practices, we do not
find that their application was exclusively commended in cases likely to
be influenced by the powers of faith or of the imagination, but, on the
contrary, that they were as frequently directed in affections that were
entirely placed beyond the control of the mind. Homer tells us, for
instance, that the bleeding of Ulysses was stopped by a charm:[31] and
Cato the censor has favoured us with an incantation for the reduction of
a dislocated limb. In certain instances, however, we are certainly bound
to admit that the pagan priesthood, with their characteristic cunning,
were careful to perform their superstitious incantations, in such cases
only as were likely to receive the sanative assistance of Nature, so
that they might attribute the fortunate results of her efforts, to the
potent influence of their own arts. The extraordinary success which is
related to have attended various superstitious ceremonials will thus
find a plausible explanation: the miraculous gift, attributed by
Herodotus to the Priestesses of Helen, is one amongst many others of
this kind that might be adduced; the Grecian historian relates, that
when the heads of ugly infants were adjusted on the altar of this
temple, the individuals so treated acquired comeliness, and even beauty,
as they advanced in growth: but is not such a change the ordinary and
unassisted result of natural developement? Those large and prominent
outlines which impart an unpleasing physiognomy to the infant, when
proportioned and matured by growth, will generally assume features of
intelligence in the adult face.
I shall conclude these observations, by remarking that, in the history
of religious ceremonials, we sometimes discover that they were intended
to preserve useful customs or to conceal important truths; which, had
they not been thus _embalmed_ by superstition, could never have been
perpetuated for the use and advantage of posterity. I shall illustrate
this assertion by one or two examples. Whenever the ancients proposed to
build a town, or to pitch a camp, a sacrifice was offered to the gods,
and the Soothsayer declared, _from the appearance of the entrails_,
whether they were propitious or not to the design. What was this but a
physiological inquiry into the salubrity of the situation, and the
purity of the waters that supplied it? for we well know that in
unwholesome districts, especially when swampy, the cattle will uniformly
present an appearance of disease in the viscera, which an experienced
eye can readily detect; and when we reflect upon the age and climate in
which these ceremonies were performed, we cannot but believe that their
introduction was suggested by principles of wise and useful policy. In
the same manner, _Bathing_, which at one period of the world, was
essentially necessary, to prevent the diffusion of Leprosy, and other
infectious diseases, was wisely converted into an act of religion, and
the priests persuaded the people that they could only obtain absolution
on washing away their sins by frequent ablutions; but since the use of
linen shirts has become general, and every one has provided for the
cleanliness of his own person, the frequent bath ceases to be so
essential, and therefore no evil has arisen from the change of religious
belief respecting its connection with the welfare and purity of the
soul. Among the religious impurities and rules of purification of the
Hindoos, we shall be able to discern the same principle although
distorted by the grossest superstition. The ancient custom of erecting
“_Acerræ_” or Altars, near the bed of the deceased, in order that his
friends might daily _burn Incense_ until his burial, was long practised
by the Romans. The Chinese observe a similar custom; they place upon the
altar thus erected an image of the dead person, to which every one who
approaches it bows four times, and offers oblations and _perfumes_. Can
there be any difficulty in recognising, in this tribute to the dead, a
wise provision for the preservation of the living? The original
intention was, beyond doubt, to overcome any offensive smell, and to
obviate the dangers that might arise from the emanations of the corpse.
These instances are sufficient to shew the justness of my position: if
time and space would allow, many others of a striking and interesting
character might be adduced.[32]
CREDULITY.
Although it is nearly allied to Superstition, yet it differs very widely
from it. Credulity is an unbounded belief in what is possible, although
destitute of proof and perhaps of probability; but Superstition is a
belief in what is wholly repugnant to the laws of the physical and moral
world. Thus, if we believe that an inert plant possesses any remedial
power, we are _credulous_; but if we were to fancy that, by carrying it
about with us, we should become invulnerable, we should in that case be
_superstitious_. Credulity is a far greater source of error than
Superstition; for the latter must be always more limited in its
influence, and can exist only, to any considerable extent, in the most
ignorant portion of society; whereas the former diffuses itself through
the minds of all classes, by which the rank and dignity of science are
degraded, its valuable labours confounded with the vain pretensions of
empiricism, and ignorance is enabled to claim for itself the
prescriptive right of delivering oracles, amidst all the triumphs of
truth, and the progress of philosophy. This is very lamentable; and yet,
if it were even possible to remove the film that thus obscures the
public discernment, I question whether the adoption of such a plan would
not be outvoted by the majority of our own profession. In Chili, says
Zimmerman, the physicians blow around the beds of their patients to
drive away diseases; and as the people in that country believe that
physic consists wholly in this wind, their doctors would take it very
ill of any person who should attempt to make the method of cure more
difficult—_they think they know enough, when they know how to blow_.
But this mental imbecility is not characteristic of any age or country.
England has, indeed, by a late continental writer,[33] been accused of
possessing a larger share of credulity than its neighbours, and it has
been emphatically called “_The Paradise of Quacks_,” but with as little
truth as candour. If we refer to the works of Ætius, written more than
1300 years ago, we shall discover the existence of a similar infirmity
with regard to physic. This author has collected a multitude of
receipts, particularly those that had been celebrated, or used as
_Nostrums_,[34] many of which he mentions with no other view than to
expose their folly, and to inform us at what an extravagant price they
were purchased. We accordingly learn from him that the collyrium of
Danaus was sold at Constantinople for 120 numismata, and the cholical
antidote of Nicostratus for two talents; in short, we shall find an
unbounded credulity with respect to the powers of inert medicines, from
the elixir and _alkahest_ of Paracelsus and Van-Helmont, to the tar
water of bishop Berkeley, the metallic tractors of Perkins, the animal
magnetism of Miss Prescott, and may I not add, with equal justice, to
the nitro-muriatic acid bath of Dr. Scott? The description of Thessalus,
the Roman empiric in the reign of Nero, as drawn by Galen, applies with
equal fidelity and force to the medical Charlatan of the present day;
and, if we examine the writings of Scribonius Largus, we shall obtain
ample evidence that the same ungenerous selfishness of keeping medicines
secret, prevailed in ancient no less than in modern times; while we have
only to read the sacred orations of Aristides to be satisfied, that the
flagrant conduct of the Asclepiades, from which he so severely
suffered,[35] was the very prototype of the cruel and remorseless
frauds, so wickedly practised by the unprincipled Quack Doctors and
advertising “_Medical Boards_,” of our own times: and I challenge the
apologist of ancient purity to produce a more glaring instance of
empirical effrontery and success, in the annals of the nineteenth
century, than that of the sacred impostor described in the Alexander of
Lucian, who established himself in the deserted temple of Esculapius,
and entrapped in his snares some of the most eminent of the Roman
senators.
SCEPTICISM.
Credulity has been justly defined, _Belief without Reason_. Scepticism
is its opposite, _Reason without Belief_ and is the natural and
invariable consequence of credulity: for it may be generally observed,
that men who believe without reason, are succeeded by others whom no
reasoning can convince; a fact which has occasioned many extraordinary
and violent revolutions in the _Materia Medica_, and a knowledge of it
will enable us to explain the otherwise unaccountable rise and fall of
many useless, as well as important articles. It will also suggest to the
reflecting practitioner, a caution of great moment, to avoid the
dangerous fault imputed to Galen by Dioscorides, of ascribing too many
and too great virtues to one and the same medicine. _By bestowing
unworthy and extravagant praise upon a remedy, we in reality do but
detract from its reputation,[36] and run the risk of banishing it from
practice_; for when the sober practitioner discovers by experience that
a medicine falls so far short of the efficacy ascribed to it, he
abandons its use in disgust, and is even unwilling to concede to it that
degree of merit to which in truth and justice it may be entitled; the
inflated eulogiums bestowed upon the operation of _Digitalis_ in
pulmonary diseases, excited, for a time, a very unfair impression
against its use; and the injudicious manner in which the antisyphilitic
powers of _Nitric Acid_ have been aggrandised, had very nearly exploded
a valuable auxiliary from modern practice.
It is well known with what avidity the public embraced the expectations
given by Stöerk of Vienna in 1760, with respect to the efficacy of
_Hemlock_; every body, says Dr. Fothergill, made the extract, and every
body prescribed it, but finding that it would not perform the wonders
ascribed to it, and that a multitude of discordant diseases refused to
yield, as it was asserted they would, to its narcotic powers,
practitioners fell into the opposite extreme of absurdity, and declaring
that it could do nothing at all, dismissed it at once as inert and
useless. Can we not then predict the fate of the _Cubebs_, which has
been lately restored to notice with such extravagant praise and
unqualified approbation? May the sanguine advocates for the virtues of
the Colchicum derive a useful lesson of practical caution from these
precepts: it would be a matter of regret that a remedy which, under
skilful management, certainly possesses considerable virtue, should
again fall into obscurity and neglect from the disgust excited by the
extravagant zeal of its supporters.
There are, moreover, those who cherish a spirit of scepticism, from an
idea that it denotes the exercise of a superior intellect; it must be
admitted, that at that period in the history of Europe, when reason
first began to throw off the yoke of authority, it required superiority
of understanding as well as intrepidity of conduct, to resist the powers
of that superstition which had so long held it in captivity; but in the
present age, observes Mr. Dugald Stewart, “_unlimited scepticism is as
much the child of imbecility as implicit credulity_.” “He who at the end
of the eighteenth century,” says Rousseau, “has brought himself to
abandon all his early principles, without discrimination, would probably
have been a bigot in the days of the league.”
FALSE THEORIES, AND ABSURD CONCEITS.
He who is governed by preconceived opinions, may be compared to a
spectator who views the surrounding objects through coloured glasses,
each assuming a tinge similar to that of the glass employed; thus have
crowds of inert and insignificant drugs been indebted to an ephemeral
popularity, from the prevalence of a false theory; the celebrated
hypothesis of Galen respecting the virtues and operation of medicines,
may serve as an example; it is a web of philosophical fiction, which was
never surpassed in absurdity. He conceives that the properties of all
medicines are derived from what he calls their elementary or _cardinal_
qualities, HEAT, COLD, MOISTURE, and DRYNESS. Each of these qualities is
again sub-divided into four degrees, and a plant or medicine, according
to his notion, is cold or hot, in the first, second, third, or fourth
gradation; if the disease be hot, or cold in any of these four stages, a
medicine possessed of a contrary quality, and in the same proportionate
degree of elementary heat or cold, must be prescribed. Saltness,
bitterness, and acridness depend, in his idea, upon the relative degrees
of heat and dryness in different bodies. It will be easily seen how a
belief in such an hypothesis must have multiplied the list of inert
articles in the materia medica, and have corrupted the practice of
physic. The variety of seeds derived its origin from this source, and
until lately, medical writers, in the true jargon of Galen, spoke of the
_four_ greater and lesser _hot_ and _cold_ seeds; and in the London
Dispensatory of 1721, we find the powders of _hot_ and _cold_ precious
stones, and those of the _hot_ and _cold_ compound powders of pearl.
Several of the ancient combinations of opium, with various aromatics,
are also indebted to Galen for their origin, and to the blind influence
of his authority for their existence and lasting reputation. Galen
asserted that opium was _cold in the fourth degree_, and must therefore
require some corresponding hot medicine to moderate its frigidity.[37]
THE METHODIC SECT, which was founded by the Roman physician
Themison,[38] a disciple of Asclepiades, as they conceived all diseases
to depend upon _overbracing_, or on _relaxation_, so did they class all
medicines under the head of _relaxing_ and _bracing_ remedies; and
although this theory has been long since banished from the schools, yet
it continues at this day to exert a secret influence on medical
practice, and to preserve from neglect some unimportant medicines. The
general belief in the relaxing effect of the _warm_, and the equally
strengthening influence of the _cold_ bath, may be traced to conclusions
deduced from the operations of hot and cold water upon parchment and
other inert bodies.[39]
THE STAHLIANS, under the impression of their ideal system, introduced
_Archœal_ remedies, and many of a superstitious and inert kind; whilst,
as they on all occasions trusted to the constant attention and wisdom of
nature, so did they zealously oppose the use of some of the most
efficacious instruments of art, as the Peruvian _bark_; and few
physicians were so reserved in the use of general remedies, as bleeding,
vomiting, and the like; their practice was therefore imbecile, and it
has been aptly enough denominated, “_a meditation upon death_.” They
were however vigilant in observation and acute in discernment, and we
are indebted to them for some faithful and minute descriptions.
THE MECHANICAL THEORY, which recognised “_lentor and morbid viscidity of
the blood_,” as the principal cause of all diseases, introduced
attenuant and diluent medicines, or substances endued with some
mechanical force; thus Fourcroy explained the operation of mercury by
its specific gravity,[40] and the advocates of this doctrine favoured
the general introduction of the preparations of iron, especially in
schirrus of the spleen or liver, upon the same hypothetical principle;
for, say they, whatever is most forcible in removing the obstruction,
must be the most proper instrument of cure; such is _Steel_, which,
besides the attenuating power with which it is furnished, has still a
greater force in this case from the _gravity_ of its particles, which,
being seven times specifically heavier than any vegetable, acts in
proportion with a stronger impulse, and therefore is a more powerful
deobstruent. This may be taken as a specimen of the style in which these
mechanical physicians reasoned and practised.
THE CHEMISTS, as they acknowledged no source of disease but the presence
of some hostile acid or alkali, or some deranged condition in the
chemical composition of the fluid or solid parts, so they conceived all
remedies must act by producing chemical changes in the body. We find
Tournefort busily engaged in testing every vegetable juice, in order to
discover in it some traces of an acid or alkaline ingredient, which
might confer upon it medicinal activity. The fatal errors into which
such an hypothesis was liable to betray the practitioner, receive an
awful illustration in the history of the memorable fever that raged at
Leyden in the year 1699, and which consigned two thirds of the
population of that city to an untimely grave; an event which, in a great
measure, depended upon the Professor Sylvius de la Boe, who having just
embraced the chemical doctrines of Van Helmont, assigned the origin of
the distemper to a prevailing acid, and declared that its cure could
alone be effected by the copious administration of absorbent and
testaceous medicines; an extravagance into which Van Helmont, himself,
would hardly have been betrayed:—but thus it is in Philosophy, as in
Politics, that the partisans of a popular leader are always more
sanguine, and less reasonable, than their master; they are not only
ready to delude the world, but most anxious to deceive themselves, and
while they warmly defend their favourite system from the attacks of
those that may assail it, they willingly close their own eyes, and
conceal from themselves the different points that are untenable; or, to
borrow the figurative language of a French writer, they are like the
pious children of Noah,[41] who went backwards, that they might not see
the nakedness which they approached for the purpose of covering.
Unlike the mechanical physicians, the chemists explain the beneficial
operation of iron by supposing that it increases the proportion of red
globules in the blood, on the erroneous[42] hypothesis that iron
constitutes the principal element of these bodies. Thus has iron, from
its acknowledged powers, been enlisted into the service of every
prevailing hypothesis; and it is not a little singular, as a late writer
has justly observed, that theories however different, and even adverse,
do nevertheless often coincide in matters of practice, as well with each
other as with long established empirical usages, each bending as it
were, and conforming, in order to do homage to truth and experience. And
yet iron, whose medicinal virtues have been so generally allowed, has
not escaped those vicissitudes in reputation which almost every valuable
remedy has been doomed to suffer: at one period the ancients imagined
that wounds inflicted by iron instruments, were never disposed to heal,
for which reason Porsenna, after the expulsion of the Tarquins, actually
stipulated with the Romans that they should not use iron, except in
agriculture; and Avicenna was so alarmed at the idea of its internal use
as a remedy, when given in substance, that he seriously advised the
exhibition of a magnet[43] after it to prevent any direful consequences.
The fame even of Peruvian bark has been occasionally obscured by the
clouds of false theory some condemned its use altogether, “because it
did not evacuate the morbific matter,” others, “because it bred
obstructions in the viscera,” others again, “because it only bound up
the spirits, and stopped the paroxysms for a time, and favoured the
translation of the peccant matter into the more noble parts.” Thus we
learn from Morton,[44] that Oliver Cromwell fell a victim to an
intermittent fever, because the Physicians were too timid to make a
trial of the bark. It was sold first by the Jesuits for its weight in
silver;[45] and Condamine relates that in 1690, about thirty years
afterwards, several thousand pounds of it lay at Piura and Payta for
want of a purchaser.
Nor has Sugar escaped the venom of fanciful hypothesis. Dr. Willis
raised a popular outcry against its domestic use, declaring that “it
contained within its particles a secret acid—a dangerous
sharpness,—which caused scurvys, consumptions, and other dreadful
diseases.”[46]
Although I profess to offer merely a few illustrations of those
doctrines, whose perverted applications have influenced the history of
the Materia Medica, I cannot pass over in silence that of John Brown,
“the child of genius and misfortune.” As he generalized diseases, and
brought all within the compass of two grand classes, those of
_increased_ and _diminished_ excitement, so did he abridge our remedies,
maintaining, that every agent which could operate on the human body was
a _Stimulant_, having an identity of action, and differing only in the
degree of its force; so that, according to his views, the lancet and the
brandy bottle were but the opposite extremes of one and the same class:
the mischievous tendency of such a doctrine is too obvious to require a
comment.
But the most absurd and preposterous hypothesis that has disgraced the
annals of medicine, and bestowed medicinal reputation upon substances of
no intrinsic worth, is that of the DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURES, as it has
been called, which is no less than a belief that _every natural
substance which possesses any medicinal virtue, indicates by an obvious
and well-marked external character, the disease for which it is a
remedy, or the object for which it should be employed_![47] This
extraordinary monster of the fancy has been principally adopted and
cherished by Paracelsus, Baptista Porta, and Crollius, although traces
of its existence may be certainly discovered in very ancient authors.
The root of the _Mandrake_, from its supposed resemblance to the human
form, was esteemed as a remedy for Sterility: thus did Rachael demand
from her sister the Mandrakes (_Dudaim_) which Reuben had gathered in
the field; impressed, as it would appear, with a belief in the efficacy
of that plant against barrenness.[48] There would moreover appear in
this case to have been some idea of additional virtue arising from the
person who gathered it, for great stress was laid upon this
circumstance, “_my son’s_ Mandrakes:” such a notion is by no means
uncommon in the history of charms. The supposed virtues of the _Lapis
Ætites_, or _Eagle stone_,[49] described by Dioscorides, Ætius and
Pliny, who assert that if tied to the arm it will prevent abortion, and
if fixed to the thigh forward delivery, were, as we learn from ancient
authority, solely suggested by the manner in which the nodule contained
within the stone moves and rattles, whenever it is shaken. “_Ætites
lapis agitatus, sonitum edit, velut ex altero lapide prægnans._” The
conceit however did not assume the importance of a theory until the end
of the fourteenth century, at which period we find several authors
engaged in the support of its truth, and it will not be unamusing to
offer a specimen of their sophistry; they affirm, that since man is the
lord of the creation, all other creatures are designed for his use, and
_therefore_, that their beneficial qualities and excellencies must be
expressed by such characters as can be seen and understood by every one;
and as man discovers his reason by speech, and brutes their sensations
by various sounds, motions, and gestures, so the vast variety and
diversity of figures, colours, and consistencies, observable in
inanimate creatures, is certainly designed for some wise purpose. It
_must be_, in order to manifest these peculiar qualities and
excellencies, which could not be so effectually done in any other way,
not even by speech, since no language is universal. Thus, the lungs of a
fox must be a specific for asthma, _because_ that animal is remarkable
for its strong powers of respiration. _Turmerick_ has a brilliant yellow
colour, which indicates that it has the power of curing the jaundice; by
the same rule, _Poppies_ must relieve diseases of the head; _Agaricus_
those of the bladder; _Cassia fistula_ the affections of the intestines,
and _Aristolochia_ the disorders of the uterus: the polished surface and
stony hardness which so eminently characterise the seeds of the
_Lithospermum Officinale_ (Common Gromwell) were deemed a certain
indication of their efficacy in calculous and gravelly disorders; for a
similar reason the roots of the _Saxifraga Granulata_ (White Saxifrage)
gained reputation in the cure of the same disease; and the _Euphrasia_
(Eye-bright) acquired fame, as an application in complaints of the eye,
because it exhibits a black spot in its corolla resembling the pupil.
In the curious work of _Chrysostom Magnenus_, we meet with a whimsical
account of the _Signature_ of Tobacco. “In the first place,” says he,
“the manner in which the flowers adhere to the head of the plant
indicates the _Infundibulum Cerebri_, and _Pituitary Gland_. In the next
place, the three membranes of which its leaves are composed announce
their value to the stomach which has three membranes.”[50]
The blood-stone, the _Heliotropium_ of the ancients, from the occasional
small specks or points of a blood red colour exhibited on its green
surface, is even at this day employed in many parts of England and
Scotland, to stop a bleeding from the nose; and nettle-tea continues a
popular remedy for the cure of _Urticaria_. It is also asserted that
some substances bear the SIGNATURES of the humours, as the petals of the
red rose that of the blood, and the roots of rhubarb and the flowers of
saffron, that of the bile.[51]
I apprehend that John of Gaddesden, in the fourteenth century,
celebrated by Chaucer, must have been directed by some remote analogy of
this kind, when he ordered the son of Edward the First, who was
dangerously ill with the small-pox, to be wrapped in scarlet cloth, as
well as all those who attended upon him, or came into his presence, and
even the bed and room in which he was laid were covered with the same
drapery; and so completely did it answer, say the credulous historians
of that day, that the Prince was cured without having so much as a
single mark left upon him.
In enumerating the conceits of Physic, as relating to the Materia
Medica, we must not pass over the idea, so prevalent at one period, that
_all poisonous substances possess a powerful and mutual elective
attraction for each other_; and that consequently, if a substance of
this kind were suspended around the neck, it would, by intercepting and
absorbing every noxious particle, preserve the body from the virulence
of contagious matter. Angelus Sala, accordingly, gives us a formula for
what he terms his _Magnes Arsenicalis_, which he asserts will not only
defend the body from the influence of poison, but will, from its powers
of attraction, draw out the venom from an infected person. In the
celebrated plague of London, we are informed that amulets of arsenic
were upon this principle suspended over the region of the heart, as a
preservative against infection.
There is yet to be mentioned another absurd conceit which long existed
respecting the subject of Antidotes,—a belief that every natural poison
carried within itself its own antidote; thus we learn from the writings
of Dioscorides, Galen, and Pliny, that the _virus_ of the _Cantharis
Vesicatoria_ existed in the body of the fly, and that the head, feet,
and wings, contained its antidote; for the same potent reason were the
hairs of the rabid dog esteemed the true specific for Hydrophobia.[52]
DEVOTION TO AUTHORITY, AND ESTABLISHED ROUTINE.
This has always been the means of opposing the progress of reason—the
advancement of natural truths—and the prosecution of new discoveries;
whilst, with effects no less baneful, has it perpetuated many of the
stupendous errors which have been already enumerated, as well as others
no less weighty, and which are reserved for future discussion.
To give general currency to an hypothetical opinion, or medicinal
reputation to an inert substance, requires only the talismanic aid of a
few great names; when once established upon such a basis, ingenuity,
argument, and even experiment, may open their ineffectual batteries. The
laconic sentiment of the Roman Satirist is ever opposed to our
remonstrance—“Marcus dixit?—ita est.”
“Did Marcus say ’twas fact? then fact it is,
No proof so valid as a word of his.”
A physician cannot err, in the opinion of the public, if he implicitly
obeys the dogmas of authority; in the most barbarous ages of ancient
Egypt, he was punished or rewarded according to the extent of his
success, but to escape the former, it was only necessary to shew that an
orthodox plan of cure had been followed, such as was prescribed in the
acknowledged writings of Hermes. It is an instinct in our nature to
follow the track pointed out by a few leaders; we are gregarious
animals, in a moral as well as a physical sense, and we are addicted to
routine, because it is always easier to follow the opinions of others
than to reason and judge for ourselves. “The mass of mankind,” as Dr.
Paley observes, “act more from habit than reflection.” What, but such a
temper could have upheld the preposterous system of Galen for more than
thirteen centuries; and have enabled it to give universal laws in
medicine to Europe—Africa—and part of Asia?[53] What, but authority,
could have inspired a general belief, that the sooty washings of
rosin[54] would act as an universal remedy? What, but a blind devotion
to authority, or an insuperable attachment to established custom and
routine, could have so long preserved from oblivion the absurd medicines
which abound in our earlier dispensatories? for example, the “_Decoctum
ad Ictericos_,” of the Edinburgh College, which never had any other
foundation than the doctrine of signatures, in favour of the _Curcuma_
and _Chelidonium Majus_;[55] and it is only within a few years, that the
_Theriaca Andromachi_, in its ancient absurd form, has been dismissed
from the British Pharmocopœia.[56] The CODEX-MEDICAMENTARIUS of Paris,
recently edited, still cherishes this many-headed[57] monster of
pharmacy, in all its pristine deformity, under the appropriate title of
“_Electuarium Opiatum Polupharmacum_.”
It is, however, evidently indebted for this unexpected rescue from
oblivion to a cause very remote from that which may be at first
imagined; not from any belief in its powers or reliance upon its
efficacy, but from a disinclination to oppose the torrent of popular
prejudice, and to reject what has been established by authority and
sanctioned by time. For the same reason, and in violation of their
better judgment, the editors have retained the absurd formula of Diest
for the preparation of an extract of opium; which, after directing
various successive operations, concludes by ordering the decoction to be
boiled incessantly for six months, supplying the waste of water at
intervals! Many of the compound formulæ in this new CODEX, it is frankly
allowed, possess an unnecessary and unmeaning, if not an injurious
complexity; and yet, such force has habit, and so paramount are the
_verba magistri_, that the editors are satisfied in distinguishing the
more important ingredients by printing them in _Italics_, leaving the
rest to be supplied at the whim and caprice of the dispenser, and thus
are the grand objects and use of a national Pharmacopœia defeated, which
should above all things insure uniformity in the strength and
composition of its officinal preparations.
The same devotion to authority which induces us to retain an accustomed
remedy for pertinacity, will always oppose the introduction of a novel
practice with asperity, unless indeed it be supported by authority of
still greater weight and consideration. The history of various articles
of diet and medicine will prove in a striking manner, how greatly their
reputation and fate have depended upon authority. It was not until many
years after _Ipecacuan_ had been imported into Europe, that Helvetius,
under the patronage of Louis XIV. succeeded in introducing it into
practice: and to the eulogy of Katharine, queen of Charles II. we are
indebted for the general introduction of Tea into England.[58]
That most extraordinary plant,[59] _Tobacco_, notwithstanding its powers
of fascination, has suffered romantic vicissitudes in its fame and
character; it has been successively opposed, and commended by
physicians—condemned, and eulogised by priests and kings—and proscribed,
and protected by governments; whilst at length this once insignificant
production of a little island, or an obscure district, has succeeded in
diffusing itself through every climate, and in subjecting the
inhabitants of every country to its dominion. The Arab cultivates it in
the burning desert—The Laplander and Esquimaux risk their lives to
procure a refreshment so delicious in their wintry solitude—the Seaman,
grant him but this luxury, and he will endure with cheerfulness every
other privation, and defy the fury of the raging elements; and in the
higher walks of civilized society, at the shrine of fashion, in the
palace, and in the cottage, the fascinating influence of this singular
plant commands an equal tribute of devotion and attachment. The history
of the Potatoe is perhaps not less extraordinary, and is strikingly
illustrative of the omnipotent influence of authority; the introduction
of this valuable plant received, for more than two centuries, an
unexampled opposition from vulgar prejudice, which all the philosophy of
the age was unable to dissipate, until Louis the XVth wore a bunch of
the flowers of the potatoe in the midst of his court, on a day of
festivity; the people then for the first time obsequiously acknowledged
its utility, and ventured to express their astonishment at the apathy
which had so long prevailed with regard to its general cultivation; that
which authority thus established, time and experience have fully
ratified, and scientific research has extended the numerous resources
which this plant is so wonderfully calculated to furnish; thus, its
stalk, considered as a textile plant, produces in Austria a cottony
flax—in Sweden, sugar is extracted from its root—by combustion its
different parts yield a very considerable quantity of potass,—its
apples, when ripe, ferment and yield vinegar by exposure, or spirit by
distillation—its tubercles made into a pulp, are a substitute for soap
in bleaching,—cooked by steam, the potatoe is the most wholesome and
nutritious, and, at the same time, the most economical of all vegetable
aliments.[60]—by different manipulations it furnishes two kinds of
flour, a gruel, and a parenchyma, which in times of scarcity may be made
into bread, or applied to increase the bulk of bread made from grain,—to
the invalid it furnishes both aliment and medicine; its starch is not in
the least inferior to the Indian arrow root, and Dr. Latham has lately
shown that an extract may be prepared from its leaves and flowers, which
possesses valuable properties as an anodyne remedy.[61]
The history of the warm bath[62] presents us with another curious
instance of the vicissitudes to which the reputation of our valuable
resources are so universally exposed; that which for so many ages was
esteemed the greatest luxury in health,[63] and the most efficacious
remedy in disease, fell into total disrepute in the reign of Augustus,
for no other reason than because Antonius Musa had cured the Emperor of
a dangerous malady by the use of the _cold_ bath. The most frigid water
that could be procured was, in consequence, recommended on every
occasion: thus Horace, in his epistle to Vala, exclaims—
“——Caput ac stomachum supponere fontibus audent.
Clusinis, gabiosque petunt, et frigida rura.”—_Epist._ xv. _Lib._ 1.
This practice, however, was doomed but to an ephemeral popularity, for
although it had restored the Emperor to health, it shortly afterwards
killed his nephew and son in law, Marcellus; an event which at once
deprived the remedy of its credit, and the physician of his popularity.
The history of the Peruvian Bark would furnish a very curious
illustration of the overbearing influence of authority in giving
celebrity to a medicine, or in depriving it of that reputation to which
its virtues entitle it. This heroic remedy was first brought to Spain in
the year 1632, and we learn from Villerobel that it remained for seven
years in that country before any trial was made of its powers, a certain
ecclesiastic of Alcala being the first person in Spain to whom it was
administered in the year 1639; but even at this period its use was
limited, and it would have sunk into oblivion but for the supreme power
of the Roman church, by whose auspices it was enabled to gain a
temporary triumph over the passions and prejudices which opposed its
introduction; Innocent the Tenth, at the intercession of Cardinal de
Lugo, who was formerly a Spanish Jesuit, ordered that the nature and
effects of it should be duly examined, and upon being reported as both
innocent and salutary, it immediately rose into public notice;[64] its
career, however, was suddenly stopped by its having unfortunately failed
in the autumn of 1652 to cure Leopold, Archduke of Austria, of a Quartan
Intermittent; this disappointment kindled the resentment of the prince’s
principal physician, Chifletius, who published a violent philippic
against the virtues of Peruvian Bark, which so fomented the prejudices
against its use, that it had nearly fallen into total neglect and
disrepute.
Thus there exists a fashion in medicine, as in the other affairs of
life, regulated by the caprice and supported by the authority of a few
leading practitioners, which has been frequently the occasion of
dismissing from practice valuable medicines, and of substituting others
less certain in their effects and more questionable in their nature. As
years and fashions revolve, so have these neglected remedies, each in
its turn, risen again into favour and notice, whilst old receipts, like
old almanacks, are abandoned until the period may arrive, that will once
more adapt them to the spirit and fashion of the times. Thus it happens
that most of our “_New Discoveries_” in the Materia Medica have turned
out to be no more than the revival and adaptation of ancient practices.
In the last century, the root of the _Aspidium Filix_, the Male Fern,
was retailed as a secret nostrum by Madame Nouffleur, a French empiric,
for the cure of tape worm; the secret was purchased for a considerable
sum of money by Louis XV. and the physicians then discovered that the
same remedy had been administered in that complaint by Galen.[65]
The history of popular medicines for the cure of Gout, will also furnish
us with ample matter for the illustration of this subject. The
celebrated Duke of Portland’s Powder was no other than the
_Diacentaureon_ of Cælius Aurelianus, or the _Antidotos ex duobus
Centaureæ generibus_ of Ætius,[66] the receipt for which a friend of his
Grace brought from Switzerland; into which country it had been probably
introduced by the early medical writers, who had transcribed its virtues
from the Greek volumes soon after their arrival into the western parts
of Europe. The active ingredient of a no less celebrated remedy for the
same disease, _the Eau Medicinale_,[67] has been discovered to be the
_Colchicum Autumnale_ or Meadow Saffron; upon investigating the
properties of this medicine, it was observed that similar effects in the
cure of the gout were ascribed to a certain plant, called
_Hermodactyllus_[68] by Oribasius and Ætius, but more particularly by
Alexander of Tralles,[69] a physician of Asia Minor in the fourth
century; an inquiry was accordingly instituted after this unknown plant,
and upon procuring a specimen of it from Constantinople, it was actually
found to be a species of _Colchicum_.
The use of Prussic acid in the cure of Phthisis, which has been lately
proposed by Dr. Majendie, and introduced into the _Codex
Medicamentarius_ of Paris, is little else than the revival of the Dutch
practice in this complaint; for Linnæus informs us, in the fourth volume
of his “_Amænitates Academicæ_,” that distilled Laurel water was
frequently used in Holland for the cure of pulmonary consumption.
The celebrated fever powder of Dr. James was evidently not his original
composition, but an Italian nostrum invented by a person of the name of
Lisle, a receipt for the preparation of which is to be found at length
in _Colborne’s Complete English Dispensatory for the year 1756_.
The various secret preparations of Opium, which have been extolled as
the invention of modern times, may be recognized in the works of ancient
authors; for instance, Wedelius in his _Opiologia_ describes an acetic
solution; and the _Magisterium_ of Ludovicus, as noticed by Etmuller,
was a preparation made by dissolving Opium in vinegar, and precipitating
with Salt of Tartar;[70] Van Helmont recommends a preparation, similar
to the black drop, under the title of _Laudanum Cydoniatum:_ then again
we have Langelott’s Laudanum, and Le Mort’s “_Extract out of Rain
water_,” preparations which owe their mildness to the abstraction of the
resinous element of opium.
The works of Glauber contain accounts of many discoveries that have been
claimed by the chemists of our own day; he recommends the use of
muriatic acid in sea scurvy, and describes an apparatus for its
preparation exactly similar to that which has been extolled as the
invention of Wolff; he also notices the production of _Pyro-acetic
Acid_, under the title of “_Vinegar of Wood_,” so that the fact of the
identity of this acid and Vinegar, so lately announced by Vauquelin as a
_New Discovery_, was evidently known to Glauber nearly two centuries
ago.
We have within the last few years heard much of the efficacy of Henbane
fumigations in the tooth-ache, an application which may be easily shewn
to be the revival only of a very ancient practice.[71]
But while we might thus proceed to annul many other claims for
originality, we ought not to close our eyes to the fallacies to which
such investigations are peculiarly exposed. Nothing is more easy than to
invest the doubtful sentence of an obscure author with an interpretation
best adapted for the support of a favourite theory, and instances might
be adduced where the medical antiquarian[72] has by violence and
distortion forced the most contradictory passages into his service;
treating, in short, the oracles of Physic just as Lord Peter treated his
father’s will in the _Tale of a Tub_,—determined to discover the word
“_Shoulder Knots_,” he picks it out, letter by letter, and is even at
last obliged to substitute C for K in the orthography.
Nor has Fashion confined her baneful interference to the selection of
remedies; she has ventured even to decide upon the nature of Diseases,
and to change and modify their appellations according to the whim and
caprice by which she is governed. The Princess, afterwards Queen Anne,
was subject to Hypochondriacal attacks, which her Physicians pronounced
to be _Spleen_, _Vapours_, or _Hyp_, and recommended Rawleigh’s
Confection, and Pearl Cordial, for its cure: this circumstance was
sufficient to render both the Disease and Remedy _fashionable_; no other
complaint was ever heard of in the precincts of the court but that of
the _Vapours_, nor any medicine esteemed but that of Rawleigh. Some
years afterwards, in consequence of Dr. Whytt’s publication on “_Nervous
diseases_,” a lady of Fashion was pronounced to be _Nervous_—the term
became general, and the disease _fashionable_; and _Spleen_, _Vapours_,
and _Hyp_ were consigned to oblivion: the reign of Nervous Diseases,
however, did not long continue, for a popular work appeared on Biliary
Concretions, and all the world became _bilious_. We have not patience to
pursue the history of these follies; a transient glance at the ephemeral
productions of the last twenty years would furnish a sad display of the
versatility of medical opinions, and of the instability of the practice
which has been founded upon them: and they will no doubt furnish the
future historian with strong and forcible illustrations.
THE ASSIGNING TO ART THAT WHICH WAS THE EFFECT OF UNASSISTED NATURE, OR
THE CONSEQUENCE OF INCIDENTAL CHANGES OF HABIT, DIET, &c.
Our inability upon all occasions to appreciate the efforts of nature in
the cure of disease, must always render our notions, with respect to the
powers of art, liable to numerous errors and multiplied deceptions.
Nothing is more natural, and at the same time more erroneous, than to
attribute the cure of a disease to the last medicine that had been
employed; the advocates of amulets and charms[73] have even been thus
enabled to appeal to the testimony of what they call experience, in
justification of their superstitions; and cases which, in truth and
justice, ought to be considered most lucky escapes, have been
triumphantly pronounced as skilful cures; and thus have medicines and
practitioners alike acquired unmerited praise, or unjust censure. Upon
Mrs. Stephens offering her remedy for the stone to Parliament,[74] a
committee of professional men was nominated to ascertain its efficacy; a
patient with stone was selected, and he took the remedy; his sufferings
were soon relieved, and upon examining the bladder in the usual way, no
stone could be felt, it was therefore agreed that the patient had been
cured, and that the stone had been dissolved; some time afterwards this
patient died, and on being opened, a large stone was found in a pouch,
formed by a part of the bladder, and which communicated with it. When
the yellow fever raged in America, the practitioners trusted exclusively
to the copious use of mercury; at first, this plan was deemed so
universally efficacious, that in the enthusiasm of the moment, it was
triumphantly proclaimed that death never took place after the mercury
had evinced its effect upon the system: all this was very true, but it
furnished no proof of the efficacy of that metal, since the disease, in
its aggravated form, was so rapid in its career, that it swept away its
victims long before the system could be brought under mercurial
influence, while in its milder shape it passed off equally well without
any assistance from art.
Let us then, before we decree the honours of a cure to a favourite
medicine, carefully and candidly ascertain the exact circumstances under
which it was exhibited, or we shall rapidly accumulate examples of the
fallacies to which our art is exposed; what has been more common than to
attribute to the efficacy of a mineral water, those fortunate changes of
constitution that have entirely or in great measure, arisen from
salubrity of situation, hilarity of mind, exercise of body, and
regularity of habits, which have incidentally accompanied its potation.
Thus, the celebrated John Wesley, while he commemorates the triumph of
‘Sulphur and Supplication’ over his bodily infirmity, forgets to
appreciate the resuscitating influence of four months repose from his
apostolic labours; and such is the disposition of the human mind to
place confidence in the operation of mysterious agents, that we find him
more disposed to attribute his cure to a brown paper plaister of egg and
brimstone, than to Dr. Fothergill’s salutary prescription of country
air, rest, asses milk, and horse exercise.[75] The ancient physicians
duly appreciated the influence of such agents; their temples, like our
watering places, were the resort of those whom medicine could not cure,
and we are expressly told by Plutarch that these temples, especially
that of Esculapius, were erected on elevated spots, with the most
congenial aspects; a circumstance which, when aided by the invigorating
effects of hope, by the diversions which the patient experienced in his
journey, and perhaps by the exercise to which he had been unaccustomed,
certainly performed many cures. It follows then that in the
recommendation of a _watering place_, something more than the
composition of a mineral spring is to direct our choice,—the chemist
will tell us, that the springs of Hampstead and Islington rival those of
Tunbridge and Malvern, that the waters of Bagnigge Wells, as a
chalybeate purgative, might supersede those of Cheltenham and
Scarborough, and that an invalid would frequent the spring in the
vicinity of the Dog and Duck, in St. George’s Fields, with as much
advantage as the celebrated Spa at Leamington; but the physician is well
aware that by the adoption of such advice, he would deprive his patient
of those most powerful auxiliaries to which I have alluded, and above
all, lose the advantages of the “_Medicina Mentis_.” On the other hand,
the recommendation of change of air and habits will rarely inspire
confidence, unless it be associated with some medicinal treatment; a
truth which it is more easy and satisfactory to elucidate and enforce by
examples than by precept—let the following story by Voltaire serve as an
illustration.—“Ogul, a voluptuary who could be managed but with
difficulty by his physician, on finding himself extremely ill from
indolence and intemperance, requested advice:—‘Eat a Basilisk, stewed in
rose-water,’ replied the physician. In vain did the slaves search for a
_Basilisk_, until they met with Zadig, who, approaching Ogul, exclaimed,
‘Behold that which thou desirest;’ ‘but, my Lord,’ continued he, ‘it is
not to be eaten; all its virtues must enter through thy pores, I have
therefore enclosed it in a little ball, blown up, and covered with a
fine skin; thou must strike this ball with all thy might, and I must
strike it back again, for a considerable time, and by observing this
regimen, and taking no other drink than rose-water for a few days, thou
wilt see, and acknowledge the effect of my art.’ The first day Ogul was
out of breath, and thought he should have died from fatigue; the second
he was less fatigued, and slept better: in eight days he recovered all
his strength; Zadig then said to him, ‘There is no such thing in nature
as a Basilisk! but _thou hast taken exercise and been temperate, and
hast therefore recovered thy health_!’ But the medical practitioner may
perhaps receive more satisfaction from a modern illustration; if so, the
following anecdote, related by Sydenham, may not be unacceptable. This
great physician having long attended a gentleman of fortune with little
or no advantage, frankly avowed his inability to render him any farther
service, adding at the same time, that there was a physician of the name
of Robinson, at Inverness, who had distinguished himself by the
performance of many remarkable cures of the same complaint as that under
which his patient laboured, and expressing a conviction that, if he
applied to him, he would come back cured. This was too encouraging a
proposal to be rejected; the gentleman received from Sydenham a
statement of his case, with the necessary letter of introduction, and
proceeded without delay to the place in question. On arriving at
Inverness, and anxiously enquiring for the residence of Dr. Robinson, he
found to his utter dismay and disappointment, that there was no
physician of that name, nor ever had been in the memory of any person
there. The gentleman returned, vowing eternal hostility to the peace of
Sydenham; and on his arrival at home, instantly expressed his
indignation at having been sent on a journey of so many hundred miles
for no purpose. “Well,” replies Sydenham, “are you better in
health?”—“Yes, I am now quite well, but no thanks to you,”—“No,” says
Sydenham, “but you may thank Dr. Robinson for curing you. I wished to
send you a journey with some object of interest in view; I knew it would
be of service to you; in going you had Dr. Robinson and his wonderful
cures in contemplation; and in returning, you were equally engaged in
thinking of scolding me.”
AMBIGUITY OF NOMENCLATURE.
It has been already stated that we are to a great degree ignorant of the
Simples used by the ancient Physicians; we are often quite unable to
determine what the plants are of which Dioscorides treats. It does not
appear that out of the 700 plants of which his Materia Medica consists,
that more than 400 are correctly ascertained; and yet no labour has been
spared to clear the subject of its difficulties; Cullen even laments
that so much pains should have been bestowed upon so barren an
occasion.[76] The early history of botany presents us with such a chaos
of nomenclature, that it must have been impossible for the herbarist and
physician to have communicated their mutual lights; every one was
occupied with disputes upon words and names, and every useful inquiry
was suspended, from an inability to decide what plant each author
intended; thus, for instance, the _Herba Britannica_ of Dioscorides and
Pliny, so celebrated for the cure of the soldiers of Julius Cæsar on the
Rhine, of a disease called ‘_Scelotyrbe_’, and supposed to resemble our
sea scurvy, remains quite unknown, notwithstanding the labours of our
most intelligent commentators.[77] It seems also very doubtful whether
the plant which we denominate _Hemlock_ was the poison usually
administered at the Athenian executions,[78] and which deprived Socrates
and Phocion of life. Pliny informs us that the word _Cicuta_, amongst
the ancients, was not indicative of any particular species of plant, but
of vegetable poisons in general; this is a circumstance to which I am
particularly anxious to fix your attention; it is by no means uncommon
to find a word which is used to express general characters, subsequently
become the name of a specific substance in which such characters are
predominant; and we shall find that some important anomalies in
nomenclature may be thus explained. The term ‘Αρσενικον,’ from which the
word _Arsenic_ is derived, was an ancient epithet, applied to those
natural substances which possessed strong and acrimonious properties,
and as the poisonous quality of arsenic was found to be remarkably
powerful, the term was especially applied to Orpiment, the form in which
this metal more usually occurred. So the term _Verbena_ (quasi _Hebena_)
originally denoted _all those_ herbs that were held sacred on account of
their being employed in the rites of sacrifice, as we learn from the
poets;[79] but as _one_ herb was usually adopted upon these occasions,
the word _Verbena_ came to denote that particular herb _only_, and it is
transmitted to us to this day under the same title, viz. _Verbena_, or
_Vervain_, and indeed until lately it enjoyed the medical reputation
which its sacred origin conferred upon it, for it was worn suspended
around the neck as an amulet. _Vitriol_, in the original application of
the word, denoted _any_ crystalline body with a certain degree of
transparency (_Vitrum_); it is hardly necessary to observe that the term
is now appropriated to a particular species: in the same manner, _Bark_,
which is a general term, is applied to express _one_ genus, and by way
of eminence, it has the article, _The_, prefixed, as _The_ Bark: the
same observation will apply to the word _Opium_, which in its primitive
sense signifies _any_ juice (οπος _Succus_) while it now only denotes
_one_ species, viz. that of the Poppy. So again, _Elaterium_ was used by
Hippocrates, to signify various internal applications, especially
purgatives of a violent and drastic nature (from the word ‘Ελαυνω,’
_agito_, _moveo_, _stimulo_), but by succeeding authors it was
_exclusively_ applied to denote the active matter which subsides from
the juice of the _wild cucumber_. The word _Fecula_, again, originally
meant to imply _any_ substance which was derived by spontaneous
subsidence from a liquid, (from _fæx_, the grounds or settlement of
_any_ liquor); afterwards it was applied to _Starch_, which is deposited
in this manner by agitating the flour of wheat in water; and lastly, it
has been applied to a peculiar vegetable principle, which like
_starch_[80] is insoluble in cold, but completely soluble in boiling
water, with which it forms a gelatinous solution; this indefinite
meaning of the word _fecula_ has created numerous mistakes in
pharmaceutic chemistry; Elaterium, for instance, is said to be a
_fecula_, and in the original sense of the word it is properly so
called, inasmuch as it is procured from a vegetable juice by spontaneous
subsidence, but in the limited and modern acceptation of the term, it
conveys an erroneous idea; for instead of the active principle of the
juice residing in _fecula_, it is a peculiar proximate principle, _sui
generis_, to which I have ventured to bestow the name of _Elatin_. For
the same reason, much doubt and obscurity involve the meaning of the
word _Extract_, because it is applied _generally_ to any substance
obtained by the evaporation of a vegetable solution, and _specifically_
to a peculiar proximate principle, possessed of certain characters, by
which it is distinguished from every other elementary body—See
_Extracta_. On the other hand, we find that many words which were
originally only used to denote particular substances, have, at length,
become subservient to the expression of General Characters; thus the
term _Alkali_, in its originally sense, signified that particular
residuum which was alone obtained by lixiviating the ashes of the plant
named _Kali_, but the word is now so generalized that it denotes _any_
body possessed of a certain number of definite properties.
Another source of botanical ambiguity and error is the circumstance of
certain plants having acquired the names of others very different in
their nature, but which were supposed to possess a similarity in
external character; thus our POTATOE,[81] (_Solanum Tuberosum_) when it
was first imported into England by the colonists in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, gained its appellation from its supposed resemblance to an
esculent vegetable at that time in common use, under the name of the
Sweet Potatoe (_Convolvulus Battatas_,) and which, like _Eringo Root_,
had the reputation of being able to restore decayed vigour, thus
Falstaff—
“Let the sky rain Potatoes, hail kissing Comfits, and snow Eringoes.”
_Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 5,
Scene 5._
A similar instance is presented to us in the culinary vegetable well
known under the name of the JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE, which derived its
appellation in consequence of its flavour having been considered like
that of the common artichoke; it is hardly necessary to observe that it
has no botanic relation whatever to such a plant, it being an Heliotrope
(_Heliotropium Tuberosum_), the epithet _Jerusalem_ is a curious
corruption of the Italian term _Gira-Sole_, that is, _turn-sun_, in
English, or _Heliotrope_ in Greek. This instance of verbal corruption is
not solitary in medical botany; CASTOR OIL will suggest itself as
another example; this oil, from its supposed efficacy in curing and
assuaging the unnatural heat of the body, and in soothing the passions,
was called by the French _Agnus Castus_, whence the inhabitants of St.
Kitt’s in the West Indies, who were formerly blended with the French in
that Island, called it _Castor_ oil. In some cases again, a plant has
received a modern name, compounded of two ancient ones; it appears from
Pliny that the _Assarum_ was not uncommonly confounded with the
_Baccharis_; an English name was accordingly bestowed upon it, which is
a curious compromise of the question, for it is a compound of both, viz.
_Assara-bacca_.
In some instances the most alarming mistakes have occurred from
substances of a very different nature having been mentioned under
similar names, _Arsenic_ for instance, has actually been inhaled,[82]
together with the vapours of Frankincense, Myrrh, and those of other
gums, during a paroxysm of Asthma! a practice which arose from the
practitioner having confounded the Gum Juniper, or _Vernix_ of the
Arabians, which was prescribed for fumigations under the name of
_Sandarach_, with the Σανδαρακη of Aristotle, and which was a sulpheret
of Arsenic. The gum which we know at the present day under the name of
_Sanguis Draconis_, or _Dragon’s blood_, was called by the ancient
Greeks Κινναβαρὶ, a term which has been incorrectly transferred to a
Sulphuret of Mercury, for no other reason than because this mineral has
the same red colour as the gum.
The advanced state of BOTANICAL SCIENCE will now prevent the recurrence
of those doubts and difficulties which have formerly embarrassed the
history of vegetable remedies, by furnishing a strictly philosophical
language, independent of all theory, and founded upon natural structure,
and therefore necessarily beyond the controul of opinion; while the
advancement of chemical knowledge, by enabling us better to distinguish
and identify the different substances we employ, will also materially
assist in preventing the confusion which has formerly oppressed us. At
the same time, I am unwilling to join in the commendations so liberally
bestowed upon our chemical nomenclature; nay, I am disposed to consider
it as a matter of regret that the names of our medicinal compounds
should have any relation to their chemical composition, for in the
present unsettled state of this science, such a language must
necessarily convey theory instead of truth, and opinions rather than
facts; in short, it places us at the mercy and disposal of every new
hypothesis, which may lay our boasted fabric in ruins, and in its place
raise another superstructure, equally frail in its materials and
ephemeral in its duration: thus CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE was a _muriate_ of
Mercury, or an _oxy-muriate_, until Sir H. Davy established his new
theory of chlorine, and then it became a _bi-chloride_; at some future
period, Chlorine will be found to be a compound, and then it must have
another name; for the same reason the term CALOMEL,[83] is surely to be
preferred to _sub-muriate_, or _Chloride_. TARTARIZED ANTIMONY, again,
has been called by our nomenclatural reformers the _Tartrate of Antimony
and Potass_; but is it a triple compound? Gay Lussac thinks not, and
considers it as a combination, in which _Cream of Tartar_ acts the part
of a simple acid.
Again,—we have only to revert to the nomenclature of the Salts in our
Materia Medica to discover the actual change in meaning which the same
word has undergone in a very few years. It was originally understood
that the term _Sub_, when prefixed to the generic name of a Salt,
indicated the presence of certain qualities depending upon an excess of
base; but now, forsooth, the term has reference only to atomic
composition, without any regard to qualities.[84] That salt alone being
acknowledged as a true _Sub_-salt, in which there is less than one atom
of acid to each atom of base; thus our “_Sub_-carbonate of Soda,” is no
longer considered a _Sub_-salt, for the reason above stated; and
notwithstanding the predominance of its alkaline characters, it is known
to chemists by the appellation of _Carbonate_ of soda. It is far from my
intention to question the propriety of these changes, I only maintain
that, amidst such chemical doubts, the Pharmaceutist is the last person
who should become arbiter; let him await the issue in unobtrusive
silence, and take care that the language of Pharmacy partakes of the
same neutrality.
Such was the feeling of the Committee appointed by the College for the
revision of the late London Pharmacopœia, and it sufficiently explains
why the nomenclature of the alkaline salts has been left unchanged in
the present edition of that work.
The French, in their new _Codex_, are absurdly extravagant in their
application of chemical nomenclature; thus, the sub-carbonate of potass
is called by them _sub-deuto-carbonas potassii_. The first part of this
quadruple name indicates the comparative quantity of acid in the salt,
the second that of oxygen contained in the base, the thud announces the
acid, and the fourth the basis of the base!
THE PROGRESS OF BOTANICAL SCIENCE.
It has been just stated, that we have derived from botanical science a
philosophical language which enables us to describe the structure and
habits of any plant, with a luminous brevity and an unerring
perspicuity; but we are moreover indebted to botany for another service
no less important to the successful investigation of the Materia
Medica,—that of throwing into well defined groups, those plants which
possess obvious natural affinities, and which will be found at the same
time to present certain medicinal analogies; indeed, as a general rule,
we may admit the axiom, “_Quæ genere conveniunt, virtute
conveniunt_.”[85]
The _Umbelliferæ_ which grow on dry ground are aromatic, whilst the
aquatic species are among the most deadly poisons. The _Cruciform_
plants are aromatic and acrid in their nature, containing essential
oils, (hence the peculiar smell of cabbage-water, &c.) which are
obtainable by distillation; and Linnæus asserts that “among all the
_Leguminous_ or _Papilionaceous_ tribe there is no deleterious plant to
be found:” this however is not exactly true. Some of the individuals in
these natural orders, although very nearly related, do nevertheless
possess various, and even opposite qualities; in the leguminous tribe
above mentioned, which is as consistent as any one we possess, we have
the _Cytisus Laburnum_, the seeds of which are violently emetic, and
those of _Lathyrus Sativus_, which have been supposed at Florence to
soften the bones and cause death.
In the subdivision of a genus there is often a remarkable difference in
the properties of the species; there are, for instance, _Solanums_,
_Lettuces_, _Cucumbers_, and _Mushrooms_, both esculent and poisonous.
The _Digitalis_ or _Foxglove_, and the _Verbascum_, or common _Mullein_
of our fields, are included in the same Natural family, and yet the one
is as active, as the other is mild in its effects; the plants of the
natural family of _Contortæ_ abound with a highly acrid milky juice, but
Dr. Afzelius met with a shrub of this order at Sierra Leone, the milk of
whose fruit was so sweet, as well as copious, as to be used instead of
cream for tea; this is certainly what no one could have guessed from
analogy. The same individual will vary from culture or other
circumstances, as much as any two plants which have no botanic affinity;
the Chamomile, _Anthemis Nobilis_, with which we are well acquainted,
may have its whole disk changed by cultivation, to ligulate white
florets, destitute of medicinal properties. But, what is more
embarrassing, the different parts of the same plant have often very
different powers; a fact which is beautifully exemplified in the
_Podophyllum Peltatum_, or May Apple, the _leaves_ of which are
poisonous, the root powerfully cathartic, and the _fruit_ agreeably
esculent; so the leaves of the _Jatropa Manihot_ are employed as a
common esculent, while its root secretes a most virulent poison; but we
need not seek further for an example than the fruit of the Lemon, the
juice of which is _acid_, its seeds _bitter_, and its _rind aromatic_;
in some instances it happens that the energy of a plant is concentrated
in one particular part, and that all the rest is absolutely inert; thus,
the root of the _Convolvulus Scammonia_, is the only portion of that
plant which possesses any medicinal quality;[86] and the tree which
yields the drastic _Camboge_, presents at the same time an esculent
fruit, which is eaten by the natives with as much impunity as the
orange; yet, notwithstanding all these difficulties, botany is capable
of furnishing us with analogies which will lead to important conclusions
with respect to the medicinal properties of different vegetables.
The system of Linnæus, although in a great degree artificial,
corresponds in a surprising manner with the natural properties of
plants; thus a plant whose _calyx_ is a double valved _glume_, with
three _stamina_, two _pistils_, and one _naked seed_, bears seeds of a
farinaceous and nutritious quality; a flower with twelve, or more
_stamina_, all of which are inserted in the internal side of the
_calyx_, will furnish a wholesome fruit; whereas a plant whose flower
has five _stamina_, one _pistil_, one _petal_, and whose fruit is of the
_berry_ kind, may at once be pronounced as poisonous.
It is also in a great degree true that the sensible qualities of plants,
such as _colour_, _taste_, and _smell_, have an intimate relation to
their properties, and may often lead by analogy to an indication of
their powers; we have an example of this in the dark and gloomy aspect
of the _Luridæ_, which is indicative of their narcotic and very
dangerous qualities, as _Datura_, _Hyoscyamus_, _Atropa_, and
_Nicotiana_. _Colour_ is certainly in many cases a test of activity; the
deepest coloured flowers of the _Digitalis_, for example, are the most
active, and when the leaves of powerful plants lose their green hue, we
may conclude that a corresponding deterioration has taken place with
respect to their virtues; but Linnæus ascribed too much importance to
such an indication, and his aphorisms are unsupported by facts; for
instance, he says “Color pallidus _insipidum_, viridis _crudum_, luteus
_amarum_, ruber _acidum_, albus _dulce_, niger _ingratum_, indicat.”[87]
A peculiar heavy odour, which is well known, but is with difficulty
defined, is a sure indication of narcotic properties. Bitterness, when
not extreme, denotes a tonic quality, which will stimulate the stomach
and intestines, and promote the process of digestion. When the
bitterness is more intense and pungent,[88] as in _Aloes_, _Colocynth_,
_&c._ we may infer that such substances will produce a more active
effect upon the _primæ viæ_, and that catharsis will follow their
administration.
Botanical, like human physiognomy, may frequently afford an insight into
character, but it is very often a fallacious index. With regard to the
indications of _Smell_ and _Taste_, it may be observed that in the
examination of an unknown substance we instinctively apply to these
senses for information respecting its properties. It is certainly
reasonable to suppose, that those bodies which produce upon the organs
of taste a sensible, astringent, or pungent effect, may occasion an
impression, corresponding in degree upon the stomach or intestines,
which are but an extension of the same structure. But what numerous
exceptions are there to such a law? nay, some of the most poisonous
substances affect in a very slight degree the organs of taste,
especially those that belong to the mineral kingdom, as _Arsenious
Acid_, _Oxyd of Antimony_, _Calomel_, _&c._; yet some of these are,
perhaps, but apparent exceptions, depending upon the degree of
solubility which they possess, in consequence of which their energies
are not developed until they have traversed a considerable portion of
mucous surface. Nor ought it to be forgotten, that cultivation and
artificial habits may have blunted the natural susceptibility of our
organs, and in some instances changed and depraved their functions:
certain qualities for instance are so strongly connected with each other
by the chain of association, that by presenting only one to the mind,
the other links follow in succession.[89] It has been remarked, that
persons in social life, are more affected by vegetable odours, while the
Savage smells better the putrid and fœtid exhalations of animal
bodies:[90] thus the people of Kamskatcha, did not smell the perfume of
a vegetable Essence (_Aqua Melissæ_,) but they discovered by their
olfactory sense, a rotten fish, or a stranded whale at a considerable
distance.[91] There is no sense more under the dominion of imagination,
or more liable to be perverted by education, than those of taste and
smell; we are also liable to form unjust prejudices from the indications
of colour; for particular colours, from the influence of hidden
associations, are not unfrequently the exciting cause of agreeable or
unpleasant impressions. I have met with a person who regards green food,
if it be of an animal nature, with unconquerable aversion and disgust,
indeed an idea of unwholesomeness has not unfrequently been attached to
this colour, without the least foundation of truth; the bones of the Gar
fish, or Sea Needle, (_Esox Helone_,) have been deemed unwholesome from
the circumstance of their turning green on being boiled, although not a
single instance can be adduced in which that fish ever occasioned any
harm. I have met with persons who have been made violently sick from
eating the green part of the oyster;[92] an effect which can have no
other cause than that of unjust prejudice; these examples are sufficient
to shew, with what caution such indications respecting the medicinal
qualities of bodies are to be received.
THE APPLICATION AND MISAPPLICATION OF CHEMICAL SCIENCE.
Amongst the researches of different authors, who, animated with a sacred
zeal for ancient learning, have endeavoured to establish the antiquity
of chemical science, we find many conclusions deduced from an ingenious
interpretation of the mythological fables[93] which are supposed to have
been transmitted by the Egyptians; who, previous to the invention of
letters, adopted this method of perpetuating their discoveries in
natural philosophy. Thus, wherever Homer studiously describes the stolen
embraces of Mars and Venus, they recognise some chemical secret, some
combination of iron with copper, shadowed in the glowing ornaments of
fiction. Lord Bacon[94] conceived that the union of spirit and matter
was allegorised in the fable of Proserpine being seized by Pluto as she
was gathering flowers; an allusion, says Dr. Darwin, which is rendered
more curiously exact by the late discovery, that pure air, (_oxygen_) is
given out by vegetables, and that in this state it is greedily absorbed
by inflammable bodies. The same ingenious Poet supposes that the fable
of Jupiter and Juno, by whose union the vernal showers were said to be
produced, was meant to pourtray the production of water by the
combination of its two elements; an opinion which, says he, is strongly
supported by the fact that, in the ancient mythology, the purer air or
_æther_, was always represented by Jupiter, and the inferior by Juno.
Were the elegant author of the Botanic Garden now living, he would, no
doubt, with a taste and delicacy peculiarly his own, avail himself of
the singular discovery of Mr. Smithson, who has detected in the juice of
the mulberry _two_ distinct species of colouring matter;—the mingled
blood of the unfortunate Pyramus and Thisbe:
“Signa tene cædis: pullosque et luctibus aptos
Semper habe feætus, _gemina_ monumenta cruoris.”
_Ovid. Metamorph. Lib._ iv. 160.
Sir William Drummond, the learned apologist of Egyptian science,
conceives that the laws of _latent_ heat were even known to the
philosophers of that ancient nation, and that caloric in such a state,
was symbolically represented by VULCAN, while _free_ or _sensible_
caloric was as clearly described in the character of VESTA. Those who
maintain the antiquity of chemistry, and suppose that the fabulous
conceptions of the ancients were but a mysterious veil ingeniously
thrown by philosophy between nature and the lower order of people,
consider that the alchemical secret is metaphorically concealed in the
fable of the GOLDEN FLEECE of the Argonauts, and reject the more
probable solution of this story by Strabo, who says that the Iberians,
near neighbours of the Colchians, used to receive the gold, brought down
from the high lands by the torrents, into sieves and sheep skins, and
that from thence arose the fable of the golden fleece. Dionysius, of
Mytilene, offers a different explanation of the fable, and supposes it
to allude to a book _written on skins_, and containing an account of the
process of _making gold_ according to the art of alchemy.
Notwithstanding the confidence with which modern philosophers have
claimed the discovery, the experimental mode of investigation was
undoubtedly known and pursued by the ancients, who appear, says _Mr.
Leslie_,[95] to have concealed their notions respecting it, under the
veil of allegory. _Proteus_ signified the mutable and changing forms of
material objects, and the inquisitive philosopher was counselled by the
Poets[96] to watch their slippery demon when slumbering on the shore, to
bind him, and compel the reluctant captive to reveal his secrets. This,
adds Mr. Leslie, gives a lively picture of the cautious, but intrepid
advances of the skilful experimenter;—he tries to press nature into a
corner,—he endeavours to separate the different principles of action,—he
seeks to concentrate the predominant agent, and labours to exclude, as
much as possible, every disturbing influence.
But with whatever ingenuity and success the antiquity of chemical
knowledge may be advocated, as it relates to the various arts of life,
yet it must be allowed that not the most remote trace of its application
to physic can be discovered in the medical writers of Greece or Rome.
The operation of distillation[97] is not even mentioned by Hippocrates
or Galen; and the waters of different plants, as described by some later
authors, are to be understood, as we are informed by Gesner, merely as
simple decoctions, and not as the products of any chemical process;
while the Essences of Dioscorides, Galen, Oribasius, and others, were
only the extracts produced by the evaporation of such infusions.
Upon the downfall of the Roman Empire, all the sciences, the arts, and
literature, were overwhelmed in the general wreck, and the early
Mahometans, in the first paroxysms of their fanaticism, endeavoured to
destroy every record of the former progress of the human mind;
consigning to destruction, by the conflagration of the Alexandrian
library, no less than seven hundred thousand volumes, which comprised
the most valuable works of science and literature.[98] It is not a
little extraordinary that this same people were destined at a more
advanced period, to rekindle the light of letters,[99] which they had
taken such pains to extinguish, and to become the inventors and
cultivators of a new science, boundless in its views, and inexhaustible
in its applications. The medical profession too was more particularly
selected as an object of reward and encouragement; and we may say, with
much truth, that our _Materia Medica_ is more indebted to the zeal and
industry of the Arabians, than to the learning of the Greeks, or to the
refinement of the Romans. From this source we have acquired the milder
purges of _Manna_, _Cassia_, _Senna_, _Rhubarb_, and many plants and
oriental aromatics, amongst, which we may notice _Musk_, _Nutmeg_,
_Mace_, and _Cloves_; the introduction of which into medicine was
greatly facilitated by the situation of Bagdat, and its connection with
India; and although Archigenes and Aretæus had long before applied
_Blisters_, yet it is to the Arabian physicians that we are indebted for
a practical acquaintance with their value, for in general, the Greeks
and Romans prescribed acrid _Sinapisms_ for such a purpose. We are also
indebted to the Arabians for our knowledge respecting Camphor, as its
name imports, for the original word was _Cafur_ or _Canfur_.[100] They
are also the first upon record, who speak of sugar, and sugar-candy,
extracted from the sugar-cane, which they call _honey of cane_; and they
ushered into practice _Syrups_, _Juleps_, and _Conserves_. At the same
time, it is but just to allow, that from the disgusting ostentation of
this people, and their strong attachment to the marvellous, many absurd
medicines have been introduced. Gold, Silver, Bezoars, and precious
stones were received into their materia medica, and surprising virtues
were attributed to them. Amongst a people thus disposed to magnificence,
and from the very spirit of their religion credulous and romantic, it is
not a matter of surprise that their first researches into the nature of
bodies should have raised a hope, and excited a belief, that the baser
metals might be converted into gold.
They conceived that gold was the metallic element, in a state of perfect
purity, and that all the other metals differed from it in proportion
only to the extent of their individual contamination, and hence the
origin of the epithet _base_, as applied to such metals; this hypothesis
explains the origin of alchemy; but, in every history, we are informed
that the earlier alchemists expected, by the same means that they hoped
to convert the _baser_ metals into gold, to produce a universal remedy,
calculated to prolong indefinitely the span of human existence.
It is difficult to imagine what connection could exist in their ideas
between the “_Philosopher’s Stone_,” which was to transmute metals, and
a remedy which could arrest the progress of bodily infirmity: upon
searching into the writings of these times, it clearly appears that this
conceit originated with the alchemists from the application of false
analogies, and that the error was subsequently diffused and exaggerated
by a misconstruction of alchemical metaphors.[101]
An example of reasoning by false analogy is presented to us by
Paracelsus, in his work _de vita longa_, wherein, speaking of anatomy,
he exclaims: “_Sicut antimonium finit aurum, sic, eadem ratione et
forma, corpus humanum purum reddit._”
The processes of alchemy were always veiled in the most enigmatic and
obscure language; the earliest alchemist whose name has reached
posterity, is Geber, an Arabian prince of the seventh century, whose
language was so proverbially obscure, that Dr. Johnson supposes the word
gibberish or _geberish_ to have been derived from this circumstance;
sometimes the processes of alchemy were expressed by a figurative and
metaphorical style of description; thus Geber exclaims, “_Bring me the
six lepers that I may cleanse them_;” by which he implied the conversion
of the six metals,[102] the only ones then known, into gold. From the
works of later alchemists it also appears that they constantly
represented _gold_ as a sound, healthy, and durable man, the imperfect
metals as diseased men, and the means or processes by which the latter
were to be transmuted into the former, they designated by the name of
_medicines_; and hence, those who were anxious to dive into the secrets
of these magicians, or =Adepts=, as they termed themselves, without
possessing a key to their language, supposed that these descriptions
were to be understood in a literal sense, and that the imperfect metals
might be changed into gold, and the bodies of sick persons into healthy
ones, by one and the same chemical preparation.
The hieroglyphical style of writing adopted by the earlier alchemists,
was in a great degree supported by the prevailing idea that the elements
were under the dominion of spiritual beings, who might be submitted to
human power; and Sir Humphry Davy has observed that the notions of
fairies, and of genii, which have been depicted with so much vividness
of fancy and liveliness of description in THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS,
seem to have been connected with the pursuit of the science of
transmutation, and the production of the elixir of life. That the
Arabian Nights’ Entertainment admits of a mystic interpretation, is an
opinion which I have long entertained. How strikingly is the effect of
fermented spirit, in banishing the pressure of the melancholy which
occurs in solitude, depicted in the story of Sinbad when he encountered
the withered and decrepid hag, on the uninhabited island—but, to return
from this digression to the subject of medical chemistry.
It was not in fact until several years had elapsed in the delusive
researches of alchemy, that the application of chemical knowledge became
instrumental in the advancement of the medical art. RHASES and AVICENNA,
who were the celebrated physicians of the age, are the first who
introduced pharmaceutical preparations into their works, or made any
improvement in the mode of conducting pharmaceutical processes. Avicenna
describes, particularly, the method of conducting _Distillation_; he
mentions also, for the first time, the three _Mineral Acids_, and
distinguishes between the _vegetable_ and _mineral Alkalies_; he speaks
likewise of the _Distilled Water of Roses_, of _Sublimed Arsenic_, and
of _Corrosive Sublimate_.
In the year 1226, ROGER BACON, a native of Ilchester in Somersetshire,
and a Franciscan monk of Westminster Abbey, laid the foundations of
chemical science in Europe; his discoveries were so extraordinary that
he was excommunicated by the Pope, and imprisoned ten years for supposed
dealings with the devil; it appears that he was a believer in an
universal Elixir, for he proposed one to Pope Clement the Tenth, which
he extolled highly, as the invention of Petro de Maharncourt.
This wonderful man was succeeded at the end of the same century by
Arnoldus de Villa Nova, a Frenchman, or as others assert, a Spaniard,
who deserves to be noticed on this occasion, as being the first to
recommend the distilled spirit of wine, impregnated with certain herbs,
as a valuable remedy; from which we may date the introduction of
_Tinctures_ into medical practice; for, although Thaddæus, a Florentine,
who died in 1270, at the age of eighty, bestows great commendation upon
the virtues of _Spirit of Wine_, yet he never used it as a solvent for
active vegetable matter.
It was not however until the end of the thirteenth century, that
Chemistry can be said to have added any considerable power to the arm of
Physic.
BASIL VALENTINE, a German Benedictine monk, led the way to the internal
administration of metallic medicine, by a variety of experiments on the
nature of _Antimony_, and in his “_Currus Triumphalis Antimonii_,” a
work written in high Dutch, he has described a number of the
combinations of that metal. If however we may credit a vague tradition,
he was extremely unfortunate in his first experiments upon his brother
monks, all of whom he injured if not killed; those who have keen ears
for etymological sounds will instantly recognise, in this circumstance,
the origin of the word _Antimony_,—ἁντί Μονοχους.
It appears that the ancients were ignorant of the internal use and
administration of the metals, with the exception of iron, although they
frequently used them in external applications. Hippocrates recommends
_Lead_ in several parts of his works, as an _epulotic_ application, and
for other external purposes. _Litharge of Gold_ and _Cerusse_ also
entered the composition of several powders extolled by that ancient
physician as possessing great efficacy in defluxions of the eyes.
Oribasius and Ætius added “_Lithargyrium_” to several plaisters, and the
composition of the “_Snow-like plaister_,” from _Minium_, was long
preserved amongst their most valuable secrets. Whether antimony is the
_Stimmi_ or _Stibium_ of the ancients has been a matter of conjecture;
for Pliny, in speaking of its preparation observes, “Ante omnia urendi
modus necessarius, ne _Plumbum_ fiat.” This plumbum however was
evidently the revived metal of _Antimony_, with which the ancients were
unacquainted, and therefore mistook it for _Lead_; besides, the word
_Plumbum_, like many others which I have before mentioned, was used as a
general term; thus, according to Pliny, Tin was called _Plumbum album_;
and Agricola calls Lead Plumbum _nigrum_.[103]
The question however is unimportant, for this _Stibium_ was never used
but as an external Astringent, especially for the purpose of contracting
the eye-lids, and thereby of making the eyes appear very large, which
has been considered from the most remote antiquity, as a feature of
great beauty; thus the epithet βοῶπὶς is constantly applied by Homer to
Juno. This practice appears also to have been followed by the Jews, for
Jezebel is said to have painted her eye-brows to make the eyes appear
big;[104] the expression also shews that the drug employed was the
_Stimmi_. Εστὶμμὶσατο τους οφθαλμους ἁυτης.
To BASIL VALENTINE we are moreover indebted for the discovery of the
_Volatile Alkali_, and of its preparation from _Sal Ammoniac_; he also
first used mineral acids as solvents, and noticed the production of
_Ether_ from Alcohol; he seems also to have understood the virtues of
_sulphate of iron_, for he says, when internally administered, it is
tonic and comforting to a weak stomach, and that externally applied, it
is astringent and styptic: he moreover recommended a _fixed alkali_ made
from vine twigs cut in the beginning of March, for the cure of gout and
gravel.
In the year 1493, was born near Zurich in Switzerland, PARACELSUS, or as
he termed himself, Philippus, Theophrastus, Bombastus, Paracelsus de
Hohenheim, a man who was destined to produce a greater revolution in the
Materia Medica, and a greater change in medical opinions and practice,
than any person who had appeared since the days of Galen. He travelled
all over the Continent of Europe to obtain knowledge in Chemistry and
Physic, and was a great admirer of Basil Valentine, declaring that
Antimony was not to be equalled for medicinal virtue, by any other
substance in nature: this opinion however does not deserve our respect,
for it was not founded upon observation and experiment, but on a
fanciful analogy, derived from a property which this metal possesses of
refining gold, as I have before related. He also used _Mercury_ without
reserve, and appears to have been the first who ventured to administer
it internally,[105] for although Avicenna asserts that it was not so
poisonous as the ancients had imagined, yet he does not attribute to it
any virtues; he merely says, “Argentum quidem vivum, plurimi qui bibunt,
_non læduntur_ eo.” Its effects, when applied externally, were well
known to Theodoric the friar, afterwards Bishop of Cervia, in the
twelfth century, who describes the salivation which mercurial frictions
will produce. Paracelsus, moreover, employed Lead internally in
fevers,—“_Saturnus purgat febres_” was one of his most favourite maxims.
He also gives us directions for the preparation of _Red Precipitate_
with _Mercury_ and _Aqua fortis_.
Paracelsus, thus armed with opium, mercury, and antimony, remedies of no
trifling importance, travelled in all directions and performed many
extraordinary cures, amongst which was that of the famous printer
Frobenius of Basil, a circumstance which immediately brought him
acquainted with Erasmus,[106] and made him known to the magistracy of
Basil, who elected him professor of chemistry in the year 1527, which
was the first professorship that was established in Europe for the
promotion and dissemination of chemical science. But notwithstanding
this testimony of his success, if we may credit Libavius, he often, like
our modern quacks, left his patients more diseased than he found them;
and it is acknowledged by his own disciple Oporinus, that when he was
sent for to any town, for the purpose of administering his remedies, he
was rarely suffered to protract his visit, on account of the general
resentment of the inhabitants.
While seated in his chair, he burnt with great solemnity the writings of
Galen and Avicenna, and declared to his audience that if God would not
impart the secrets of physic, it was not only allowable but even
justifiable to consult the devil. His cotemporary physicians he treated
with the most sottish vanity and illiberal insolence; in the preface to
his work entitled “Paragranum,” he tells them “that the very down of his
bald pate had more knowledge than all their writers, the buckles of his
shoes more learning than Galen and Avicenna, and his beard more
experience than all their Universities.” With such a temper it could not
be supposed that he would long retain his chair, in fact he quitted it
in consequence of a quarrel with the magistrates, after which he
continued to ramble about the country, generally intoxicated, and seldom
changing his clothes, or even going to bed; and although he boasted of
possessing a _Panacea_ which was capable of curing all diseases in an
instant, and even of prolonging life to an indefinite length, yet this
drunkard and prince of empirics died after a few hours illness, in the
forty-eighth year of his age, at Salzburg in Bavaria, with a bottle of
his immortal _Catholicon_ in his pocket.
In contemplating the career of this extraordinary man, it is difficult
to say whether disgust or astonishment is the most predominant feeling;
his insolence and unparalleled conceit, his insincerity, and brutal
singularities, and his habits of immorality and debauchery, are beyond
all censure; whilst the important services he has rendered mankind, by
opposing the bigotry of the schools and introducing powerful remedies
into practice, cannot be recorded without feelings of gratitude and
respect: but in whatever estimation Paracelsus may be held, there can be
no doubt but that his fame produced a very considerable influence on the
character of the age, by exciting the envy of some, the emulation of
others, and the industry of all.[107]
About a century after Paracelsus, VAN HELMONT took the lead in physic;
he was a man of most indefatigable industry, and spent fifty years in
torturing by every chemical experiment he could devise, the various
objects in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. He was the first
physician who applied _alum_ in uterine hemorrhage, and he acquired a
great reputation from the success of the practice.
SYLVIUS DE LA BOE, and OTHO TACHENIUS, followed in the track of Van
Helmont.
A prejudice in favour of chemical remedies having been thus introduced,
the merited success which attended their operation, and the zeal and
perseverance which distinguished the votaries of that science, soon
kindled a more general enthusiasm in its favour. It is impossible to
reduce into miniature the historical features of these chemical times,
so as to bring them within the compass of a lecture: I must therefore
rest satisfied with delineating a few of the more prominent outlines.
The Galenists, who were in possession of the schools, and whose
reasonings were fettered by the strongest predilection for their own
doctrines, instantly took the alarm; and the celebrated contest ensued
between the _Galenical_ and _Chemical_ sects, which has given such a
controversial tone to the writers of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. As this revolt from orthodox authority was in a great degree
attributed to the mischievous introduction and unmerited success of
Antimonial remedies, so were the preparations of this metal denounced
with all the virulence of party spirit;[108] and upon this occasion, in
order to support their ground and oppress and persecute their
adversaries, the Galenists actually solicited the assistance of secular
power; the Supreme Council of Paris accordingly proscribed its use by an
edict in 1566, and Besnier was expelled the faculty of medicine in 1609,
for having administered it to a patient. In 1637, _Antimonial wine_ was
by public authority received into the number of purgatives; and in 1650,
a new _arrêt_ rescinded that of 1566, and again restored Antimony to
public favour and general reputation; and before we conclude our remarks
upon the revolutionary history of this extraordinary metal, it deserves
to be remarked, that this very same government that had with such great
virulence, and so little justice, persecuted every practitioner who had
shewn any predilection for its use, in the year 1720 actually purchased
the secret of an antimonial preparation called _Panacea Glauberiana_,
and which has been since known by the title of _Kermes Mineral_, from a
surgeon of the name of La Legerie, who had acquired the secret from a
pupil of Glauber. Before this period the invention of _Calomel_ had
taken place; this preparation is first mentioned, although very
obscurely, by Oswald Crollius, in his _Basilica Chemica_, in 1608, and
in the same year Beguin described it most fully and clearly under the
title of _Draco Mitigatus_, in his _Tirocinium Chemicum_, which he
published in Paris.
Chemistry, at this period[109] took possession of the schools, and
whilst it was gradually grafted into the theory of medicine, it soon
became the only guide to its practice, the absurdity of which has been
already dwelt upon.
In tracing the march of chemical improvement during the last century, we
cannot but be struck with the new and powerful remedies which it has
introduced, and the many unimportant and feeble articles which it has
dismissed from medical practice.
In the present century, the rapid progress of Chemistry has outstripped
the anticipations of its most sanguine votaries; and even in the
department of vegetable analysis, a correctness has been attained, the
very attempt at which had been abandoned by the most illustrious
chemists of the former age as hopeless and chimerical; let us for
instance only compare the results obtained by the Academicians of Paris,
and published by Geoffroy, in their analyses of several hundred plants
by the operation of heat, with the elegant and satisfactory researches
in this branch of science lately conducted in the same country; whilst
the former failed in establishing any distinction between the most inert
and the most poisonous plants, the latter have succeeded in detecting,
separating, and concentrating several of their most subtile
constituents. _Opium_ has been at length compelled to confess its secret
source of action, and _Ipecacuan_ to yield its emetic element in a state
of perfect purity.
Our Pharmacopœias and Dispensatories[110] have cautiously kept pace
with the scientific progress of the age; and in tracing them from
their origin to the present time[111] it is gratifying to observe the
gradual influence of knowledge in reducing the number of their
articles—simplifying the composition of their formulæ—and improving
the processes for their preparation.[112] Chemistry has also been the
means of establishing the identity of many bodies which were long
considered as specifically different; thus an extensive list of animal
substances has been discarded, since it is known that they owe their
properties to one and the same common principle, as to _gelatine_,
_albumen_, _carbonate of lime_, &c.; so again the fixed alkaline salt
produced by the incineration of different vegetables, has been found
to be potass, from whatever plant it may have been obtained, with the
exception of sea plants, and perhaps some of the Tetradynamia, the
former of which yield _Soda_ and the latter _Ammonia_. Previous to the
Pharmacopœia of 1745, every vegetable was supposed to yield a salt
essentially different, and therefore a number of alkaline preparations
were recommended, each bearing the name of the particular plant from
which it had been procured, as salt of _Wormwood_—salt of
_Broom_,—_Salt of Bean-Stalks_, &c.
But, from the very nature and object of a Pharmacopœia, it cannot be
supposed to proceed _pari passu_ with the march of chemical science,
indeed it would be dangerous that it should, for a chemical theory must
receive the seal and stamp of experience before it can become current: a
Pharmacopœia however is always an object of abuse, because it is a
national work of authority, which is quite a sufficient reason why the
ignorant and conceited should question its title to respect, and its
claim to utility. “_Plures audivi_,” says Huxham, “_totas blaterantes
Pharmacopœias, qui tamen ne intellexerint quidem quid vel ipse pulsus
significabat_.”
It is very evident, that the greater number of these attacks has not
been levelled with any view to elicit truth or to advance science, but
to excite public attention, and to provoke unfair discussion for
individual and unworthy advantage; their obscure and presumptuous
authors vainly hope, that they may gain for their ephemeral writings
some share of importance, and for themselves some degree of reputation,
if they can only obtain notoriety by provoking a discussion with the
College or with some of its responsible members, though such a combat
should be sure to terminate in their defeat. Like the Scythian Abaris,
who upon being wounded by Apollo, plucked the arrow from his side, and
heedless of the pain and disgrace of his wound, exclaimed in triumph
that the weapon would in future enable him to deliver Oracles.
It is not to such persons that the observations which are contained in
this work are addressed, for with them I am most anxious to avoid a
contest, in which, as a worthy Fellow of our College expresses it,
“_Victory itself must be disgraceful_.”
When, however, we are assailed upon every occasion by a gentleman whose
talents entitle him to respect, and whose public situation commands
notice, I apprehend that a humble individual like myself, may, in the
conscientious discharge of a public duty, deliver his sentiments from
the chair to which he has been called by his professional brethren,
without any risk of compromising the dignity of the College, or of
drawing upon himself the charge of an unnecessary and injudicious
interference.
The attack to which I chiefly allude, is contained in an historical
preface by Mr. Professor Brande, to the _Supplement of the Fourth and
Fifth Editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica_; in which, speaking of
the writings of BOERHAAVE, he says, “The observations which he has made
upon the usefulness of Chemistry, and of its necessity to the medical
practitioner, may be well enforced at the present day; for, except in
the schools of London and Edinburgh, Chemistry, as a branch of
education, is either entirely neglected, or, what is perhaps worse,
superficially and imperfectly taught; this is especially the case in the
English Universities, and the London Pharmacopœia is a record of the
want of chemical knowledge, where it is most imperiously required.”
The learned Professor of Oxford, Dr. Kidd, naturally anxious to repel a
charge which he considered individually unfair, and to vindicate his
University from an aspersion which he felt to be generally unjust,
published an animated, but at the same time, a cool and candid defence,
to which I have much pleasure in referring you. With respect to the
Sister University, my own _Alma Mater_, I feel that I should be the most
ungrateful of her sons, were I, upon this occasion, to omit expressing
similar sentiments with respect to the course of chemistry, and that of
its collateral branches, which are annually delivered in the crouded
schools at Cambridge. Is Mr. Brande acquainted with the discipline of
our University?—Is he aware that the chemical chair has been
successively filled by BISHOP WATSON—MILNER—WOLLASTON[113]—and the late
lamented Mr. TENNANT?—“_Master Builders in the Science_.” To say that
such men have been the lecturers, is surely a sufficient testimony to
shew that the science of chemistry heretofore _could not_ “have been
neglected, or what perhaps is still worse, imperfectly taught;” and the
zeal and ability displayed by the present Professor, ought to have
shielded him from any such attack. Is Mr. Brande aware that the eloquent
appeal of BISHOP WATSON from the chair at Cambridge,[114] on the general
importance and utility of chemistry, gave the first impulse to that
public taste for this science which so eminently distinguishes our
Augustan age, and which has been the means of founding and supporting
the Royal, and other Public Institutions in this Metropolis, as well as
in the other towns of the British Empire?
I need make no farther remark upon this part of Mr. Brande’s assertion;
the sequel, judging from the construction of the sentence, is evidently
intended to be understood as a consequence, viz. and _therefore_ “the
London Pharmacopœia is a record of the want of chemical knowledge where
it is most imperiously required,” _because Oxford and Cambridge
Physicians were its Editors_. Is not this the obvious construction?
It appears from Mr. Brande’s laconic answer to Dr. Young, published in
“_The Journal of Science and the Arts_,” that his objections are those
of Mr. Phillips, contained in his experimental examination of the
Pharmacopœia; a work which, I confess, appears to me to furnish a
testimony of the experimental tact, subtile ingenuity, and caustic style
of criticism, which its author so eminently possesses, rather than a
proof of any fatal or material inaccuracy in the Pharmacopœia; and I may
urge this with greater force and propriety, when it is considered that,
at the time of its publication, I was not a Fellow of the College, and
therefore had no voice upon the subject of its composition, and
consequently must be _personally_ disinterested in its reputation.
I cannot conclude these observations upon Mr. Brande’s attack, without
expressing a deep feeling of regret, that a gentleman, whose deserved
rank in society, and whose talents and acquirements must entitle him to
our respect, should have condescended to countenance and encourage that
vile and wretched taste of depreciating the value and importance of our
most venerable institutions, and of bringing into contempt those
acknowledged authorities which must always meet with the approbation of
the best, and the sanction and support of the wisest portion of mankind.
And I shall here protest against the prevailing fashion of examining and
deciding upon the pretensions of every medicinal compound to our
confidence, by a _mere chemical_ investigation of its composition, and
of rejecting, as fallacious, every medical testimony which may appear
contradictory to the results of the Laboratory; there is no subject in
science to which the maxim of Cicero more strictly applies, than to the
present case; let the _Ultra_ Chemist therefore cherish it in his
remembrance, and profit by its application—“PRÆSTAT NATURÆ VOCE DOCERI,
QUAM INGENIO SUO SAPERE.”
Has not experience fully established the value of many medicinal
combinations, which, at the time of their adoption could not receive the
sanction of any chemical law? We well remember the opposition, which on
this ground was for a long time offered to the introduction of the
_Anti-hectic Mixture_ of Dr. Griffith,—the _Mistura Ferri Composita_ of
the present Pharmacopœia, and yet subsequent inquiry has confirmed upon
scientific principles the justness of our former practical conclusion;
for it has been shewn that the chemical decompositions which constituted
the objection to its use, are in fact the causes of its utility (_see
Mist. Ferri_,); the explanation, moreover, has thrown additional light
upon the theory of other preparations; so true is the observation of the
celebrated Morveau, that “_We never profit more than by these unexpected
results of Experiments, which contradict our Analogies and preconceived
Theories_.”
Whenever a medicine is found by experience to be effectual, the
practitioner should listen with great circumspection to any _chemical_
advice for its correction or improvement. From a mistaken notion of this
kind the _Extractum Colocynthidis compositum_, with a view of making it
chemically compatible with _Calomel_, has been deprived of the _Soap_
which formerly entered into its composition, in consequence of which its
solubility in the stomach is considerably modified, its activity is
therefore impaired, and its mildness diminished.[115]
On the other hand, substances may be medically inconsistent, which are
chemically compatible, as I shall have frequent opportunities of
exemplifying. The stomach has a chemical code of its own, by which the
usual affinities of bodies are frequently modified, often suspended, and
sometimes entirely subverted; this truth is illustrated in a very
striking manner by the interesting experiments of M. Drouard, who found
that Copper, swallowed in its metallic state, was not rendered poisonous
by meeting with oils, or fatty bodies; nor even with _Vinegar_, in the
digestive organs. Other bodies, on the contrary, seem to possess the
same habitudes in the stomach as in the laboratory, and are alike
influenced in both situations by the chemical action of various bodies,
many examples of which are to be found under the consideration of the
influence which solubility exerts upon the medicinal activity of
substances; so again, acidity in the stomach is neutralized by
_Alkalies_, and if a _Carbonate_ be employed for that purpose, we have a
copious disengagement of _Carbonic acid gas_, which has been frequently
very distressing to the patient; lastly, many bodies taken into the
stomach undergo decompositions and changes _in transitu_, independent of
any play of chemical affinities from the hidden powers of digestion,
some of which we are enabled to appreciate, and they will accordingly
form a subject of investigation in the course of the present work.
The powers of the stomach would seem to consist in decomposing the
_Ingesta_, and reducing them into simpler forms, rather than in
complicating them, by favouring new combinations.
But every rational physician must feel in its full force, the absurdity
of expecting to account for the phænomena of life upon principles
deduced from the analogies of inert matter, and we therefore find that
the most intelligent physiologists of modern times have been anxious to
discourage the attempt, and to deprecate its folly. Sir Gilbert Blane,
in his luminous work on MEDICAL LOGIC, when speaking of the different
theories of digestion, tells us that Dr. William Hunter, whose peculiar
sagacity and precision of mind detected at a glance the hollowness of
such delusive hypotheses, and saw the danger which theorists run in
trusting themselves on such slippery ground, expressed himself in his
public lectures, with that solidity of judgment combined with
facetiousness of expression, which rendered him unparalleled as a public
teacher. “Gentlemen,” said he, “Physiologists will have it that the
stomach is a mill—others, that it is a fermenting-vat—others again, that
it is a stew-pan,—but in my view of the matter, it is neither a mill, a
fermenting-vat, nor a stew-pan—but a STOMACH, Gentlemen, a STOMACH.”
What can illustrate in a more familiar and striking manner the singular
powers of _Gastric Chemistry_, than the fact of the shortness of time in
which the aliment becomes acid in depraved digestion? A series of
changes is thus produced in a few hours, which would require in the
laboratory as many weeks,[116] while in acute affections of the
alimentary canal the functions of the stomach are nearly suspended, and
hence under such circumstances, whatever is introduced into this organ
remains unchanged, even the nutritious mucilages are not digested.
From what has been said, it is very evident that the mere chemist can
have no pretensions to the art of composing or discriminating
remedies; whenever he arraigns the scientific propriety of our
Prescriptions, in direct contradiction to the deductions of true
medical experience,—whenever he forsakes his laboratory for the
bed-side, he forfeits all his claims to our respect, and his title to
our confidence. It is amusing to see the ridiculous errors into which
the chemist falls, when he turns physician; as soon as Seguin found
that Peruvian bark contained a peculiar principle that precipitated
_Tannin_, he immediately concluded that this _could not be any other_
than _Gelatine_, and upon the faith of this blunder, the French,
Italian, and German physicians,[117] gave their patients nothing but
_Clarified Glue_, in intermittent fevers!—But I desist—not however
without expressing a hope, in which I am sure my medical brethren will
concur, that, should Mr. Brande again condescend to favour us with a
commentary upon Boerhaave, he will select that passage in his work,
where, alluding to the application of Chemistry to Physic, he
emphatically exclaims, “EGREGIA ILLIUS ANCILLA EST, NON ALIA PEJOR
DOMINA.”
THE INFLUENCE OF SOIL, CULTURE, CLIMATE, AND SEASON.
The facts hitherto collected upon this subject are so scanty and
unsatisfactory, that I introduce its consideration in this place, rather
with a wish to excite farther enquiry, than with any hope of imparting
much additional information.
There can be little doubt, but that Soil, Culture, Climate, and
Season,[118] may very materially influence the active properties of a
medicinal plant; while the two latter of these causes may as essentially
change the type and character of a disease, and modify the vital
susceptibility of the patient; the natives of the south of Europe, for
instance, do not bear bleeding, and other modes of depletion, so well as
those of the north. This must be admitted to its full extent, or it will
be extremely difficult to explain the contradictory and even opposite
opinions, and to reconcile the conflicting testimonies of the physicians
of different countries, with respect to the efficacy of the same remedy,
in similar diseases.
THE INFLUENCE OF SOIL may be exemplified by many well known facts; thus,
strongly smelling plants lose their odour in a sandy soil, and do not
again recover it by transplantation into a richer one; a fact upon which
Rozier founded his proposal for the improvement of Rape oil; so again,
no management could induce the _Ricotia Ægyptiaca_ to flower, until
Linnæus suggested the expediency of mixing clay with the earth in the
pot; _Assafœtida_ is one of those plants that vary much according to
station and soil, not only in the shape of the leaves, but in the
peculiar nauseous quality of the juice which impregnates them, and Dr.
Woodville states that it is frequently so modified that the leaves are
eaten by goats; Gmelin informs us, on the authority of Steller, that the
effects of the _Rhododendron_ have been found to vary materially
according to the “_solum natale_;” for example, that produced in a
certain spot has proved uniformly _narcotic_, that in another,
_cathartic_, while a sense of suffocation has been the only symptom
occasioned by a third. Rhubarb, as grown in England, will differ greatly
in its purgative qualities, according to the soil in which it may have
been cultivated; that produced in a dry gravel being more efficacious
than that which is reared in a clayey one. Dr. Carter, in his account of
the “_Principal Hospitals of France, Italy, and Switzerland_,” tells us
that at Nice, the _Digitalis_ is commonly given in doses of a scruple in
powder, or in that of half an ounce of the infusion made according to
the London Pharmacopœia, every hour, and without any sensible effect;
this fact he explains by stating that the _Digitalis_, in the
neighbourhood of Nice, is much smaller, and is probably less powerful
than the same plant as it grows in England.
CLIMATE also produces a powerful impression upon vegetable and animal
life. It is probable that in southern countries some vegetables enjoy
more energetic properties than in northern climes. The history of opium
immediately countenances such an opinion; thus Egypt produces a stronger
_opium_ than any of the countries on the north side of the
Mediterranean,—France, than England or Germany;—and Languedoc, than the
northern parts of France;—while Smyrna, Natolia, Aleppo, and Apulia,
furnish a juice far more narcotic than Languedoc: so again, _Senna_ by
transplantation from Arabia into the south of France (Provence) assumes
a marked change in its physiognomy and virtues, its leaves are more
obtuse, and its taste less bitter and nauseous than the pointed leaved
variety, while its effects will be found to be less purgative.
_Cruciform_ plants degenerate within the tropics, but acquire increased
energies, as _Antiscorbutics_, in cold regions; the _Menthæ_ have not so
penetrating an essential oil in the south of Europe as in England and in
the north of France. The relative proportions of gluten vary in the
wheat of different countries, and as in the south of Europe, its
quantity greatly predominates over the other principles, we at once
discover the cause that gives such excellence to the Maccaroni of Italy.
Many species of plants secrete juices in warmer regions, which are
unknown in their œconomy, in colder climates; thus the Ash yields
_Manna_ in Calabria, but loses that faculty as it advances towards the
north. The influence of climate, in its relations to moisture and
dryness, upon vegetable productions, is also worthy of investigation; in
wet and cold seasons, our herbage is far less nutritive to cattle, and
we accordingly find that they are constantly grazing, in order to
compensate by quantity, for what is deficient in quality, whereas in dry
seasons, a larger proportion of their time is consumed in rumination;
the same causes, however, that diminish the nutritive powers of plants,
frequently increase the energy of those principles upon which their
medicinal value depends: it is obvious that many herbs are more rank and
virulent in wet and gloomy seasons: this would appear to be a wise and
provident law, in order to apportion the natural condiment of the
vegetable, to the deteriorated state of its nutritive elements, when the
digestive organs must require more than the ordinary stimulus for the
due exercise of their functions. It is hardly necessary to observe that
plants, which in temperate climates are merely shrubs, have been
developed into trees, by the hot and humid plains of Africa and Asia;
while in the arid deserts of Nubia or in the frigid plains of Siberia,
vegetable life is confined to stunted shrubs and humble mosses: cold
also suppresses the colour of flowers, and indeed even that of the
leaves, as is witnessed in the _Cyclamen_, _Amaranthus_, and
_Ranunculus_ of Lapland and Siberia. But climate not only modifies the
powers of a remedy by influencing its structure and composition, but it
renders it more or less active, by increasing or diminishing the
susceptibility of the body to its impression; can a more striking proof
of this fact be adduced than the well known effects of perfumes at Rome?
The inhabitants are unable to sustain the strong scent of flowers in
that climate, without experiencing a sensation highly oppressive, and
which in some cases is even succeeded by syncope,[119] and thus
realising the well known line of the poet,
“_Die of a Rose, in aromatic pain._”
As I have been favoured with some very interesting observations upon
this subject by Dr. Richard Harrison, who resided for a considerable
time in Italy, and was thus enabled to institute a satisfactory inquiry
into this curious subject, I feel no hesitation in introducing a
quotation from his letter to my readers.—“You ask me what experience I
have had on the subject of climate, as affecting the powers and
operation of remedies; I have no difficulty in asserting that Narcotics
act with greater force even in smaller doses at Naples, where I had the
advantages of much experience, than in England. I might adduce as an
example the _Extract of Hyoscyamus_, which, when given to the extent of
three grains thrice a day, produced in two patients a temporary
amaurosis, which disappeared and again recurred on the alternate
suspension and administration of this medicine; and it deserves
particular notice that these very patients had been in the habit of
taking similar doses of the same remedy in England, without any
unpleasant result. Now that this depended upon an increased
susceptibility of the patient, in the warmer climate, rather than an
increased power in the remedy, is unquestionable, since the extract
which was administered in Italy had been procured from London; indeed a
high state of nervous irritation is the prevalent disorder of Naples. I
treated several cases of Epilepsy in Italy with the _nitrate of silver_,
and with complete success, while in England I certainly have not met
with the same successful results. During my residence at Naples, I spent
some time in the island of Ischia, so celebrated all over the continent
for its baths; many of the patients who were then trying their efficacy,
had been attacked by Paralysis, Apoplexy, and almost every degree of
loss of mental and muscular power, and among them I certainly witnessed
what with propriety might be denominated a genuine case of _Nervous
Apoplexy_. These complaints I was generally able to trace to the abuse
of _Mercury_, whence we may, I think, very fairly conclude that this
metal is more active in its effects in that, than in our own country.
Before I quit this subject, I ought to mention that the doses of
medicines, as seen in the prescriptions and works of English Physicians,
excite universal astonishment among the faculty of Italy. In fact, as I
have just stated, the human constitution in this part of the continent
is certainly more susceptible of nervous impression than in England: it
is perfectly true that flowers or perfumes in a chamber, will frequently
produce syncope in persons apparently strong and healthy, and the fact
is so universally admitted, that the Italians avoid them with the
greatest caution.” On the other hand, it appears equally evident that
some remedies succeed in cold climates which produce little or no
benefit in warmer latitudes. Soon after the publication of the first
edition of my Pharmacologia, I received a letter from Dr. Halliday of
Moscow, upon the subject of the “_Eau Medicinale_,” and as it offers a
striking proof of the efficacy of the _Rhododendron Chrysanthum_ in
curing the rheumatism of the North, whilst in this country the plant has
been repeatedly tried without any signal proof of success, I shall here
subjoin an extract from the letter of my correspondent: “In reading your
account of the ‘_Eau Medicinale_,’ I perceive that, upon the authority
of Mr. James Moore, you state it to be a preparation of the _White
Hellebore_; may I be allowed to suggest the probability of its being
made from the leaves of the _Rhododendron Chrysanthum_? for so far as I
can learn, the effects of the French medicine are precisely those which
are experienced from an infusion of the above plant, which the Siberians
and Russians regard as an infallible specific in the cure of chronic
rheumatism and gout, and from which I myself, as well as other
physicians in Russia, have witnessed the most desirable and decided
effects, whenever we had it in our power to administer the remedy with
confidence and courage. We have seldom given it in any other form or
dose than that adopted by the Siberians themselves, which is to infuse
in a warm place, generally near a furnace and during the night, two
drachms of the fresh leaves in about twelve ounces of boiling water,
taking care that the liquid never boils. This dose is to be taken in the
morning upon an empty stomach, and during its nauseating operation,
which generally commences within a quarter of an hour after it has been
swallowed, neither solids nor liquids of any description are allowed;
after an interval of three or four hours, I have seen the patient obtain
a copious and black fœtid stool, and get up free from pain. Should it
happen that the patient does not recover from the first dose, another is
administered on the succeeding day, and I have known it to be taken for
three days in succession, when the severest fits of gout have been
removed.[120] Is it not then probable that some cunning Frenchman has
availed himself of this Siberian specific, and concentrated it in such a
form, as to defy all the learned to find it out?”
Dr. Halliday adds, “The Siberians denominate the leaves of this plant,
when infused in water, _Intoxicating Tea_; and a weaker infusion is in
daily use, especially for treating their neighbours, just as the
Europeans do with tea from China.”
Before we quit the consideration of Climate, as being capable of
influencing the activity of a remedy, the important fact should not be
overlooked, that in India, and other colonies of similar temperature,
Mercurial Medicines, in order to produce their beneficial effects,
require to be administered to an extent which would prove destructive to
the inhabitants of this island.
But of all the circumstances that produce the greatest change in the
aspect as well as in the virtues of the vegetable creation, is
CULTIVATION, which may either destroy the medicinal properties of a
plant, or raise in it new and most valuable qualities: cultivation
converts single into double flowers, by developing the stamens into
petals, a change which in many cases destroys their efficacy, as in the
camomile, _Anthemis Nobilis_; for, since all the virtues of this flower
reside in the disc florets, it is of course greatly deteriorated by
being converted into the double-flowered variety; by the operation of
_grafting_ extraordinary changes may also be produced; Olivier, in his
travels, informs us that a soft _Mastiche_, having all the qualities of
that resin, except its consistence, which is that of turpentine, is
procured by engrafting the Lentisk on the Chian Turpentine tree.
Buffon states that our wheat is a factitious production raised to its
present condition by the art of agriculture. M. Virey[121] observes,
that by suppressing the growth of one part of a plant we may
respectively give rise to an increased developement in others; thus are
some vegetables rendered eunuchs, or are deprived of seeds by
obliteration, and only propagate themselves by slips; such a condition
is frequently produced by culture, continued through a long succession
of generations; this is the case with the _Banana_, _Sugar Cane_, and
other fruits that have carefully been made to deviate for a long series
of years from their original types, and having been continually
transplanted by slips, suckers, or roots, at length only propagate
themselves in this way, whereby the roots, as those of the common
potatoe, become inordinately developed, drawing to themselves the
succulence and nutrition originally possessed by the berries. It seems
probable that we may thus have lost many vegetable species; the
_Tuberes_ of Pliny, for example, are supposed by Mr. Andrew Knight to
have been intermediate productions, formed during the advancement of the
Almond to the Peach, or in other words that they were swollen almonds or
imperfect peaches; if this conjecture be admitted, it will explain the
fact stated by Columella, that the peach possessed deleterious qualities
when it was first introduced from Persia into the Roman Empire. If there
be any who feel sceptical upon the subject of such metamorphoses, let
him visit the fairy bowers of Horticulture, and he will there perceive
that her magic wand has not only converted the tough, coriaceous
covering of the Almond into the soft and melting flesh of the Peach, but
that by her spells, the sour Sloe has ripened into the delicious Plum,
and the austere Crab of our woods into the Golden Pippin; that this
again has been made to sport in endless variety, emulating in beauty of
form and colour, in exuberance of fertility and in richness of flavour,
the rarer productions of warmer regions, and more propitious climates!
In our culinary vegetables the same progressive amelioration and
advancement may be traced; thus has the acrid and disagreeable _Apium
graveolens_ been changed into delicious _Celery_, and the common
_Colewort_, by culture continued through many ages, appears under the
improved and more useful forms of Cabbage, Savoy, and Cauliflower. It
has been already observed that the alimentary and medicinal virtues are
frequently in opposition to each other, and that while cultivation
improves the former, it equally diminishes the latter; I shall have
occasion to offer some additional facts upon this curious subject, under
the consideration of _Bitter Extractive_; _see Note on this Extract, in
the article_ “_Tonics_.”
THE IGNORANT PREPARATION AND FRAUDULENT ADULTERATION OF MEDICINES.
The circumstances comprehended under this head certainly deserve to be
ranked amongst the more powerful causes, which have operated in
affecting the reputation of many medicinal substances. The Peruvian Bark
fell into total discredit in the year 1779, from its inability to cure
the ague; and it was afterwards discovered to have been adulterated with
bark of an inferior species; indeed Sydenham speaks of the adulteration
of this substance before the year 1678; he tells us that he had never
used to exceed two drachms of _Cinchona_ in the cure of any
intermittent, but that of late the drug was so inert, rotten, and
adulterated, it became necessary to increase its dose to one, two, or
three ounces. The subject is copious and full of importance, and I have
taken considerable pains to collect very fully, the various modes in
which our remedies are thus deprived of their most valuable properties,
and to suggest the best tests by which such frauds may be discovered.
Very few practitioners have an idea of the alarming extent to which this
nefarious practice is carried, or of the systematic manner in which it
is conducted: there can be no doubt but that the sophistication of
medicines has been practised in degree in all ages,[122] but the
refinements of chemistry have enabled the manufacturers of the present
day, not only to execute these frauds with greater address, but
unfortunately, at the same time, to vend them with less chance of
detection. It will be scarcely credited, when I affirm that many hundred
persons are supported in this metropolis by the art of adulterating
drugs, besides a number of women and children who find ample employment
and excellent profit in _counterfeiting_ Cochineal with coloured dough,
Isinglass with pieces of bladder and the dried skin of soles, and by
filling up with powdered Sassafras the holes which are bored in spice
and nutmegs, for the purpose of plundering their essential oils.
THE UNSEASONABLE COLLECTION OF VEGETABLE REMEDIES.
Vegetable physiology has demonstrated, that during the progress of
vegetation most remarkable changes occur in succession, in the chemical
composition, as well as in the sensible qualities of a plant; time will
not allow me to be prodigal of examples, take therefore one which is
familiar and striking,—the aromatic and spicy qualities of the
unexpanded flowers of the _Caryophyllus Aromaticus_ (_Cloves_) are well
known to every body, but if the flower-bud be fully developed it loses
these properties altogether, and the fruit of the tree is not in the
least degree aromatic; so the berries of Pimento, when they come to full
maturity, lose their aromatic warmth and acquire a flavour very
analogous to that of Juniper. The _Colchicum autumnale_ may be cited as
another example in which the medicinal properties of the vegetable are
entirely changed during the natural progress of its developement. See
also _Inspissated Juices_, under the article _Extract_.
THE OBSCURITY WHICH HAS ATTENDED THE OPERATION OF COMPOUND MEDICINES.
It is evident that the fallacies to which our observations and
experience are liable with respect to the efficacy of certain bodies, as
remedies, must be necessarily multiplied when such bodies are exhibited
in a state of complicated combination, since it must be always
difficult, and often impossible, to ascertain to which ingredient the
effects produced ought to be attributed.
How many frivolous substances have from this cause alone gained a share
of credit, which belonged exclusively to the medicines with which they
happened to be accidentally administered?[123] Numerous are the examples
which I might adduce in proof of this assertion; the history of
Bezoar[124] would in itself furnish a mass of striking evidence, indeed
the reputation of this absurd substance was maintained much longer than
it otherwise would have been, by its exhibition having been frequently
accompanied with that of more active articles. Monardes, for instance,
extols the efficacy of the _Bezoar_ as a vermifuge, but he states that
it should be mixed with the seeds of _Wormwood_. Besides, in the
exuberance of mixture, certain re-actions and important changes are
mutually produced, by which the identity of the original ingredients is
destroyed; but this subject will be introduced for discussion in the
first part of the Pharmacologia.
The practice of mixing together different medicinal substances, so as to
form one remedy, may boast of very ancient origin, for most of the
prescriptions which have descended from the Greek physicians are of this
description; the uncertain and vague results of such a practice appear
also to have been early felt, and often condemned, and even Erasistratus
declaimed with great warmth against the complicated medicines which were
administered in his time; the greater number of these compositions
present a mass of incongruous materials, put together without any
apparent order or intention; indeed it would almost appear as if they
regarded a medical formula as a problem in _Permutation_, the only
object of which was to discover and assign the number of changes that
can be made in any given number of things, all different from each
other.
At the same time it must in justice be allowed, that some of the earlier
physicians entertained just notions with regard to the use and abuse of
combination, although their knowledge of the subject was of course
extremely limited and imperfect.
ORIBASIUS[125] recommends in high terms certain combinations of
_Evacuant_ and _Roborant_ medicines, and the remarks of ALEXANDER
TRALLIANUS on a remedy which he exhibited in paralysis, serve to shew
that he was well acquainted with the fact, that certain substances lose
their efficacy when they stimulate the bowels to excess, for he cautions
us against adding a greater proportion of _Scammony_ to it; many, he
observes, think that by so doing, they increase the force of the
medicine, whereas in fact they make it _useless_, by carrying it
immediately through the bowels, instead of suffering it to remain and be
conveyed to the remote parts.
In modern Europe, the same attachment to luxuriancy of composition has
been transmitted to our own times: there are several prescriptions of
Huxham extant, which contain more than _four hundred_ ingredients. I
have already observed that all extravagant systems tend, in the course
of time, to introduce practices of an opposite kind; this truth finds
another powerful illustration in the history of medicinal combination,
and it becomes a serious question, which it will be my duty to discuss,
whether the disgust so justly excited by the _poly-pharmacy_ of our
predecessors, may not have induced the physician of the present day to
carry his ideas of simplicity _too far_, so as to neglect and lose the
advantages which in many cases beyond all doubt may be obtained by
scientific combinations. “To those,” says Sir A. Crichton, “who think
that the Science of Medicine is improved by an affected simplicity in
prescribing, I would remark, that modern pharmacopœias are shorn so much
of old and approved receipts,[126] on account of their being
extraordinary compounds, so as to be almost useless in some cases.”
In the year 1799, Dr. FORDYCE, in a valuable paper published in the
second volume of the Transactions of the Medical Society, investigated
this subject with much perspicuity and success: unfortunately, however,
this memoir terminates with the investigation of _similar_ remedies,
that is to say, of those which produce upon the body similar effects,
and he is entirely silent upon the advantages which may be obtained by
the combination of those medicines which possess _different_, or even
_opposite_ qualities; it must be also remembered that at the time this
memoir was composed by its eminent author, Chemistry had scarcely
extended its illuminating rays into the recesses of physic. Under such
circumstances, I am induced to undertake the arduous task of inquiring
into the several relations in which each article of a compound formula
may be advantageously situated with respect to the others; and I am
farther encouraged in this investigation, by a conviction of its
practical importance, as well as by feeling that it has hitherto never
received the share of attention which it merits. “I think,” says Dr.
Powell, “it may be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that no
medicine compounded of five or six simple articles, has hitherto had its
powers examined in a rational manner.” If this attempt should be the
means of directing the attention of future practitioners to the subject,
and thereby of rendering the Art of Composition more efficient, by
placing it upon the permanent basis of science, I shall feel that I have
profitably devoted my time and attention to the most useful of all
medical subjects. “_Res est maximi momenti in arte medendi, cum, Formula
in se considerata, possit esse profecto mortis vel vitæ sententia._”
PHARMACOLOGIA.|| ON THE| OPERATIONS OF MEDICINAL BODIES,| AND ON THE|
CLASSIFICATIONS FOUNDED ON THEM.
“_Medicos tandem tædet et pudet, diutius garrire de Remediis,
Specificis, et Alexipharmicis, et cæteris, nisi eorum naturam et
modum quo prosint, quodammodo ostendere et explanare possint._”
CONSPECT. MED. THEOR.
PHARMACOLOGIA.
ON THE
OPERATIONS OF MEDICINAL BODIES,
AND ON THE
CLASSIFICATIONS FOUNDED ON THEM.
Medicinal Substances are those bodies, which, by due administration, are
capable of producing certain changes in the condition of the living
system, whereby its morbid actions may be entirely removed, or
advantageously controlled.
In adopting this definition we intentionally exclude those alimentary
substances which are more immediately subservient to the support of
life, and to the repair of that diurnal waste, which the exercise of its
functions so inevitably occasions.
It has been generally supposed, that substances whose application does
not produce any sensible action upon the healthy system, cannot possess
medicinal energy; and, on the contrary, that those bodies which occasion
an apparent effect in health, must necessarily prove active in the cure
or palliation of disease. Under certain limitations we may perhaps
venture to assent to this general proposition; but it cannot be too
forcibly or too frequently impressed upon the mind of the medical
practitioner, that _Medicines are frequently but relative agents_,
producing their effects in reference only to the state of the living
frame; we must therefore concur with Sir Gilbert Blane in stating, that
the virtues of Medicines cannot be fairly essayed, nor beneficially
ascertained, by trying their effects on sound subjects, because that
particular morbid condition does not exist which they may be exclusively
calculated to remove;[127] thus in certain states of debility, _Tonics_
may excite the system when languid, by their sympathetic influence upon
the _primæ viæ_, while in a robust condition of the body, the effects of
the same agents may be wholly inappreciable.
The MODUS OPERANDI of remedies, or the general principle upon which they
effect salutary changes in the morbid states of the body, is involved in
considerable obscurity, and has given rise to much ingenious speculation
and scientific controversy. It would seem that the immediate impression
of a remedy may depend upon mechanical, chemical, or vital agencies; and
that the sanative impulse thus occasioned may either be Absolute, or
Relative;—Primary, or Secondary;—Local, or General;—Direct, or
Sympathetic;—Permanent, or Transient;—thus certain purgatives will
occasion intestinal excretions in every condition of the body, and may
therefore be justly considered as _absolute_ agents; while diuretics,
since they generally require for their success, a certain state of the
living system, may with equal truth be denominated _relative_ in their
operation. That the obvious effect of a remedy may either depend upon
its _Primary_, or upon its _Secondary_ and incidental operation, will at
once be apparent by inspecting the diagram which exhibits the
classification of diuretic medicines; the same scheme will also shew
that remedies may be _local_ or _general_ in their effects, and may
excite an action in distant organs, either by entering the circulating
mass, and being thus brought into contact with their textures;—by
occasioning an impulse conveyed through the nervous system,—or by
exciting a local impression upon the stomach and _primæ viæ_, and thus
arousing their energies through the mysterious medium of
sympathetic[128] communication.
That certain bodies are capable of evading the assimilating functions,
and of entering, unchanged, into the circulating current, either through
the branches of the thoracic duct, or of the _vena portarum_, is a fact
which admits of chemical demonstration; many of the alkaline salts are
thus conveyed to the kidneys, and being excreted from the blood by its
vessels, are to be easily detected in the urine by appropriate reagents;
I have made many experiments upon this subject, and am prepared to state
some results which may perhaps explain the occasional value of such
bodies as medicines. Some essential oils, particular _bitter_
principles,[129] and certain colouring matter,[130] seem also capable of
passing the barriers of digestion, and of circulating to the remote
parts of the body; Mercury, and several of the other metals, would
likewise appear, under certain circumstances, to possess a similar
privilege, and the former to be able moreover to facilitate the
absorption of other bodies with which it may be associated, as I shall
hereafter more fully exemplify.
In some instances, the medicinal body undergoes a partial decomposition
by the digestive organs, _in transitu_, by which some of its
constituents escape into the circulation, while the others are
completely digested, and converted into chyle; this occurs with saline
compounds into which vegetable acids enter as constituents. See _Potassæ
Acetas_. It is also stated in the history of Diluents, that there is
reason to believe that _Water_ may under particular circumstances suffer
decomposition, and transfer its elements for the formation of new
compounds, furnishing _oxygen_ to some, and _hydrogen_ to others. There
is likewise reason to suppose, that in particular conditions of the
digestive functions, a remedy may be at once rendered inert by its
entire decomposition.[131]
That an impression made upon the stomach by a medicinal agent, should be
the means of exciting an action in the distant parts of the machine,
will not appear extraordinary when we consider how universal a sympathy
and control this central organ exercises over every function of the
body; imbued with exquisite and diversified sensibilities,—subjected to
the first and coarsest impressions of our various ingesta,—stretched
occasionally to an enormous extent by the unrestricted indulgence of
appetite,—disturbed by the passions,—exhausted by volition, and
debilitated by intense thinking; in short, assailed by numerous foes
from _without_, and harassed by various revolutions from _within_, can
we feel surprised that the aberrations of this viscus should give origin
to the greater number of maladies with which we are afflicted, or that
those medicinal applications should be effective that are directed for
their cure, through the medium of its sympathies?
A dose of Ipecacuan, by exciting the stomach, will abate both the force
and velocity of the heart in its vital motion, and affect the whole
series of blood vessels, from their origin to their most minute
ramifications, as is evinced by the pallor of the skin under its
operation, as well as by its efficacy in arresting hemorrhage; so the
brain, when disordered by vertigo, frequently derives instantaneous
relief from the administration of a tea-spoonful of æther in a glass of
water. The stomach however is not in every case the medium of sympathy;
a substance may excite a powerful impression upon a distant part, by the
instrumentality of the nerves, without any concurrence of the stomach;
thus, the _Belladonna_, by coming in contact with the _Tunica
Conjunctiva_ of the eye, will occasion immediate dilatation of the
_Iris_, although no other part of the system is in the slightest degree
affected.
But there is yet another mode by which remedies may be made to exert a
sanative effect upon particular organs of the body, through the medium
of what Mr. Hunter called _contiguous_ sympathy, and whose existence
appears to depend upon the mere proximity and contiguity of parts,
without any relation to the distribution of the nerves; thus it is, that
relief is afforded to a deep-seated inflammation, by scarifying the
nearest external surface; while we know from long experience that the
thoracic or abdominal viscera, when similarly affected, receive
corresponding relief from the same topical use of bleeding, blistering,
or fomenting.
With respect to the _Modus Operandi_ of medicines the following
classification may be established.
THE PARTICULAR ORGANS OF THE BODY MAY BE EXCITED INTO ACTION, THROUGH
FOUR DISTINCT AND DIFFERENT MODES OF COMMUNICATION.
I. _By the actual contact of the appropriate remedy._
1. _Conveyed by absorption_, WITHOUT DECOMPOSITION.
_Internally._│_a._ _through the branches of the Thoracic duct_.
„ │_b._ _through the branches of the Vena
│ Portarum_.[132]
_Externally._│_c._ _through the branches of divided
│ blood-vessels_.
„ │_d._ _through the branches of Lymphatics_.[133]
2. _Conveyed by absorption_, WITH DECOMPOSITION, _by which one or
more of its constituents are developed, and pass into the
circulating current_.
II. _By an impulse conveyed through the instrumentality of the
nerves._
III. _By the sympathetic control exerted by the stomach on distant
parts._
IV. _By the operation of contiguous sympathy, or of that which is
excited by the mere proximity and continuity of parts._
And it is important to observe, that these are frequently antagonist
operations, and consequently, that remedies, although they should
occasion the same apparent effects, unless they act through the same
medium, are not SIMILAR agents, but on the contrary, are generally
medicinally incompatible with each other; for an illustration of this
truth, the practitioner may refer to the observations which I have
offered under the history of diuretics.
The difficulty of justly appreciating these phenomena, in every
instance, has furnished a powerful objection against the validity of any
classification of medicinal substances which is founded on their
supposed modes of operation; and it must be acknowledged that, if we are
unable to assign to remedies their primary action, or to distinguish
this from their more obvious, though perhaps secondary effects, we shall
frequently be compelled to place similar medicines under opposite heads,
and to include those of very dissimilar characters under the same
artificial division; an error which has contributed more generally to
embarrass and misguide our practice than any other therapeutical
fallacy, and it was the conviction of this truth which induced me to
introduce the present chapter, and to impress the importance of its
subject upon the attention of my practical readers.
It is probable that, in philosophical strictness, no two medicines in
our Materia Medica are perfectly similar, although they recede from each
other by such insensible shades of gradation that we may with practical
advantage admit their parallelism; at the same time, it must be ever
kept in remembrance, that _those Medicines only are practically similar,
whose operations have been found by experience to continue similar under
every condition of the human body; and which, moreover, owe such
similarity to modes of operation which are compatible with each other,
and consonant with the general indications of cure_.
The importance of admitting this proposition will be frequently
illustrated in the sequel; and it may be observed in this place, that
every classification in which it is not recognised as a leading
principle, must be as imperfect in its execution, as it will be unjust
and erroneous in its views.
Before I proceed to any farther discussion upon the present subject, it
will be necessary to offer a synoptical view of an arrangement of
medicinal bodies founded upon the basis of their operations, in order
that I may be better enabled to illustrate the observations which it is
my intention to introduce: for this purpose I shall present the reader
with three different classifications of this kind; the first being that
proposed by Dr. Cullen,[134] and which is now admitted to rest on
principles nearly altogether false, but the investigation of which will
afford many useful lessons of practical importance; the second
classification is by Dr. Young;[135] and the third is that proposed by
Dr. Murray,[136] which, from its simplicity and strict conformity with
the views I intend to offer, will be adopted as being the most eligible
for the occasion.
CULLEN’S ARRANGEMENT OF THE MATERIA MEDICA.
Medicamenta agunt in
SOLIDA. │SIMPLICIA.
„ │ _Astringentia._
„ │ _Tonica._
„ │ _Emollientia._
„ │ _Erodentia._
„ │
„ │VIVA.
„ │ _Stimulantia._
„ │ _Sedantia._
„ │ _Narcotica._
„ │ _Refrigerantia._
„ │ _Antispasmodica._
FLUIDA. │IMMUTANTIA.
„ │ Fluiditatem.
„ │ _Attenuantia._
„ │ _Inspissantia._
„ │ Misturam.
„ │ Acrimoniam Corrigentia.
„ │ _In Genere._
„ │ _Demulcentia._
„ │ _In Specie._
„ │ _Ant-acida._
„ │ _Ant-alkalina._
„ │ _Antiseptica._
„ │
„ │EVACUANTIA.
„ │ _Errhina._
„ │ _Sialogoga._
„ │ _Expectorantia._
„ │ _Emetica._
„ │ _Cathartica._
„ │ _Diuretica._
„ │ _Diaphoretica._
„ │ _Menagoga._
CLASSIFICATION OF THE MATERIA MEDICA
BY DR. YOUNG.
I. CHEMICAL AGENTS.
│1. _Caustics._
│2. _Antiseptics._
│3. _Antidotes._
│4. _Demulcents._
│5. _Diluents._
II. VITAL AGENTS.
_A._ SUPPORTING STRENGTH.
│1. _Nutrients._
_B._ CAUSING ACTION.
PARTIAL & TRANSIENT.│1. _Expergefacients._
„ │2. _Excitants._
„ │3. _Calefacients._
„ │4. _Sudorifics._
„ │5. _Errhines._
„ │6. _Sialogogues._
„ │7. _Expectorants._
„ │8. _Stomachics._
„ │9. _Emetics._
„ │10. _Cathartics._
„ │11. _Chologogues._
„ │12. _Hydrogogues._
„ │13. _Simply Propellents._
„ │14. _Anthelmintics._
„ │15. _Diuretics._
„ │16. _Carminatives._
„ │17. _Emmenagogues._
„ │18. _Epispastics._
„ │19. _Suppuratories._
„ │20. _Sorbefacients._
„ │21. _Astringents._
PERMANENT. │ _Tonics._
_C._ DIMINISHING ACTION OR SENSATION.
_Primarily_ │1. _Narcotics._
„ │2. _Sedatives._
„ │3. _Nauseants._
„ │4. _Diaphoretics._
_Secondarily_│ _Exhaurients._
III. INSENSIBLE AGENTS.
│ _Specifics._
CLASSIFICATION OF REMEDIES BY DR. MURRAY.
_A._ GENERAL STIMULANTS.
a. _Diffusible._ { _Narcotics._
„ { _Antispasmodics._
b. _Permanent._ { _Tonics._
„ { _Astringents._
_B._ LOCAL STIMULANTS.
_Emetics._
_Cathartics._
_Emmenagogues._
_Diuretics._
_Diaphoretics._
_Expectorants._
_Sialogogues._
_Errhines._
_Epispastics._
_C._ CHEMICAL REMEDIES.
_Refrigerants._
_Antacids._
_Lithontriptics._
_Escharotics._
_D._ MECHANICAL REMEDIES.
_Anthelmintics._
_Demulcents._
_Diluents._
_Emollients._
With respect to the classification of Dr. Cullen, we may commence our
objections by stating, that the very basis upon which it rests is a mere
gratuitous assumption, viz. _that certain medicines act on the fluids of
the body_. With the exception of a very few substances, it is now
generally admitted that medicines produce their effects by acting on the
living materials of which our organs are composed, and not by modifying
the specific gravity, or chemical composition, of the fluids which they
may happen to evacuate. The origin of this latter opinion is to be
traced to the exploded notions of the humoral pathologists, and to the
exclusive doctrine of the earlier chemists; for as the former recognised
a depraved condition of the fluids as the source of every disease, so
did the latter imagine that every remedy operated by producing a
chemical change upon its composition; and the remedial value of a
medicinal substance was estimated by its effects upon inert matter. Thus
were experiments made with different substances upon the blood, and
other fluids of the body, in order to deduce, from the results, the
nature and extent of their powers as agents upon the living frame; for
instance, the _spirit_ and _salt of hartshorn_, as they were found to
render the blood more fluid, when added to it, _out of the body_, were
indiscriminately administered in almost every complaint, with a view to
dissolve that “lentor of the fluids” which was regarded as the more
general source of disease. For similar reasons, a tribe of medicines
were introduced into practice under the title of _Antiseptics_, for the
prevention of a process which very probably never takes place in the
living body: the powers of these supposed agents were, as usual,
inferred from their effects in resisting and preventing the putrefaction
of dead matter.
Nor is the distinction assumed by Dr. Cullen, between the action of
remedies on the _Simple_ and _Living_ solids less hypothetical. Tonics
and astringents may certainly exert a beneficial effect upon the animal
fibre, but not by any immediate action on its materials, but through the
agency of its living principle.—“_Medicamentum non agit in cadaver._”
The classification of Dr. Young, although it presents many points of
interest and value, is not altogether free from objection; his classes
in some instances are perhaps unnecessarily sub-divided, without a
sufficient regard to the primary and secondary operations of the
substances which they include. The arrangement of Murray has been
adopted in the present inquiry, not as being less objectionable, in a
general point of view, but as one which from its simplicity, is better
calculated, as a frame-work, if I may so express myself, for the display
of those particular facts, the knowledge of which I consider essential
for the successful administration of medicinal agents, and for the full
comprehension of those practical doctrines which it is the exclusive
object of this work to inculcate.
Dr. Murray observes that, in this arrangement, he places in the first
division those substances which exert a GENERAL STIMULANT operation on
the system. Of this there are two sub-divisions, the DIFFUSIBLE and the
PERMANENT; the former including the class of _Narcotics_, with which may
be associated, as not very remote in their operation, the class of
_Antispasmodics_; the latter comprising two classes, viz. _Tonics and
Astringents_. Through these there is a gradual transition from the most
highly diffusible stimulant, to those most slow and durable in their
action.
A second division comprehends LOCAL STIMULANTS, those, the action of
which is determined to particular parts of the system. Such are the
classes of _Emetics_, _Cathartics_, _Emmenagogues_, _Diuretics_,
_Diaphoretics_, _Expectorants_, and _Sialogogues_; with which may be
associated the classes of _Errhines_ and of _Epispastics_, founded on
direct local application.
The remaining classes include substances which do not operate according
to laws peculiar to the living system. To one division may be referred
those, whose effects depend on the CHEMICAL changes they produce in the
fluids or solids; the classes which may be established on this principle
are _Refrigerants_, _Antacids_, _Lithonthriptics_, and _Escharotics_. To
another division belong those, the operation of which is purely
MECHANICAL, as _Anthelmintics_, _Demulcents_, _Diluents_, _Emollients_,
and certain _Laxatives_.
Under the above classes, says Dr. Murray,[137] may be comprehended all
those substances which are capable of producing salutary changes in the
human system, and which are used as remedies. I have stated my reasons
for adopting this as a general basis of classification, although I shall
deviate very considerably in the subordinate divisions of the plan, in
the hope of establishing some distinctions that may tend to practical
utility.
1. GENERAL STIMULANTS.
The four classes comprehended under this first division, are NARCOTICS,
ANTISPASMODICS, TONICS, and ASTRINGENTS.
Although these remedies differ very essentially in the degree and
permanence of their action, as well as in the character of their
apparent effects, yet, as it is conceived that their _primary_ operation
is stimulant, they are considered as possessing sufficient general
similitude to sanction their arrangement under one comprehensive
division.
NARCOTICS.
Synon: _Sedatives._ _Anodynes._ _Hypnotics._ _Soporifics._
Substances which, in a moderate dose, occasion a temporary increase of
the actions of the nervous and vascular systems, but which is followed
by a greater depression of the vital powers than is commensurate with
the degree of previous excitement, and which is generally followed by
sleep.
The relative intensity of these primary and secondary effects varies in
the different narcotics,[138] and even in the same narcotic in different
doses; in some cases, especially if the quantity administered be
considerable, the symptoms of diminished sense and action follow so
immediately, that the previous stage of increased action is very
obscure, or not in the least perceptible, while in other cases, the
operation of the substance is more particularly directed towards the
heart and arteries, and syncope succeeds its exhibition. These facts
have led many physiologists to deny the stimulant nature of these
bodies, and to consider their primary operation as one of a depressing
kind, whence they have bestowed upon them the name of SEDATIVES; in
referring to the classification of Cullen and Young, we shall find that
the arrangement of these substances has been directed in strict
conformity with such a view of the subject; but it may be asked, how the
increased excitement and exhilaration which so obviously follow the use
of these bodies, in small doses, can be reconciled with that theory
which considers them as absolutely and primarily sedative? In order to
combat an argument so fatal to his hypothesis, Dr. Cullen summons to his
aid the potent intercession of his tutelar deity, the _Vis Medicatrix_,
a power which he supposes to preside over our living body, and with
anxious vigilance, to resist the invasion of every thing that is
noxious, or hostile to its health and well being; with such assistance
it was not difficult to explain any paradox in physiology, and the
anomalies attending the agency of narcotic medicines were accordingly,
in the school of Cullen, easily reconciled with the views of a favourite
theory. He supposed that whenever a _sedative_ was applied in a moderate
dose, the _Vis Medicatrix_ took the alarm, and excited all the powers of
the system, in order to throw off the noxious application, and that thus
_indirectly_ arose those peculiar symptoms of increased action; but when
the dose was more considerable, he contended that the preserving power
of the system was silenced, and unable to offer any salutary resistance,
and consequently that universal depression immediately followed; but
there is no direct evidence in support of the existence of such a power,
and still less of its influence upon such occasions; it is far more
philosophical to refer the operation of narcotics to a peculiar
stimulating power, remarkable for the extreme rapidity with which it
exhausts the energy of the nervous system. No one will deny the
stimulating powers of alcohol, and yet a very large draught of this
liquor will occasion extreme exhaustion without the occurrence of any
signs of previous excitement; nor will any one be disposed to question
the depressing influence of opium, and yet small doses have enkindled
excitement and sustained the powers of life, under circumstances of
extreme and alarming exhaustion.[139]
From the celerity with which narcotics produce their effects, it is
reasonable to suppose that they act upon the nervous system through the
sympathetic relations of the stomach, although in some instances it is
highly probable that these bodies are actually absorbed into the
circulation; I am inclined to think that this occurs with opium, as
death is accelerated in cases of persons poisoned by it, by the adoption
of those measures which are best calculated to promote its absorption:
(_see Opium_.) A still more striking proof is furnished by the fact of
opium, when externally applied to ulcers, producing all its
constitutional effects, such as costiveness, head-ache, nausea, &c.
Whether the effects of spirituous potations are to be attributed to the
introduction of alcohol into the blood, or to the sympathies existing
between the stomach and brain, is still a question of doubt. Dr.
Cooke[140] relates a case, on the authority of Sir A. Carlisle, of a
person who was brought dead into the Westminster Hospital, in
consequence of having drank a quart of gin for a wager, and that upon
examination, a considerable quantity of a limpid fluid was found within
the lateral ventricles of the brain, _distinctly impregnated with gin_.
I very well remember the case, for it occurred during the period that I
held the situation of Physician to that hospital, but it is very
doubtful whether such an absorption occurs under ordinary circumstances.
We well know the facility with which certain odorous bodies enter the
circulation, and are developed in distant organs; it is therefore very
possible that the apparent odour of the gin, which has been sometimes
recognized in the secretions, may depend upon the presence of the
flavouring ingredients, independent of the alcohol?
At one period, substances supposed to possess narcotic virtues were
placed about the bed to obviate watchfulness; the plant _Anethum_, or
_Dill_, was very commonly suspended over the head for such a purpose,
while in modern times the _Hop_ has been introduced into the pillow.
In concluding the history of Narcotics, it may be observed, that there
is, perhaps, no class of medicinal bodies, the individuals of which are
less disposed to bend and conform to an artificial arrangement; each
would seem to have its own particular mode of operation, and to affect
sensibility in its own peculiar manner; and hence the practitioner will
often find that, after the failure of one narcotic, the administration
of another will induce sleep.
ANTISPASMODICS.
Substances which have the power of allaying the inordinate action of
muscular structures, and of assuaging pain, without occasioning that
state of insensibility which characterises the operation of narcotics.
There are certain medicinal bodies which would appear to exert a
specific control over spasmodic action, from whatever cause it may have
originated, such are _Assafœtida_, _Galbanum_, _Musk_, _Castor_,
_Ammonia_, _Valerian_, _&c._ To such remedies the term antispasmodic
more exclusively belongs, but in a more general view of the subject we
must admit that this class branches, by indefinable gradations, into
narcotics and tonics; for since spasm may be connected with the most
opposite states of the body, it is very evident that many of the
individuals included in the class of antispasmodics, can only be
relative agents: spasm, for instance, may arise from excessive
irritability, as from teething, wounds, worms, &c. in which case a
narcotic would prove beneficial; or it may depend upon a state of
general debility, the proper remedy for which would be the
administration of an Aromatic Stimulant, or the assiduous exhibition of
some permanent tonic.
TONICS.
Substances, whose continued administration gives strength and vigour to
the body.
It is very justly admitted, that a state of permanent tension in the
fibres of the body is necessary for the existence of life, and that any
undue departure from such a condition is followed by debility. Thus, Sir
Gilbert Blane observes, that no muscle, whether voluntary or
involuntary, can act unless its fibres are previously in such a state,
that if divided they would shrink by their own resiliency, leaving an
interval between the cut extremities; the same may be said of the
vascular system in all its ramifications, in order to give play to their
contraction in grasping and propelling their contained fluids. It
appears that there are certain medicinal bodies that have the power of
affecting this state of tension, and when their effects contribute to
its restoration, they are properly denominated _Tonics_. We are not,
however, to consider them as producing such a change by any mechanical
operation upon the matter of which the fibre is composed, but by a
direct action upon its living principle; it seems probable that certain
poisons may thus produce sudden death by their agency on the vital
principle, by which the tension of the heart and whole arterial system
is immediately relaxed. In this point of view, _Tonics_, like the other
remedies which we have described, may be _relative_ or _absolute_ in
their operation. Venesection, purgation, or whatever will, under certain
conditions of the body, occasion a salutary change in its vital powers,
may produce a corresponding alteration in the tension of its fibres, and
consequently fall under the denomination of a tonic remedy: but
independent of the state of the body, there would seem to be certain
substances that act as specific stimuli upon the living fibre, and are
in certain cases indispensable for the maintenance of its healthy tone;
such are vegetable bitters, which produce a powerful effect upon the
digestive organs, and by nervous sympathy, upon the rest of the system.
_Bitter Extractive_,[141] seems to be as essential to the digestion of
herbivorous, as salt is to that of carnivorous animals; it acts as a
natural stimulant, for it has been shewn by a variety of experiments
that it passes through the body without suffering any diminution in its
quantity, or change in its nature. No cattle will thrive upon grasses
which do not contain a portion of this vegetable principle; this fact
has been most satisfactorily proved by the late researches of Mr.
Sinclair, gardener to the Duke of Bedford, which are recorded in that
magnificent work, the “HORTUS GRAMINEUS WOBURNENSIS.” They shew, that if
sheep are fed on _Yellow Turnips_, which contain little or no bitter
principle, they instinctively seek for, and greedily devour any
provender which may contain it, and if they cannot so obtain it they
become diseased and die. We are ourselves conscious of the invigorating
effects of slight bitters upon our stomach; and their presence in malt
liquors not only tends to diminish the noxious effects of such
potations, by counteracting the indirect debility which they are liable
to occasion, but even to render them, when taken in moderation,
promoters of digestion. The custom of infusing bitter herbs in vinous
drinks is very ancient and universal; the _Poculum Absinthiatum_ was
regarded in remote ages as a wholesome beverage, and the Wormwood was
supposed to act as an antidote against drunkenness. The Swiss peasant
cheers himself amidst the frigid solitude of his glaciers, with a spirit
distilled from _Gentian_, the extreme bitterness of which is relished
with a glee that is quite unintelligible to a more cultivated taste.
With regard to the natural use of _Bitter Extractive_, it may be laid
down as a truth, that it stimulates the stomach,—corrects putrefying and
unwholesome nutriment,—promotes tardy digestion,—increases the nutritive
powers of those vegetable substances to which it is united,—and
furnishes a natural remedy for the deranged functions of the stomach in
particular, and through the sympathetic medium of that organ, for the
atony of remote parts in general; and I shall hereafter shew, that in
its medicinal applications it certainly imparts additional activity to
many remedies, while it renders the stomach and system more susceptible
of their salutary energies. As an essential ingredient in the provender
of herbivorous animals, it may I think be admitted as a fact, that its
importance is _in an inverse ratio_ with the nutritive powers[142] of
the food, and we accordingly find, in conformity with that universal
scheme of self-adjustment and compensation, which influences all the
operations of nature, that cultivation, which extends the nutritive
powers of vegetable bodies, generally diminishes their bitterness in the
same proportion; the natural history of the Potatoe offers a good
illustration of this fact, for the roots of this useful plant which have
been so greatly improved by culture, are in their wild state both small
and _bitter_.[143] Gummy matter, which seems to result from the first
change of the sap, is undoubtedly rendered more digestible and nutritive
by the presence of a _bitter_; pure gum is not very much disposed to
yield to the assimilative functions; “it frequently passes through the
bowels,” says Dr. Chapman,[144] “very little changed, as I have
witnessed a thousand times.” We see therefore the value of the bitter
principle, in the economy of the _Lichen Islandicus_, which is intended
as the food of animals in northern latitudes; we are told that boiled
linseed constituted the sole diet of the people of Zealand during a
scarcity of long continuance, on which occasion, symptoms of great
debility occurred, attended with those of dyspepsia; so again Professor
Fritze, in his Medical Annals, states that vegetable mucilage, when used
as a principal article of diet, relaxes the organs of digestion, and
produces a viscid slimy mucus, and a morbid action in the primæ viæ, an
effect which analogy shews might be obviated by the addition of bitter
extractive. For the same reason animals that feed in marshy lands, on
food containing but little nourishment, are best defended from the
diseases they are liable to contract in such situations by the ingestion
of bitter plants.[145] Upon these occasions nature is very kind, for the
particular situation that engenders endemic diseases is generally
congenial to the growth of the plants that operate as antidotes to them.
I have offered these views upon the subject of _Bitter Extractive_, from
a conviction that they will essentially contribute to the establishing
of just and philosophical notions, respecting the necessity and _modus
operandi_ of many vegetable tonics.
As the action of tonics is gradual, so their operation is not followed
by that exhaustion consequent upon the use of diffusible stimulants.
The substances which compose the class of tonics are derived from the
vegetable and mineral kingdoms; those of the former are generally
bitter, and produce their effects by a primary action on the stomach,
and are not absorbed into the circulation, as experiments upon _Bitter
Extractive_ have most fully demonstrated; those derived from the mineral
kingdom, comprehending several of the metals, appear in some instances
to pass into the circulation, although several of them, like the
vegetable tonics, act primarily on the _primæ viæ_; I apprehend this
observation applies to the _nitrate of silver_, which certainly
possesses considerable powers as a tonic in certain cases of dyspepsia,
for which it may perhaps be indebted to the bitterness which
distinguishes it.
AROMATICS.
Substances of a fragrant smell,[146] which produce upon the organs of
taste a peculiar sensation of warmth and pungency, and occasion, when
swallowed, a corresponding impulse upon the stomach, which is rapidly
communicated to the remote parts of the body.
The vegetable bodies which constitute the class of aromatic stimulants
are very intimately related with that of tonics; indeed in the most
efficient vegetables of the latter kind, the two qualities are generally
blended, and the transition from these to the more pure bitters and
aromatics is so imperceptible, that it is extremely difficult to arrange
them in different classes; Dr. Murray has accordingly in his
classification not attempted to separate substances which are so
intimately connected. _Aromatic Stimulants_, however, in a practical
point of view, must be distinguished from tonics, as the former are
valuable for the _rapidity_, the latter, for the _permanency_ of their
effects. Their characteristic properties appear to depend chiefly, if
not entirely, on an essential oil which, when extracted from the
vegetable, exhibits all its aromatic power in a very concentrated form.
Medicines of this kind, when administered for the purpose of dispelling
wind from the alimentary canal, have been termed _Carminatives_.[147]
They would seem to act by imparting energy to the distended and weakened
muscular coat of the stomach, by which the accumulated _gas_ is
propelled through the upper orifice; for this viscus, like the bladder,
when greatly distended, becomes unable to relieve itself, partly in
consequence of the exhausted state of the over-stretched fibres of its
muscular coat, and partly perhaps from a contraction of the _Cardia_, or
upper orifice; for it has been already stated that a loss of power, and
spasmodic action, are often the simultaneous results of debility.
ASTRINGENTS.
Substances which, when applied to the human body, corrugate and condense
its fibres, and at the same time, exert a tonic influence through the
medium of its living principle.
Astringency in any substance may be at once recognised by the organs of
taste; its power in corrugating the papillæ of the tongue, and in
imparting a sensation of harshness and roughness to the palate, being
too peculiar to be mistaken; this is a fortunate circumstance, for there
does not exist any one chemical test by which we can invariably detect
the property of astringency, since it is found to reside in many
different classes of substances: thus, acids, especially the stronger
mineral ones, are powerfully astringent; so are many of the metallic
salts, as those of iron, zinc, copper, and lead; and some of the earths,
when combined with acids, of which alum is a striking example. The
vegetable kingdom, however, furnishes the greater number of astringent
remedies; and chemistry has shewn that this property uniformly depends
upon a peculiar proximate principle, characterized by its power of
forming an insoluble compound with animal gelatine; to this principle
the name of TANNIN has been given. As tannin generally exists in union
with gallic acid, and as the latter body is known by its property of
striking an inky blackness with the salts of iron, solutions of this
metal were long, but erroneously, regarded as the proper test of
vegetable astringency; the fallacy of this is at once shewn by the
habitudes of Catechu, one of the strongest of our astringents, but
which, nevertheless, will not yield the smallest degree of blackness to
the solutions of iron, because it contains only tannin, the true
principle of astringency, without a trace of its usual associate the
gallic acid. From the power which these substances possess of
astringing, and condensing the animal solids, their medicinal properties
are supposed to arise, and we may perhaps, in this instance, admit such
a mechanical explanation; but astringents possess also some power over
the living principle of the matter which they astringe, for they are
capable of acting as permanent stimulants, of curing intermitting fever,
and of obviating states of general debility. Astringents would seem to
moderate the morbidly increased secretions of distant parts, and to
restrain hemorrhage, by their corrugating influence upon the _primæ
viæ_,[148] which is extended by sympathetic action to the vascular
fibre; it is not difficult for any person to conceive the possibility of
such a sympathy, who has ever experienced the thrilling and singular
feeling which is produced over the whole body, by the _acerb_ taste of
the sloe-juice. As however the primary operation of these bodies, by
their actual contact with the animal fibre, must be much more powerful
than that which can result from the mere sympathy of parts, we find that
the efficacy of astringents is principally displayed in the cure of
diarrhœa, or serous evacuations from the intestinal canal; their
operation, in checking profuse fluor albus, gleet, and the inordinate
secretions of other distant organs, is much less striking and
unequivocal, and it is a question whether in many of such cases the
benefit arising from their use may not depend upon their tonic powers.
As the morbid excess of different evacuations may arise from various and
opposite states of the living system, so may the individuals of the
other classes become astringents; and we are bound to admit upon this,
as we have on other occasions, the existence of _absolute_ and
_relative_ remedies.
Narcotics, at the head of which stands opium, will frequently assume the
character of astringents, by diminishing the irritability upon which
increased discharges depend. In Diarrhœa, an astringent, properly so
called, diminishes the flow of those acrid fluids into the intestines,
by which their peristaltic motions are præternaturally increased, and it
consequently represses the diarrhœa; a narcotic, under similar
circumstances, might not repress the flow of the acrid matter to which I
have alluded, but it would render the bowels less susceptible to its
stimulus, and would therefore produce the same apparent alleviation,
although by a very different mode of operation. There is yet a third
species of remedy, which may operate in restraining a diarrhœa of this
description; not by stopping the flow of acrid matter, nor by
diminishing the irritability of the intestinal organs, as in the
instances above recited, but, simply, by _acting chemically_ upon the
offending matter, so as to disarm it of its acrid qualities; such, for
instance, is the nature of _absorbent_ and _testaceous_ medicines. In
the cure of hemorrhage, if it be _active_, that is to say, connected
with a state of strong tonic contractility of the blood-vessels, a very
different remedy will be required as an astringent, than in cases of
_passive_ hemorrhage, in which the vascular fibres are in a state of
relaxation or collapse. Sir Gilbert Blane has offered some valuable
remarks upon this subject, with a view to settle the difference of
opinion which has arisen respecting the treatment of flooding after
child-birth. (_Medical Logic_, _Edit._ 2d. p. 100.)
Astringents are capable of being exclusively used as local applications,
and when they are so employed for the purpose of stopping hemorrhage,
they are termed STYPTICS.[149] With respect to these latter agents it
must be confessed, that great popular error still exists, much of which
has evidently arisen from deductions drawn from the effects of such
remedies upon inferior animals; thus have several substances gained the
reputation of _Styptics_, from the result which may have followed their
application to the wounded and bleeding vessels in the extremities of
the horse and ass; whereas the fact is, that the blood-vessels of these
animals possess an inherent power of contraction which does not exist in
those of man, and to which alone the cessation of the hemorrhage,
fallaciously attributed to the _Styptic_, is to be wholly attributed. In
many cases an application may owe its styptic qualities to its power of
coagulating the blood around the orifice of the wound; in this way the
contact of heated metal will sometimes arrest the flow of blood from a
cut surface.
LOCAL STIMULANTS.
This Second Division comprehends those medicinal substances, which have
been generally classed under the head of EVACUANTS; for, as they
stimulate particular organs, so do they occasion by their local
operation, an increased secretion, or evacuation from them.
EMETICS.
Substances which excite vomiting, independent of any effect arising from
the stimulus of quantity, or of that occasioned by any nauseous taste or
flavour.
Before we can determine the _modus operandi_ of emetics, it will be
necessary to take an accurate view of the phenomena and pathology of
vomiting. It is an important fact that any extraordinary stimulus
applied to the stomach, instead of increasing its motions, as it would
in other instances, actually inverts them: the wisdom of such a peculiar
provision is manifest; it is intended to prevent the protrusion of the
food into the duodenum before it has undergone those necessary changes
in the stomach, by which it is prepared for the more elaborate process
of chylification. The act of vomiting, however, is not effected, as Dr.
Haygarth formerly supposed, by the sole influence of the stomach; the
brain is an important accessary: Dr. Majendie goes so far as to
attribute the operation of vomiting, exclusively, to the agency of this
latter organ upon the abdominal muscles, and regards the stomach as a
mere passive instrument in the act;[150] this doctrine was supported in
an elaborate experimental memoir, presented by this indefatigable
physiologist to the Royal Institute of France in the year 1812.
Although we shall not be disposed to receive this theory in its full
extent, yet we cannot hesitate to admit that the influence of the
nervous system is indispensably necessary for producing vomiting; and we
accordingly find that this act will not take place, however forcibly the
stomach may be goaded by emetics, where the energy of the nervous system
is suspended, as in cases of profound intoxication, or in violent wounds
and contusions of the head; while if the brain be only partially
influenced, as by incipient intoxication, or by a less violent blow upon
the head, its irritability is increased instead of being paralysed, and
vomiting under such circumstances is excited by the slightest causes:
the fact of such opposite results being produced by the same impulse in
different degrees of intensity, is no less curious than instructive. Dr.
Richard Harrison, in his Gulstonian Lecture before the College of
Physicians, treated the subject of vomiting with much ingenuity, and I
am disposed to adopt the views which he offered. He observed, that
although the experiments of Majendie sufficiently testify the importance
of the pressure of the abdominal muscles upon the stomach in the act of
vomiting, and which can only be explained by the influence of the brain
and nervous system, yet that he has attributed too much to their agency;
“it appears to me,” continued he, “that vomiting may be explained in the
following manner:—_the irritation of the stomach makes a call upon the
brain for the aid of the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles, in order
to expel its contents; the diaphragm then becomes contracted and fixed,
the ribs drawn down, and the abdominal muscles drawn inwards, so that
the stomach is pressed on all sides by voluntary muscles, which,
together_ WITH ITS OWN CONTRACTION, _expel the contents_.” Now it must
be obvious that where the brain, from oppression or injury, is unable to
transmit its influence to these muscles,[151] and disregards the call of
the stomach, vomiting can only be excited with difficulty, or it will be
prevented altogether.
Under such circumstances venesection may in some cases prove a powerful
adjuvant, by unloading the vessels of the brain, and thus restoring to
the nervous system its necessary excitability; where its powers have
been paralysed by the operation of a narcotic, a copious draught of some
vegetable acid, or the affusion of cold water upon the surface of the
body may impart efficiency to an emetic; the operation of _Nightshade_
and some other narcotic poisons may be adduced in farther illustration
of this subject;—an excessive dose of the _Atropa Belladonna_ produces
symptoms of alarming stupor, and so difficult is it to evacuate the
stomach under such circumstances, that as much as fourteen grains of
_Tartarized Antimony_ have been administered without effect: now if in
such a case a copious draught of some vegetable acid be given, the
emetic will be more likely to succeed: here then we perceive, that the
brain, being paralysed by a narcotic poison, is unable to lend its aid
to the muscles requisite for the operation of vomiting, until its
energies are restored by the anti-narcotic powers of a vegetable acid.
The practical precaution which this view of the subject affords, is
extremely important,—_not to allow the apparently inactive state of the
stomach to induce us, inconsiderately, to augment the dose of an
emetic:_ for although the stomach, for the reasons just stated, may be
unable to void its contents by vomiting, it may nevertheless retain its
sensibility, and be therefore liable to inflammation: Dr. Harrison has
reported a case of this kind, where the practitioner, in attempting to
excite emesis in an epileptic patient, by a very large dose of _sulphate
of zinc_, produced an inflammation in the viscus that terminated
fatally.
Vomiting may also be produced by the _primary_ operation of certain
agents upon the brain, by which its energy is disturbed, as by
narcotics, or by the motions of swinging, whirling, and sailing: in such
cases, the series of actions necessary for the establishing of vomiting,
commences in the brain, and is propagated by nervous sympathy to the
stomach.
When an emetic is taken into the stomach, an interval of twenty minutes
or longer, usually passes without any apparent effect; an uneasy
sensation, which we term nausea, is then felt, and this continues to
increase until vomiting begins; here then we perceive are two distinct
stages, each of which is marked by its own proper symptoms; the relative
intensity and duration of which will be found to vary according to the
nature of the exciting causes; thus some Emetics, as _Sulphate of Zinc_,
act without occasioning much nausea, while others, as _Tobacco_ excite
it to a degree which is far greater than is proportioned to their emetic
power: this is a fact of great importance in directing us in the
selection of an Emetic, for we shall find that in some diseases it is a
great object to avoid that state of system which invariably accompanies
nausea, while in others it affords the best mode of answering an
important indication of cure.
Nausea would seem to depend upon the exertions of the stomach and
muscles, not being proportioned to the effects of the brain, in order to
produce vomiting. Where this balance however is maintained, as during
the operation of an ordinary emetic, the following are the symptoms
which characterise the two stages;—while the nausea only is present, the
countenance is pale and shrunken, the pulse feeble, quick, and
irregular, and there is a feeling of cold; but as soon as vomiting
commences, the face becomes flushed, the pulse quicker and stronger,
although it seldom returns to its natural standard, until some time
after the vomiting has ceased. A degree of languor, a disposition to
sleep, and a general moisture upon the skin, are the circumstances which
occur after the total cessation of the paroxysm.
The feeble state of the circulation, as indicated by the pulse, and the
general coldness and languor experienced during a paroxysm of nausea,
are to be ascribed to those sympathetic relations by which the brain,
stomach, and heart, are reciprocally influenced.
The advantages to be obtained from the administration of an emetic in
the cure of disease, may either depend upon its _primary_, or
_secondary_ operations, that is to say, upon the mere evacuation of the
stomach, or upon those changes which occur in distant parts from
sympathy; and the judicious practitioner, in the selection of an emetic,
will always be guided by the nature of the indication which he intends
to fulfil; if his object be to evacuate the stomach quickly and
completely, he will avoid those emetics that are distinguished by their
nauseating tendency, as in cases of disease which depend on a disordered
state of stomach, connected with undue distention, and the presence of
acrid and indigestible matter; if, on the other hand, his intention be
to influence some remote organ through the sympathetic powers of the
stomach, an emetic of an opposite tendency may be better calculated to
answer such indications: in some cases, he is to seek a beneficial
result from the mechanical action of the diaphragm and abdominal
muscles, by whose pressure the gall-bladder and hepatic ducts are
emptied of their contents, and hence jaundice, arising from the
obstruction of biliary calculi, has been suddenly removed by the
_concussion_ of an emetic: a similar pressure upon the thoracic viscera
may occasion expectoration, and relieve the bronchial vessels in cases
of asthma, catarrh, and croup.
Vomiting, when produced by the operation of a mild emetic, does not
appear to exhaust the excitability of the stomach, but on the contrary
to increase its tone; for we generally find the process of digestion is
carried on more vigorously afterwards; although it is probable that, by
frequent repetition, a different result would be obtained, and we should
find that its motion would become liable to inversion by slight stimuli:
we may therefore question the propriety of that practice which is so
strenuously recommended by Hippocrates,[152] and other ancient
physicians, to administer emetics frequently to those in health, in
order to prevent the incursions of disease.
The benefits arising from the secondary effects of an emetic are
numerous and extensive. It has been observed that during nausea the
force of the circulation is considerably abated, hence the use of these
remedies in hemorrhage; and, as the energy of absorption is generally in
an inverse ratio to that of the circulation,[153] we frequently obtain
from a nauseating dose of an emetic, considerable assistance in the
treatment of anasarca, and other dropsical swellings. Those medicines
that are liable to produce at once, full vomiting, without any previous
stage of nausea, are of course less calculated to fulfil such
indications. In the same manner we should select a _nauseating_ emetic,
when our object is to promote the passage of a gall stone through the
_ductus communis_, for the nausea so excited will relax the duct, while
the mechanical concussion tends to push the obstructing matter forward.
On the other hand, whenever our object is to evacuate the stomach, and
to prevent absorption, we must take care to cut short the nauseating
stage; a precaution which is highly important in the treatment of a case
of poisoning. The state of the stomach produced by vomiting is very
frequently extended, by sympathy, to the vessels of the skin; in
consequence of which, a diaphoresis not unusually follows the operation.
In the different varieties of febrile disease, this circumstance stamps
additional value upon the class of Emetics; while, at the same time,
that they eject any offensive matter which may be present in the
stomach, they thus control the accelerated circulation.
From the violent muscular exertions which take place in the act of
vomiting, the administration of an emetic may be very injurious in
certain states of the body. In consequence of the pressure applied to
the descending aorta, and the interrupted circulation through the lungs,
from impeded respiration, the blood returns with difficulty from the
head during a paroxysm of vomiting, and in plethoric states of the body,
or in cases of determination of blood to the cerebral or pulmonary
organs, the act of vomiting cannot be considered as free from danger.
The concussion of an emetic may also produce mischief in the advanced
stage of pregnancy, and in _hernia_ and _prolapsus uteri_; while in
extreme debility, there is the danger of a syncope being produced, from
which the patient may never recover, as I once witnessed in the last
stage of Phthisis, where an emetic was imprudently given, with the
intention of dislodging the pus with which the lungs were embarrassed.
By violent and protracted retching, a person will sometimes become
jaundiced; the stomach, diaphragm, and abdominal muscles, are, under
such repeated efforts, apt to be rendered, to an eminent degree,
irritable; so that at each effort of the former to discharge its
contents, the latter will frequently be thrown into strong spasmodic
contractions, and the liver together with the gall bladder will be
suddenly caught, and, as it were, squeezed in a powerful press; in
consequence of which the bile will regurgitate, and be carried into the
_Venæ cavæ_; for Haller has shewn with what facility a subtle injection,
when thrown into the hepatic duct, will escape by the hepatic veins; and
upon which Dr. Saunders observes, “I know this to be a fact, for I have
ascertained by experiment, that water injected in the same direction,
will return by the veins in a full stream, though very little force be
used.” When a jaundice is thus produced it will gradually disappear
without the aid of any medicine; the kidneys are the principal means by
which all unnecessary bodies are extracted from the circulating mass, a
portion of bile will therefore under such circumstances be eliminated in
every discharge of urine.
The different emetics employed in practice are derived from the
vegetable and mineral kingdoms, some of which appear to produce their
effects by an immediate impression upon the nerves of the stomach, while
others require to be absorbed into the circulation before they display
their energies. _Ipecacuanha_ would seem to act primarily on the
stomach, but _Tartarized Antimony_ has been found, by experiment, to
occasion vomiting, when injected into the veins of an animal; while the
other mineral emetics, _viz._ the preparations of _Copper_ and _Zinc_,
undoubtedly operate on the stomach, and without inducing much nausea.
CATHARTICS:
Medicines which quicken or increase the evacuation from the intestines,
or which, when given in a certain dose, occasion purging.
These remedies, from a general difference in their modes of operation,
have been classed under two divisions—LAXATIVES and PURGATIVES. The
former operate so mildly that they merely evacuate the contents of the
intestines, without occasioning any general excitement in the body, or
even stimulating the exhalant vessels of the canal; the latter produce a
considerable influx of fluids from these vessels, and extend their
stimulant effect to the system in general; and where these effects are
very violent, the purgative is further distinguished by the epithet
DRASTIC. Laxatives then may be said to empty the bowels simply, and to
carry off extraneous matter, which is out of the course of the
circulation; but purgatives, as they occasion a constitutional effect,
may be made subservient to very important purposes. The effects of a
purgative may depend upon three different modes of operation; viz.
1. _By stimulating the muscular fibres of the Intestines, whence
their peristaltic motion is augmented, and the contents of the
bowels more quickly and completely discharged._
2. _By stimulating the exhalent vessels, terminating in the inner
coat of the intestines, and the mouths of the excretory ducts of
the mucous glands; by which an increased flow of serous fluids
takes place from the former, and a more copious discharge of
mucus from the latter; the effect of which is to render the fæcal
matter thinner and more abundant._
3. _By stimulating the neighbouring viscera, as the Liver and
Pancreas, so as to produce a more copious flow of their
secretions into the intestines._
It appears that different purgatives have very different powers in
relation to the several modes of operation above specified; some
medicines, for example, urge the bowels to evacuate their contents by an
imperceptible action upon the muscular fibres, and little or no increase
of serous discharge attends the evacuation, such are _Manna_, _Sulphur_,
and _Magnesia_; there would seem, moreover, to be certain bodies that
have the property of increasing the peristaltic motions by operating as
mechanical stimulants upon the fibre; it would not be difficult to
derive many illustrations of this fact, from the history of herbivorous
quadrupeds, and I have been disposed to consider the harsh and coarse
texture which certain grasses assume in moist situations, as a wise
provision in Nature to furnish an increased stimulus to the intestines
of the animals who feed upon them, at a time when their diminished
nutritive qualities must render such a result desirable; but the
operation of a mechanical laxative may be demonstrated by a more
familiar example; the addition of bran to our bread, constituting what
is known by the name of _Brown bread_, induces laxative effects, merely
from the mechanical friction of the rough particles, or scales of the
bran, upon the inner coats of the intestines, for the wheat without the
bran in bread is not particularly laxative.[154] Other cathartics
stimulate the fibres to a much greater degree, and the effects are
either confined to a part of the canal, or communicated to the whole
range of the intestines, from the duodenum to the extremity of the
rectum; _Aloes_ will furnish a good example of the former, and
_Colocynth_ may be adduced as an instance of the latter mode of
operation. Other cathartics, again, direct all their stimulus to the
exhalant vessels, and are accordingly distinguished by the force with
which they produce serous evacuations; and for which they were formerly
denominated _Hydragogues_, such are _Saline Purgatives_, and certain
vegetable bodies to be hereafter described. Dr. Cullen has even supposed
that some of these medicines may act solely in this way, and without
increasing directly the peristaltic motion; there is, however, as Dr.
Murray very justly remarks, no proof of such an hypothesis, and it seems
scarcely probable that any substance should act as a stimulant on these
vessels, without at the same time stimulating the mobile fibres of the
intestines. _Mercurial Purgatives_ appear to possess, in an eminent
degree, the power of exciting the functions of the liver, and of thereby
occasioning an influx of bile into the intestines. From the indications
which cathartics are capable of fulfilling, their utility in many
diseases must be apparent; the extent of their importance and value
were, however, never justly appreciated until the valuable publication
of Dr. Hamilton on this subject, in which the author has pointed out
with more precision than any preceding writers had done, the therapeutic
principles which should regulate their administration. His practice has
clearly proved that a state of bowels may exist in many diseases, giving
rise to a retention of feculent matter, which will not be obviated by
the occasional administration of a purgative, but which requires a
continuation of the alvine stimulant, until the healthy action of the
bowels is re-established. Since this view of the subject has been
adopted, numerous diseases have received alleviation from the use of
purgatives that were formerly treated with a different class of
remedies, and which were not supposed to have any connection with the
state of the alvine evacuations; thus in fever, the peristaltic motion
of the intestines is diminished, and their feculent contents are unduly
retained, and perhaps, in part, absorbed, becoming of course a source of
morbid irritation; this fact has long been understood, and the practice
of administering cathartic medicines under such circumstances has been
very generally adopted; but until the publication of Dr. Hamilton,
physicians were not aware of the necessity of carrying the plan to an
extent beyond that of merely emptying the _primæ viæ_, and they did not
continue the free use of these remedies through the whole progress of
the disease.
Cathartics are essentially serviceable also in several diseases of the
class NEUROSES, which are generally intimately connected with a morbid
condition of the alimentary passages; _Chorea_ and _Hysteria_ have been
very successfully treated in this manner. The diseases incident to
puberty in both sexes are also best relieved by a course of purgative
medicines, and their effects in _Chlorosis_ have conferred upon many of
them the specific title of EMMENAGOGUES.
But the therapeutical utility of Cathartics extends beyond the mere
feculent evacuations which they may occasion. In consequence of the
stimulating action which some of them exert upon the exhalent vessels,
they abstract a considerable portion of fluid from the general current
of the circulation, and are, on that account, beneficial as
_Anti-phlogistics_. For the same reason they may act as powerful
promoters of absorption, for there exists an established relation
between the powers of exhalation and absorption, so that when the action
of one is increased, that of the other is augmented.
Certain Purgatives, as I have just stated, exert their influence upon
the neighbouring organs, and are calculated not only to remove alvine
_sordes_, but to detach and eliminate foul congestions from the biliary
ducts and pores.
With such facts before us, it is impossible to concede to the opinion of
Dr. Hamilton,[155] that the different species of purgative medicines _do
not possess distinct powers over the different species of matter to be
evacuated_; on the contrary, there is reason for reviving the ancient
theory, too inconsiderately abandoned, and which acknowledged these
different distinctions in the operations of cathartic medicines, under
the appropriate names of _Hydragogues_, _Cholagogues_, &c.
The importance of cathartic medicines having been shewn, and the
distinctions in their modes of operation established, it only remains to
say a few words upon the subject of their abuse. All the remedies of
this class, but more especially those of considerable power, require
caution in their administration, even in those diseases where they are
indicated by peculiar symptoms, especially if there be any tendency to
inflammation, or to extreme debility, although this latter symptom is
often rather apparent than real, and is at once removed by the brisk
operation upon the bowels; during pregnancy and immediately after
delivery, and during the flow of the menses, the prudent practitioner
will use a discretionary caution in their exhibition. The too frequent
use of these medicines will induce marasmus, and render the bowels so
morbidly irritable, that purging is easily excited by the ordinary
stimulus of our aliments; while in some habits the contrary obtains, and
the resource to which the valetudinarian flies for relief only increases
the torpor of the intestines, and confirms his costiveness.
The mode of adapting, combining, and administering Cathartics, will
present subjects for our future consideration.
EMMENAGOGUES:
Medicines which are capable of producing the Menstrual discharge.
As Amenorrhœa, or retention of the menses, is generally the effect of a
morbid state of the body, it follows that remedies capable of acting as
Emmenagogues can only be _relative_ agents, unless indeed we are
disposed to accede to the opinion so generally maintained in the
writings of the older physicians, but now generally discarded, _that
certain substances exert a specific[156] action upon the uterus_. It may
certainly be asserted without fear of contradiction, that there are many
substances which, when received into the stomach, have their stimulant
operation more particularly determined to one part than to another;
alkalics, for example, to the kidneys; cantharides to the bladder;
mercury to the salivary glands, &c. Reasoning therefore by analogy, it
was not unphilosophical to conclude, that similar medicines might exist
with respect to the uterus; but experience has negatived the
supposition, there being no proof of any of the substances styled
_Emmenagogues_ producing their effects by any _specific_ influence upon
the uterine system. If the term _Emmenagogue_ be assumed conventionally,
according to this view of the subject, it may be retained without any
fear of error, otherwise it would be wiser to remove the name from our
classification.
The suppression of the catamenia usually depends upon a debilitated
state of the body, although it is sometimes the consequence of a
plethoric diathesis; in the former cases tonics, in the latter,
venesection may display the powers of an emmenagogue; upon which
occasion, I have frequently derived the greatest benefit by cupping the
patient upon the loins. Where the disease occurs in young women, about
the age of puberty, it is very generally connected with extreme debility
of the system; the preparations of iron, bark, and other invigorating
medicines, are accordingly the most likely to succeed in its cure.
Whereas in full florid habits, when the catamenia are suddenly
suppressed, _Laxatives_, _Diaphoretics_, or _blood-letting_, afford the
surest means of relief.
There are two other classes of medicine which may occasionally prove
emmenagogue—ACRID PURGATIVES, which act upon the rectum, and hence by
_contiguous sympathy_ upon the uterus, as _Aloes_, &c. and STIMULATING
DIURETICS, as _Cantharides_, the _Turpentines_, &c. which are supposed
to excite the womb, sympathetically, by their stimulus upon the bladder.
Nor is the advantageous influence of mercury to be overlooked, which, in
cases of morbid action in the secreting functions, prove a Herculean
remedy.
DIURETICS:
Medicines which increase the urinary discharge.
This effect is produced by very different modes of operation; and as
some of them are mutually incompatible with each other, it is essential
that we should understand the _modus operandi_ of each individual of
which the class consists, in order that we may direct its application
with precision.
There is undoubtedly no tribe of medicinal agents more precarious in
their nature and effects than that of Diuretics; this fact in a great
measure depends upon the uncontrollable character of the organs upon
which they act, but it must at the same time be admitted, that their
failure frequently depends upon their modes of operation being directly
incompatible with the state of the system at the time of their
administration.
The following classification may perhaps serve to bring together the
principal facts which are known upon the subject, and at the same time
to display them in an order which is calculated to demonstrate their
practical bearings and relations.
DIURETICS,
ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THEIR SUPPOSED MODES OF OPERATION.
CL: I.—MEDICINES WHICH ACT _PRIMARILY_ ON THE URINARY ORGANS.
1. _By stimulating the secreting vessels of the kidneys_, BY
CONTACT.
_a_ The medicines not undergoing any decomposition _in
transitu_.
1. _Potassa._
2. _Potassæ Nitras._
3. _Oleum Terebinthinæ._
4. _Juniperus Communis._
5. _Cantharides._
_b_ The Medicines undergoing decomposition _in transitu_.
1. _Potassæ Acetas._
2. _Potassæ Super-tartras._
3. _Scilla Maritima._
4. _Colchicum Autumnale._
5. _Copaifera Officinalis._
6. _Spartii Cacumina._
CL: II.—MEDICINES WHICH ACT _PRIMARILY_ ON THE ABSORBENTS, AND
_SECONDARILY_ ON THE KIDNEYS.
_Mercury._
CL: III.—MEDICINES WHICH ACT _PRIMARILY_ ON THE STOMACH AND PRIMÆ VIÆ,
AND _SECONDARILY_ ON THE ABSORBENTS.
1. _By diminishing arterial action, and increasing that of Absorption._
1. _Digitalis._
2. _Nicotiana._
2. _By increasing the tone of the Body in general, and that of the
absorbent system in particular._
_Bitter Tonics_, _&c._ _&c._
3. _By producing Catharsis, and thereby increasing the action of
the Exhalants_ directly, _and that of the Absorbents_
indirectly.
1. _Elaterium._
2. _Jalap_, _&c._ _&c._
C. 1. OF MEDICINES WHICH ACT PRIMARILY ON THE URINARY ORGANS.
1. _By stimulating the secreting vessels of the kidneys, by actual
contact._
_a_ The substance not undergoing any decomposition _in
transitu_.
It is easy to imagine that any substance which is capable of entering
the current of the circulation, and of stimulating the kidneys by a
direct application to their secerning vessels, may occasion a more
copious urinary discharge; in this manner the different saline[157]
preparations, _Potass_, _Soda_, _Nitrate of Potass_, _&c._ are brought
to the kidneys in the course of the circulation, and exciting the
vessels to an increased action, promote the secretion of a larger
proportion of watery fluid from the blood, in consequence of which, the
absorbents are indirectly stimulated in order to supply the deficiency,
and in this manner dropsical swellings are reduced.
Water, as a simple diluent, will promote the action of the kidneys, and
it is very judiciously remarked by Dr. Cullen, that by withholding the
use of fluids in dropsy, you will diminish the quantity of fluids
secreted, and allow the secretories of the kidneys to fall into a state
of inactivity and collapse. This is a sufficient answer to those who
defend the practice of enjoining an abstinence from all drinks in
dropsy.
b. _The diuretic remedy undergoing decomposition_ IN TRANSITU.
The digestive organs appear to possess the power of readily decomposing
all saline compounds into which _vegetable_ acids enter as ingredients,
and of eliminating their alkaline base, which, being in the course of
the circulation, carried to the kidneys, excites them into action, and
promotes the excretion of urine; and it is probably in this way that the
_Acetate_, _Citrate_, _Super-tartrate_, and other analogous combinations
of _Potass_ and _Soda_ prove diuretic: on the other hand, it is equally
evident that salts containing the _mineral_ acids are not under the
control of the decomposing powers of the _chylo-poietic_ organs, and
consequently do not undergo any changes _in transitu_, although some of
these salts, as I have just stated, especially the more soluble ones,
are absorbed entire, and prove diuretic. _Sulphate of Potass_, from its
insolubility, is not readily absorbed, and its composition will not
allow the developement of its base; we perceive therefore that it has
not any tendency to produce an influence upon the urinary secretion.
Certain vegetable bodies likewise appear to occasion diuresis by a
similar mode of operation, and it is worthy of notice that these
medicines generally contain a bitter principle, which is probably
separated by the analysing powers of the stomach; as exemplified in
_Scilla maritima_; _Colchicum autumnale_; _Lactuca Virosa_; _Gratiola
officinalis_; _Spartium Scoparium_ (Summitates); _Juniperus communis_;
_Copaifera Officinalis_ (Balsamum,) &c. The stimulant powers of a bitter
vegetable principle upon the _primæ viæ_, have already been fully
noticed under the consideration of TONICS, (_page 78_), and it is
reasonable to suppose, that an analogous principle, if introduced into
the circulation, may exert a corresponding impulse upon the organs with
which it comes into contact.
It particularly merits attention, that the diuretic operation of any
body that acts by being absorbed, is at once suspended if catharsis
follows its administration, whether in consequence of the largeness of
its dose, its increased solubility, or from the effect of its
combination with some purgative; for it is a law, _that the processes of
assimilation, and absorption from the duodenum, are arrested, or very
imperfectly performed during any alvine excitement_; the different
effects of the saline compounds of the alkalies with tartaric acid,
elucidate the truth of this law in a very striking manner—thus,
_Super-tartrate of Potass_, or Cream of Tartar, in well regulated doses,
acts, as we all know, upon the kidneys; the tartaric acid being, as I
suppose in this case, abstracted and assimilated by the digestive
process, and at the same time the alkaline base (Potass) eliminated, and
subsequently carried into the circulation; but if we increase the
solubility of the compound, by reducing it to the state of a neutral
tartrate (_soluble tartar_), or by combining it with _Boracic acid_, or
some body that has a similar effect; or what is equivalent to it, if we
so increase the dose[158] of the _cream of tartar_, that full catharsis
follows its administration, then diuresis will not ensue, since no
decomposition can take place under such circumstances, nor can it be
carried by absorption into the circulation. _Nitre_ and those salts
which are carried to the kidneys without previous decomposition _in
transitu_, are subject to the same law; for, if we combine them with
purgatives, their presence can no longer be recognised in the urine, as
I have ascertained by experiment. _Oil of Turpentine_ in doses of two
fluid-drachms, may so excite the urinary organs as to produce even
bloody urine; whereas a fluid-ounce will scarcely occasion any apparent
influence upon those functions, because the increased dose acts upon the
bowels, and consequently prevents its passage into the circulation.
_Sulphate of Magnesia_ does not readily produce any diuresis, because it
operates upon the bowels, but the experiments of Vitet and Bracy Clarke
have shewn, that if this saline compound be administered to the horse
whose bowels are not easily affected by purgatives, it acts powerfully
upon the kidneys;[159] and I will take occasion in this place to observe
that, on account of the inirritability of the bowels of the horse,
diuretic medicines are more certain in their operation, than in the
human subject; a fact which, in itself, shews the importance of
attending to the state of the bowels, during a course of those diuretics
which require to be absorbed before they can produce their specific
effects.
Equally necessary is it to attend to the state of the vessels of the
skin, for if during the administration of a Diuretic, these vessels be
excited by external warmth, its action may be diverted from the urinary
organs to the exhalants on the surface, and occasion diaphoresis; but if
the surface of the body be kept cool, this diversion will not occur: so
greatly indeed does cooling the surface determine to the kidneys, that
the usual diaphoretic medicines may, by an attention to this
circumstance, be converted into powerful diuretics.
C. II. MEDICINES WHICH ACT _Primarily_ ON THE ABSORBENTS, AND
_Secondarily_ ON THE KIDNEYS.
It has been shewn, in the former division, that by increasing the action
of the kidneys, we diminish the quantity of water in the blood, and
consequently occasion an extraordinary action of the absorbents to
supply the deficiency, whence dropsical accumulations disappear; it
remains to be stated that an operation, which may be considered the
converse of the one just described, is not unfrequently established: the
absorbent vessels, in this case, are first roused to extraordinary
action, and the blood therefore becomes surcharged with serous matter,
in consequence of which the kidneys are stimulated, and it is eliminated
through the urinary passages: so that in the former case the absorbent
may be said to be called into action by the kidneys, while in the
latter, the kidneys are obviously subservient to the increased energy of
the absorbent system. The preparations of Mercury are perhaps the only
medicinal bodies which we can strictly consider as specific stimulants
to the absorbent system; and of their power in directly acting upon
these organs there are such ample proofs, that it is unnecessary to
adduce any additional evidence upon the subject. In instances of
increased absorption from the agency of other medicines, the effect must
be considered as rather arising from their _secondary_ than primary
operations; the most important of which will constitute objects of
inquiry in the succeeding divisions of the subject.
C. III. MEDICINES WHICH ACT _Primarily_ ON THE STOMACH OR SYSTEM, AND
_Secondarily_ ON THE URINARY ORGANS.
A Diuretic effect is very frequently occasioned by substances which act
on the stomach and _primæ viæ_, producing a peculiar state of these
organs, which _sympathetically_ affects the whole body, and more
particularly the absorbent system, and the vessels concerned in the
secretion of urine from the blood. As this primary influence upon the
stomach, and the effects to which it gives rise in remote parts, are
very different in their character, according to the nature of the remedy
employed, and the state of the system at the time of its administration;
the present attempt to investigate and generalize these relations, and
to adopt them as the basis of a classification, may ultimately lead the
practitioner to some distinctions of practical utility.
1. _By diminishing Arterial Action, and increasing that of Absorption._
It would appear that the action of the vessels employed in the
circulation of the blood, and the energy of the absorbents are, to a
certain extent, antagonist powers; the experiments of Majendie
demonstrate that the absorption of a poisonous substance is retarded by
a plethoric, and accelerated by a depleted state of the sanguineous
system; the fact is practically established by numerous phenomena in
pathology. Dr. Blackall has very satisfactorily shewn the existence
which subsists between increased arterial action and diminished
absorption. Hence it follows that remedies capable of controlling the
circulation may affect the activity of absorption, increase diuresis,
and cure dropsy; in this manner the _Digitalis Purpurea_ acts as a
sorbefacient, and it may be remarked that it seldom or never produces
its diuretic effects, without a concomitant reduction of the frequency
of the pulse; its power too appears only when it is administered in
dropsy; in a state of health it will reduce the pulse, but not increase
the discharge of urine. Tobacco has also somewhat analogous powers in
promoting absorption, and its operation is accompanied with a
corresponding depression of vascular action. Venesection, upon the same
principle, may occasion, in certain cases of dropsy, a discharge of the
accumulated fluid.
2. _By increasing the tone of the Body in general, and that of the
Absorbent System in particular._
That diminished absorption, and the consequent accumulation of serous
fluids in the cellular texture, and different cavities, frequently
depends upon general debility is very obvious, whence fevers, whether of
the intermittent, or continued kind, which have been long protracted,
are followed by _œdematous_ swellings. In states of extreme debility the
exhalant vessels would seem, from their laxity, to permit the thinner
parts of the blood to pass too readily through them; this is proved by
the circumstance that palsied limbs, in which such a laxity may be
presumed to exist, are frequently affected with _œdema_, and the truth
of this explanation is still farther corroborated by the advantages
which accrue on these occasions from the mechanical support of pressure
from bandages. In such cases, those remedies which are capable of
renovating the vigour of the body can alone prove of any signal service.
Dr. Blackall presents us with an illustrative case of this nature, on
the authority of Mr. Johnson of Exeter, in which the tonic powers of
well fermented bread occasioned in the space of a few hours an effect so
powerfully diuretic, as to have cured sailors on board of the Asia East
Indiaman, who had been attacked with Dropsy, in consequence of the use
of damaged Rice.
Thus then do Diuretics, in some cases, CURE BY EVACUATING, while in
others, as in the instance above cited, they EVACUATE BY CURING.
A case has lately occurred in my own practice, which not only affords a
striking illustration of the present views, but is well calculated to
convey to the inexperienced practitioner a very instructive lesson of
caution. A man of the age of thirty-five, of the most dissolute habits,
was attacked after a debauch of several days’ continuance, with
inflammatory symptoms in the chest; a very large quantity of blood was
suddenly abstracted, and the bleeding was repeated after the interval of
a few hours. The respiration became laborious, and I was desired to
visit the patient; I found that little or no urine had been evacuated
since the attack, and that there were evident symptoms of effusion, the
legs were swollen, and the difficulty of breathing was rapidly
increasing. Under these circumstances I directed a large dose of
_Ammonia_ with some stimulating diuretics, which were to be repeated at
short intervals. On the following day the distressing symptoms had
subsided, a large quantity of urine had passed, and the patient
expressed himself greatly relieved; unfortunately, however, in
consequence of a slight increase of his distress in the evening, an
injudicious friend in attendance, took more blood from the arm—the
dropsical effusions rapidly increased, and life was extinguished in the
course of three days by confirmed Hydrothorax.
3. _By producing Catharsis, and thereby increasing the action of the
Exhalants_ directly, _and that of the absorbents_ indirectly.
It has been already stated, under the consideration of Cathartics, that
certain medicines of that class excite the exhalants of the alimentary
canal, and occasion a very copious discharge of serous matter: by this
operation the blood is deprived of a large portion of water, and the
absorbents are thus indirectly stimulated to supply the deficiency;
_Elaterium_, and some other _hydragogue_ cathartics, may be thus
employed with extraordinary success for the cure of certain forms of
Dropsy, where the vital powers of the patient can sustain the violence
of the remedy;—in the whole circle of medicinal operations there is
nothing more wonderful than this, that an impression made on the
internal surface of the _primæ viæ_, by a few particles of matter,
should thus convey by magic as it were, an impulse to the most remote
extremities, rousing their absorbents to action; and, in case of _œdema_
there, awakening the sleeping energies of these vessels, which like
millions of pumps at work, transmit the morbid fluid to the intestines
and urinary passages, effecting a detumescence of the hydropic limbs in
the course of a few hours, and thus affording a striking illustration of
the sympathetic action of medicines, and an instructive example of the
operation of those of the sorbefacient class.[160]
The observations which I have thus offered will lead the practitioner to
select the particular diuretic which is best calculated to fulfil the
indications of each individual case; and they will at the same time
point out those which cannot be administered in combination, without a
violation of the law of medicinal compatibility. With respect to the
general efficacy of these medicines it may be stated, that where the
disease originates from _organic_ affections of the chylo-poietic
viscera, it will not be cured by the mere evacuation of the water by
diuretics; but that where it has taken place from diminished absorption,
these remedies may be reasonably expected to effect a cure.
DIAPHORETICS.
The term _Diaphoretic_ has been applied to those medicines which
increase the natural exhalation of the skin, and when they act so
powerfully as to occasion sweating, they have been commonly
distinguished by the name of _Sudorifics_, but as no difference exists
between these remedies, but in the degree of force with which they act,
we may very properly comprehend the whole under the general title of
Diaphoretics: the fluid effused is also in both cases similar, but in
the one it is discharged more slowly, and is carried off by the
conducting[161] power of the air, in the insensible form of vapour,
while in the other case it is so copiously effused from the exhalant
vessels, as to appear in the liquid form.
As obstructed perspiration may depend upon very different, and even
opposite states of the system, so may the most adverse medicines fall
under the denomination of diaphoretic remedies.
In some affections, a deficient diaphoresis may be associated with
increased vascular action, and in others, with a slow languid
circulation.
Diaphoretics may be considered as operating, either by directly
stimulating the cutaneous capillaries;—by increasing the general action
of the vascular system;—by relaxing the morbidly constricted mouths of
the perspiratory vessels;—or, lastly, by producing at once both the
latter of these effects.
In conformity with the plan adopted on other occasions, I shall proceed
to investigate the powers of this class of medicines, according to their
supposed modes of operation.
DIAPHORETICS
Occasion their effects—
I. BY STIMULATING THE CUTANEOUS CAPILLARIES.
_A._ By external application.
_The Stimulus of Heat_, _Frictions_, _&c._
_B._ By Medicines which enter the circulation and stimulate the
cutaneous vessels _by contact_.
_Mercurials_—_Sulphur_.
_C._ By Medicines which act on the surface _sympathetically_,
through the medium of the Stomach.
_Cold Drinks_, _&c._
II. BY INCREASING THE GENERAL ACTION OF THE VASCULAR SYSTEM.
_Violent Exercise_—_Ammonia_—_Guaiacum_—_Alcohol_—_Warm Bath_.
III. BY RELAXING THE MORBIDLY CONSTRICTED MOUTHS OF THE PERSPIRATORY
VESSELS.
_Antimonials_—_Cold Affusion_—_Venesection_—_Saline
Diaphoretics_.
The action of the cutaneous vessels may be augmented by heat, without
necessarily increasing, at the same time, that of the heart and
arteries; hence it is that heat is, of itself, often sufficient to
produce sweating, while it generally accelerates the operation of a
sudorific medicine. To this general proposition, however, there are some
very important exceptions; and, indeed, in certain conditions of the
cutaneous surface, the stimulus of heat will be even found to impede,
rather than to promote, diaphoresis; thus in the hot stage of a
continued fever, there would seem to exist a peculiar constriction of
the perspiratory vessels, accompanied with extreme heat and dryness. In
such a state, remedies of the third class must be applied, or conjoined
with those of the former. The warm bath may be said to partake of _all_
the qualities upon which our classification is founded; it will
stimulate the cutaneous capillaries,—increase vascular action,
generally, and, by its emollient powers, relax the morbidly constricted
mouths of the perspiratory vessels. During the ardent heat of fever, the
external application of cold is the most efficient sudorific, as the
valuable reports of Dr. Currie have very satisfactorily established.
Although the _external_ application of cold was not often employed in
the hot stage of fever, until within the last thirty years, yet the
administration of cold _drinks_ appears to have been practised by the
ancients, as an expedient to produce perspiration. Galen, and his
immediate disciples, as well as the physicians of the sixteenth century,
seem to have frequently administered cold water for the purpose of
exciting sweat in fevers.[162] Celsus also describes the beneficial
effects which arise from copious draughts of cold water in ardent
fevers, “fereque post longam sitim et vigiliam, post multam satietatem,
post infractum calorem, plenus somnus venit, per quem _ingens sudor
effunditur_, idque præsentissimum auxilium est.”[163] Cold water, when
introduced into the stomach in the hot stage of fever, must produce its
diaphoretic effect through the sympathetic relation which subsists
between that organ and the skin. Nauseating doses of _Antimony_, and of
other emetics, occasion a relaxation of the surface from the same mode
of operation, and in this latter case, if the force of the circulation
be at the same time increased by tepid diluents, the diaphoretic effect
is more certain and considerable.
_Alcohol_, _Guaiacum_, and other powerful stimulants, produce their
effects by merely accelerating the circulation; but in employing such
remedies for the purpose of exciting sweat, we must be careful to adapt
them to the circumstances of the case, and to the degree of action which
prevails. In all febrile diseases attended with much increased heat, or
connected with local inflammation, diaphoretics of this description must
be very cautiously administered, for by accelerating the circulation
they might counteract any benefit which they would otherwise confer by
relaxing the vessels of the skin. In the whole history of medical
opinions there is scarcely a theory which has proved so fatal in its
practical applications as that maintained by Van Helmont, and his
disciples, viz. that _acute diseases were to be cured by expelling some
morbific matter, after its proper concoction_—a theory which suggested
the administration of the most stimulating sudorifics, together with
high temperature[164] in every grade of febrile exacerbation. The fatal
effects of such a practice during the seventeenth, and early parts of
the eighteenth centuries, are incalculable, and may be very
satisfactorily contrasted with the beneficial results which have
accrued, in the same diseases, in the present age, from the use of
diaphoretics of the refrigerant kind.
_Saline Diaphoretics_, as they readily pass with the chyle, may be
supposed to enter the circulation, and be thus brought to act, directly,
on the cutaneous vessels; at the same time it seems extremely probable
that such remedies may also occasion an impression on the stomach, which
is sympathetically communicated to the vessels of the skin; they have
undoubtedly little or no influence on the general vascular system, and
neither augment the force nor the velocity of the circulating current.
It is not, however, in febrile affections alone that this class of
remedies proves highly beneficial; the very intimate sympathetic
connection which subsists between the functions of the lungs and skins,
renders the use of such medicines particularly advantageous in the cure
of the diseases incident to the former of these organs; a fact upon
which we shall hereafter offer some remarks under the history of
_Expectorants_.
So again, in the treatment of bowel affections, in consequence of the
intimate relation which exists between the cutaneous capillaries and
those of the internal organs, gentle diaphoretics offer a valuable
resource in their cure. How frequently do Diarrhæa, Enteritis, &c. ensue
from the sudden suppression of perspiration by cold?
From the influence which these medicines exert upon the extreme vessels
of the skin, they are also highly serviceable in various obstinate
cutaneous affections, as _Herpes_, _Lepra_, &c.
As evacuating the serous part of the blood must necessarily have an
indirect effect in promoting absorption, _Sudorifics_ have been
occasionally exhibited in Dropsy, especially in that form of the disease
called _Anasarca_. It has been already observed that cases too
frequently occur in which the discharge of urine cannot be increased by
art; upon such occasions practitioners have sometimes had recourse to a
trial of Sudorifics,[165] but from the great difficulty which generally
exists in exciting sweating in such affections, the indication has
rarely been fulfilled. Where however a sudorific does succeed, it is
less liable to debilitate than the other alternative of a drastic
purgative.
There is still another point of view in which the therapeutic importance
of Diaphoretics may be considered. It is generally acknowledged that by
cutaneous transpiration a portion of excrementitious matter is ejected
from the system; hence by the failure or imperfect performance of this
function, a deleterious fluid is retained which may give origin to
disease; to such a cause may perhaps be attributed the generation of
Calculi, and other diseases of the urinary system, as we shall have
occasion to notice under the head of _Lithonthryptics_.
The increased efficacy which these medicines derive from combination
with each other, will form a subject of interesting enquiry in the
succeeding essay.
EXPECTORANTS.
Medicines which are supposed to be capable of facilitating the excretion
of mucus from the breast, _ex pectore_, that is, from the trachea, and
cells and passages of the lungs.
If the term _Expectorant_ be intended to express a medicinal substance
which has the power of promoting the expulsion of fluid from the lungs,
by some _specific action_ on the parts concerned, we can have no
hesitation in at once rejecting the word, and denying the existence of
such remedies: if, however the term be received, conventionally, as
comprehending all those substances which are capable, according to the
state of the system in each particular case, of producing expectoration,
it will be extremely proper to recognise, and practically useful to
retain, such a class of medicinal agents. In order that their _modus
operandi_ may be correctly understood, the following classification is
submitted to the reader.
* * * * *
A CLASSIFICATION OF EXPECTORANTS,
According to their supposed Modes of Operation.
CL: I—MEDICINES WHICH INCREASE PULMONARY EXHALATION, AND THEREBY
DILUTE THE MUCUS IN THE FOLLICLES OF THE LUNGS.
_a._ By removing constriction of the Pulmonary Exhalant vessels.
_Blisters._
_Venesection._
_Nauseants._
_b._ By stimulating these vessels by the _actual contact_ of a
medicinal substance.
_Allium._
_Scilla?_
_The different Balsams._
_fœtid Gums._
_c._ By stimulating the top of the trachea, and thereby increasing
the action of the exhalant vessels of the lungs, by a species
of _Contiguous Sympathy_.
_Stimulating Lozenges_, _Linctusses_, _The Inhalation of
certain vapours_, _&c._
CL: II.—MEDICINES WHICH DIMINISH THE INORDINATE FLOW OF FLUID INTO THE
LUNGS, AND RENDER THE EXPECTORATION OF THE REMAINDER MORE EASY.
_a._ By removing the debility of the Exhalants.
_Sulphate of Zinc._
_Bitter Tonics._
_b._ By increasing the power of the Absorbents.
_Digitalis._
_Nicotiana._
_c._ By determining to the skin by gentle diaphoresis.
_Tartarized Antimony._
_d._ By exciting serous discharges from the bowels.
_Saline Purgatives._
CL: III.—MEDICINES WHICH OPERATE, MECHANICALLY, IN PROMOTING THE
REJECTION OF ACCUMULATED MUCUS.
_a._ By stimulating the muscles of Respiration.
_Ammonia._
_b._ By exciting vomiting, and thereby compressing the thoracic
viscera.
_Emetics._
I. OF MEDICINES WHICH INCREASE PULMONARY EXHALATION.
_a._ _By removing constriction of the Pulmonary Exhalant vessels._
There can be no doubt but that, in certain states of disease, the
exhalants of the lungs, like those of the skin, are affected by a
spasmodic constriction, in consequence of which the usual quantity of
fluid for the lubrication of these parts, is not effused, whence a train
of morbid phenomena arise; this appears to happen in _Pneumonia_,
_Asthma_, and certain other diseases of the pulmonary organs. In order
to remove such a constriction, remedies of the Antispasmodic class may
be exhibited with advantage; nauseating doses of Tartarized Antimony, or
of Ipecacuanha, are likewise calculated to fulfil the same indication,
by an operation analogous to that by which Diaphoresis is produced. If
the term might be allowed we should call such remedies _Pulmonary
Diaphoretics_. It is in this way that Venesection, Blisters, and other
anti-phlogistic remedies, may in certain states of the lungs restore a
healthy excretion from these vessels.
_b._ _By stimulating the Pulmonary Exhalants, by the actual contact of a
medicinal substance._
There certainly appear to be substances which enter the circulation, and
are more peculiarly determined to the pulmonary vessels, since their
odour is to be distinctly recognised in the air that is expired.
_Garlic_ may be adduced as an example of this kind; so penetrating is
its odorous principle, that if it be only applied to the soles of the
feet it may be perceived in the breath. Such substances may stimulate
the exhalant vessels through which they pass, and by this stimulus the
secretion may be increased, and the mucus contained in the follicles
diluted, so as to be poured out in a less viscid form, and consequently
in a state to be more easily brought up by expectoration.
_c._ _By stimulating the top of the trachea, and thereby increasing the
activity of the Exhalant vessels of the lungs, by a species of
contiguous sympathy._
The salutary operation of those various remedies, which are allowed to
pass slowly over the fauces, sufficiently establish the fact which is
here announced. In this manner I apprehend that much benefit may arise
from the use of a _Linctus_, and I am satisfied from experience that
certain cases of hoarseness are to be frequently removed by such an
application of stimulating syrups.
The inhalation of certain vapours will also enable us to make a more
direct application to these parts; as, however, it is my intention to
dedicate a chapter to the consideration of this form of remedy, it is
unnecessary to dwell upon it in this place.
II. OF MEDICINES WHICH DIMINISH THE INORDINATE FLOW OF FLUID INTO THE
LUNGS.
_a._ _By removing the debility of the Exhalants._
It not unfrequently occurs in persons either debilitated by age or
disease, that the exhalant vessels of the lungs lose their tone, and
pour out a larger quantity of fluid than is necessary for the
lubrication of these organs; this is particularly observable in the
disease called _humoral asthma_, and in the catarrh of old persons: if
this excess be restrained by strengthening the tone of the system
generally, or by astringing these vessels in particular, the
expectoration of the remainder will be rendered much more easy.
According to my experience, _sulphate of zinc_ displays considerable
powers in moderating this effusion of fluid, and it appears to produce
this effect by increasing the tone of the exhalant vessels of the lungs;
several medicines also, which are included in the former division of
this classification, may, by stimulating these organs, not only promote
the exhalation when it is too scanty, but repress it when it is too
abundant.
_b._ _By increasing the power of the Absorbents._
In some cases, the mucous inundation may not depend upon any fault in
the exhalants, but upon a torpid state of the pulmonary absorbents: our
remedy for this evil is to be found amongst that class of medicines
which have the power of promoting absorption, as small doses of some
mercurial preparation, _Digitalis_, and perhaps _Nicotiana_, &c.
_c._ _By determining to the skin by a gentle diaphoresis._
It is evident that an increase of the cutaneous exhalation is generally
attended with a relative diminution in the other serous excretions of
body; this is so obvious with respect to our urinary discharge, that
every person must have noticed the variation of its quantity at
different seasons of the year: in like manner the exhalation from the
lungs, although less capable of becoming an object of observation, is
not less affected by the state of the cutaneous discharge; hence
medicines capable of promoting it, are calculated to diminish the
quantity of serous exhalation from the lungs; and it is upon this
principle, that well regulated doses of the compound powder of
Ipecacuan], frequently furnish the oppressed asthmatic with a valuable
resource.
_d._ _By exciting serous discharges from the bowels._
Upon the principle announced in the preceding section, the operation of
a saline cathartic may relieve the pulmonary organs when loaded with a
preternatural accumulation of fluid, and consequently assist
expectoration. On the contrary, if the exhalation be deficient, this
class of remedies may increase pulmonary irritation, and check
expectoration, a fact which coincides with the concurrent testimony of
many able practitioners.
III. OF MEDICINES WHICH OPERATE _mechanically_.
_a._ _By imparting vigour to the respiratory muscles, engaged in the act
of expectorating._
It must be admitted that, to a certain extent, expectoration is a
voluntary operation, connected with the action of a variety of muscles,
which in a state of extreme debility are not easily excited into action:
every practitioner must have noticed this fact during the treatment of
the coughs of exhausted patients, and have witnessed the distress
necessarily arising from it; in this condition, the exhibition of a
stimulant may so far renew the exhausted excitability of these organs,
as to enable them to undergo the necessary exertions.
_b._ _By compressing the thoracic viscera, through the operation of an
emetic._
The beneficial results which frequently attend the concussion of an
emetic, in cases of mucous accumulations in the lungs, are too well
known and understood to require much elucidation: in the act of vomiting
the thoracic viscera are violently compressed, the neighbouring muscles
are also called into strong action, and both expiration and inspiration
are thus rendered more forcible, and the expulsion of mucus from the
cavity of the lungs necessarily accomplished.
The safety and expediency of such a resource must, however, in each
particular case be left to the discretion of the medical practitioner.
Besides the remedies above enumerated, there are some others which
afford relief in certain coughs, and have therefore in popular medicine,
been considered as _Expectorants_; but their operation, if they exert
any, is to be explained upon principles altogether different from that
of facilitating expectoration, and will more properly fall under the
head of _Demulcents_.
Atmospheric changes, in relation to moisture and dryness, deserve some
notice before we conclude the history of expectorant agents: the subject
teems with curious and important facts, and the advantages which the
asthmatic patient derives from such changes merit farther investigation.
That the lungs are constantly giving off aqueous vapour is made evident
by condensing the expired air on a cold surface of glass or metal; and
it is easy to imagine that when the atmosphere is saturated with
moisture, its power of conducting off this vapour will be proportionably
diminished, and that an accumulation of fluid may thus take place in the
lungs; on the other hand, we may suppose the air to be so dry as to have
an increased capacity for moisture, and to carry off the expired vapour
with preternatural avidity; in either of these cases, the excretions
from the lungs will be materially influenced, whether to the benefit or
disadvantage of the patient will depend, in each particular instance,
upon the nature of the disease under which he suffers. I have known a
person who could breathe with more freedom in the thick fogs of the
metropolis than in the pure air of a mountainous region, and it would
not be difficult to adduce many examples in illustration of a
diametrically opposite constitution of the pulmonary organs.
From the same cause we may frequently observe remarkable changes occur
in the character of a cough, at the breaking up of a frost; in some
cases the expectoration will be checked, and in others promoted by a
sudden change from a dry to a moist atmosphere. Can a more instructive
illustration be offered of that important fact, which I have been
labouring in every page to impress upon the mind of the young
practitioner, that, _remedies are only relative agents_?
In the course of considerable experience in the treatment of pulmonary
complaints, and in the influence of climate and seasons upon them, I
have repeatedly observed the rapid transition from moisture to dryness
to occasion very remarkable effects upon the disease; and I much
question whether an attention to such a condition of the atmosphere does
not deserve as much consideration in the election of a suitable place of
residence for such invalids, as the more obvious circumstance of
temperature. I have been long in the habit of recommending to persons
confined in artificially warmed apartments, to evaporate a certain
portion of water, whenever the external air has become excessively dry
by the prevalence of the north-east winds, which so frequently infest
this island during the months of Spring; and the most marked advantage
has attended the practice. But in such cases the practitioner must ever
be guided by the symptoms of each particular case; it would be worse
than useless to lay down any general precept for his guidance. We cannot
then be surprised that such a difference of opinion should exist amongst
practitioners of equal eminence, respecting the influence of a marine
atmosphere; some advocating its advantages to the pulmonary invalid, and
others maintaining with equal confidence the injurious tendency of such
localities; each party appeals to _experience_ in justification of his
opinion, and with equal candour and justice; but the cases from the
results of which the medical inference has been drawn, however parallel
they may have appeared, differed in those essential points to which we
have alluded, and upon which the question of climate would seem to turn.
There is another circumstance connected with the subject of atmospheric
moisture which it is also essential to remember,—that the air gains a
considerable increase in its power of conducting caloric, by becoming
saturated with aqueous vapour; thus, when a thaw takes place, and the
thermometer rises a few degrees above 32°, the air, instead of
impressing us with the sensation of increased temperature, actually
appears much colder.
SIALOGOGUES;
Substances which increase the salivary[166] discharge. This class
comprehends two orders of medicines, viz.
1st. Those which increase the salivary excretion by _external_
application to the secreting vessels, by mastication, as the following
acrimonious and pungent substances, _Anthemis Pyrethrum_; _Colchearia
Armoracia_; _Daphne Mezereum_; _Nicotiana Tabacum_, &c.
2nd. Those whose _internal_ exhibition affects these organs through the
medium of the circulation, of which _Mercury_ is the only true example;
for all the preparations of this metal, when administered in certain
quantities, produce salivation.
The acrid Sialogogues, or Masticatories, by stimulating the excretory
ducts, and increasing the secretion of saliva, sometimes relieve the
pain of tooth-ache, and are commonly resorted to for that purpose; they
are besides supposed capable of relieving other congestions, or
inflammatory dispositions, in remote parts of the head, by the
derivation they occasion from the neighbouring vessels, especially the
branches of the external carotid.
Mercury, in its metallic state,[167] is perfectly inert, and does not
exert any influence whatever upon the living body: this fact is
sufficient, if any serious refutation were necessary, to overturn the
theory which attributes its sialogogue property to the gravity of its
particles, by which “it is disposed to retain the _direct line_ in which
it is propelled from the heart, and is therefore more certainly
determined to the vessels of the head.” It has been also supposed to act
by diminishing the _lentor_ of the blood, and disposing it to pass more
easily into the salivary glands, so as to increase their secretion:
equally gratuitous and improbable are the chemical hypothesis which have
been offered to explain this curious and singular property; Dr. Cullen
endeavoured to solve the problem, by supposing that “_Mercury has a
particular disposition to unite with ammoniacal salts, and that such
salts are disposed to pass off by the salivary glands more copiously
than by any other excretion_.” Dr. Murray, however, very justly remarks
that mercury has not any peculiar tendency of this kind; and that if it
had, these salts are not more abundant in the saliva, than in some other
secretions. Dr. Murray then proceeds to submit a theory which he
considers better calculated to explain the phenomenon; he observes, that
the urine appears more peculiarly designed to convey matter which has
been received into the circulating mass, but which is still
excrementitious, from the system. To pass, however, with this fluid, it
is necessary that the matter conveyed should be soluble in it; and when
it is so, we can discover it in the secretion by chemical tests. If
there is any property connected with it, therefore, which shall prevent
this solubility, it probably will prevent the substance from being
secreted. Now, the _phosphoric acid_, abundant in urine, must in this
mode counteract the secretion of mercury in any form of preparation, by
forming with it a compound, insoluble, and to which the slight excess of
acid cannot communicate solubility; the mercury, therefore, existing in
the circulating mass, when brought in the course of the circulation to
the secreting vessels of the kidneys, will not pass through their whole
course; but if conveyed so far as to be combined with _phosphoric acid_,
will, from this combination, be incapable of being conveyed onwards, and
will therefore be retained in the composition of that part of the blood
which does not enter into the secretion, but returns into the
circulation. It must be discharged by some other emunctory; a portion of
it appears, from some facts, to pass off by the insensible perspiration;
but the _tenuity_ of this secretion, if the term may be employed, must
be unfavourable to this mode of discharge. The salivary secretion is one
by which it may be more easily transmitted; and this transmission may
even be facilitated by the affinity exerted to the _Oxide of Mercury_ by
the _Muriatic Acid_, the _Soda_, and _Ammonia_, which are the chief
saline ingredients in saliva; for it deserves to be remarked that triple
compounds of these substances are, to a certain extent, soluble in
water; and if the _Mercury_ is thus secreted, it will of course
stimulate the secreting vessels through which it passes, and increase
the discharge.
Sir Gilbert Blane[168] has lately advanced another hypothesis to account
for the effects of mercury as a sialogogue; he considers the salivary
glands as one of the outlets for the _ramenta_ of the bones, for by
analysing the saliva we discover the principles of which they consist;
indeed the osseous matter not unfrequently concretes on the teeth, and
sometimes on the salivary ducts, in the form of what is called _Tartar:_
“does not this fact,” says Sir Gilbert Blane, “in some measure account
for these glands being the parts upon which determination is made by the
operation of mercury, which consists in exciting an active absorption of
solid parts, as I have elsewhere observed?”[169]
But do not the kidneys, and other excretory glands also furnish outlets,
through which the _detritus_ of the body is eliminated. How does it
happen, therefore, that the kidneys are not as equally affected as the
salivary glands by the action of mercury? In the present state of our
knowledge it will be more prudent to rest on the phenomenon as an
ultimate fact, than in attempting to ascend higher in the scale of
causes, to involve ourselves in impenetrable darkness.
During the prevalence of the theory which attributed to _Nitric acid_
all the antisyphilitic powers of mercury, it was even maintained that
this acid also excited ptyalism; experience however has disproved the
effects thus attributed to it, and no one attempts to support its
pretensions, as a sialogogue, except indeed as it may perchance, by its
acrid qualities, influence the excretory ducts of the glands,
externally, in the act of being swallowed.
It has very lately been stated by Dr. Macleod,[170] that the
_Hydro-cyanic acid_ occasionally produces soreness of the gums, and a
disposition to ptyalism; this, if true, is a very remarkable fact, and
well deserves attentive consideration.
Some theorists may, perhaps, be inclined to consider certain Nauseating
Medicines as possessing sialogogue properties. It cannot be denied that
an increased discharge of saliva will take place during the operation of
such remedies, but it is very transient, and can never be rendered
available to any therapeutic object. I shall however have occasion to
refer to this fact hereafter, and to the inference deduced from it by
Dr. Eberle, in explanation of the effect of nauseating medicines in
promoting the operation of Mercury.
ERRHINES, or STERNUTATORIES:
Substances which, by direct application to the pituitary membrane,
occasion a discharge from the nostrils either of a mucous or serous
fluid. This class contains several different species, whose operation
varies in intensity, as well as in duration.
Errhines have been regarded as useful in consequence of the evacuation
they occasion, but in this respect their value has been greatly
over-rated; it has been stated, that they diminish the quantity of fluid
circulating in the neighbouring vessels, and even extend their influence
to all the branches of the external carotid; and Dr. Cullen says that he
has, apparently from this operation, known head-ache, pain of the ear,
and some cases of ophthalmia, cured or relieved by the use of Errhines.
There can be no doubt that local stimulants of this kind will frequently
remove pain from the head and neighbouring parts, but not merely by
occasioning vascular depletion, as Dr. Cullen supposed, but by a
stimulant operation conveyed through the medium of nervous
communication, or contiguous sympathy.
Dr. Cullen has moreover supposed, that these substances may be useful in
preventing apoplexy or palsy. Morgagni[171] however relates a case in
which sneezing induced a fatal attack of this disease; and Van
Swieten[172] has satisfactorily shewn, that continued paroxysms of
sneezing tend to load the vessels of the head with blood; for the
violent contraction of the chest impedes, for a time, the passage of the
blood through the lungs, and therefore obstructs the return of the
venous blood from the brain, the vessels of which are in consequence
greatly distended; the face therefore reddens and becomes turgid, the
eyes are suffused with water, and appear full and distended. Its
occasional dangerous violence is said to have given origin to the
benediction so universally bestowed on those who sneeze.[173]
It has been a subject of popular inquiry, how far the habitual use of
Snuff may prove beneficial or injurious; and whether the habit, when
once fully established, can be discontinued with impunity? It may be
remarked that Snuff, by habitual use, soon ceases to produce the effect
of an Errhine, for which reason its discontinuance cannot, generally, be
regarded as likely to be attended with any danger; in those cases,
however, in which the discharge is perpetuated, a contrary judgment
should be pronounced, for all artificial discharges become
constitutional by long continuance, and can therefore be seldom checked
with impunity. Dr. Cullen states, from experience, that “whenever the
nasal discharge has been considerable, the laying aside the custom of
taking snuff has been productive of evil.”
EPISPASTICS. _Vesicatories._ _Blisters._
External applications to the skin, which produce a serous or puriform
discharge, by previously exciting a high state of inflammation.
When these agents act so mildly as merely to excite inflammation,
without occasioning the effusion of serum, they are denominated
RUBEFACIENTS.
Various substances have at different times, been proposed for the
accomplishment of this object,—such as _Nitric Acid_, _Boiling Water_,
_Strong Acetic Acid_, _Tartarized Antimony_, &c. It is, however,
generally admitted, that no substance ever employed equals in efficacy,
or certainty, the _Cantharis Vesicatoria_, the common blistering, or
Spanish fly; and whose effects may serve to illustrate the _modus
operandi_ of this class of remedies.
By the application of a _Blister_, the extreme blood vessels are excited
into increased action, by which inflammation is occasioned, and the
exhalants made to pour out a thin serous fluid which separates the
cuticle from the true skin, and forms a vesicle or blister.
From this simple view of the subject it will appear evident, that
blisters may produce their salutary effects by several different modes
of operation; by a just estimate of which the practitioner will be
enabled to reconcile the discordant opinions which have been delivered
upon the subject, and to employ these agents with greater satisfaction
and advantage.
Blisters may act—
1. AS DERIVATIVES, i. e. _by producing a derivation of the circulation
from the inflamed and engorged vessels of the neighbouring organs
to the blistered surface_. This mode of operation was long
overlooked by the physicians, who ascribed all the beneficial
effects of a blister to the evacuation which it produced, while
the humoral pathologist, moreover, considered the matter so
discharged to be of a morbific nature. That such agents owe their
salutary tendency to causes independent of their powers as
evacuants, is at once rendered evident by the relief which they
afford, when used only as Rubefacients.
2. AS EVACUANTS—_by occasioning an effusion of Fluids_. In this case
the vesicated part may be considered in the light of a new
excretory organ, the formation of which requires the establishment
of a new current or determination of blood; so long as the
discharge continues, so long will there be an especial demand of
blood in the blistered part, and a consequent derivation of the
circulation from the inflamed and engorged vessels of the
neighbouring organs.[174] The nature of the fluid effused is at
first serous, but after some time it becomes purulent, and this
stage of its operation must be considered as, by far, the most
beneficial; hence the great advantages derived from a “_perpetual
blister_.”
3. AS GENERAL STIMULANTS, _by raising the vigour of the
circulation_.[175] That Blisters have such a tendency there exist
too many proofs to allow us to doubt. Hence in fevers they
frequently prove valuable auxiliaries, but since the application
of any stimulus, in such diseases, must be regulated by the degree
of excitement, it is evident that they can only be made with
success in particular stages; this simple fact will at once
explain the cause of that want of unanimity in Physicians with
respect to the value of blisters in febrile diseases. Rush
considered that there was one particular period, in the course of
a continued fever, intermediate between its stage of high
excitement and the appearance of a collapse, in which blisters
will generally produce unequivocal good effects, and to this he
gave the name of the _Blistering point_.
4. AS ANTISPASMODICS.—_Relieving pain through the medium of Contiguous
Sympathy._ This effect would frequently appear to be independent
of the operations above enumerated; a similar principle seems to
exist with regard to the _pain_ excited by blisters, which may
also be applied to the explanation of the advantages derived from
them in several diseases. It has long been remarked that, by
exciting one pain we may often relieve another, and hence blisters
afford relief in tooth-ache, and other painful affections.
Epilepsy and Hysteria, arising from irritation, have been removed
by such applications, apparently from their exciting powers.
It remains for us to make a few observations upon the abuse of these
remedies, for, notwithstanding the popular adage that “_Blisters are
always safe things_,” that “_if they do no good, they can do no harm_,”
they will be found, like all other potent applications, capable of
producing much mischief when directed by unskilful hands. In stages of
high vascular excitement in the pulmonary organs, blisters have
increased the irritation they were designed to allay, and in some cases
have promoted a tendency to effusion; in the treatment of acute
Hydrocephalus the common practice of blistering the head appears very
questionable, and has too often, I am well persuaded, accelerated the
fatal termination, by increasing the disposition to serous effusion.
ISSUES (_Fonticuli_) and SETONS (_Setacea_[176]).
The effects of these processes bear a strong analogy to those which are
produced by Vesicatories; they are, however, more permanent, and are on
that account better adapted to the relief of those chronic affections
which would seem to require a remedy of long continued influence. In
pulmonary affections, for instance, a seton in the side is frequently
attended with very considerable benefit. The popular belief in humoral
pathology, which continues to influence the mass of mankind, has perhaps
assigned to these remedies a greater share of credit than that to which
they are really entitled, but it must still be acknowledged that when an
ulcer having existed a great length of time, is healed or _dried up_, or
any constitutional discharge is suddenly checked, the health may become
affected. In such cases the establishing a discharge by means of an
Issue is undoubtedly a safe, and often a beneficial operation.
III. OF CHEMICAL REMEDIES.
There is no principle in physiology better established than that which
considers vitality as a power engaged in continual conflict with the
physical, chemical, and mechanical laws, to which every species of
inanimate matter is invariably subject. Every phenomenon of the living
body might be advanced in illustration and support of this general
position. The animal machine is constantly surrounded and assailed by
agents, whose elective attractions for the principles of which it
consists, are so numerous and energetic, that its decomposition would
inevitably and speedily result, were not the adhesion of its molecules
maintained by the conservative influence of a superior power. The
compositions and decompositions which manifest themselves in the
elaborate operations of chylification, sanguification, and secretion,
are carried on by agencies totally distinct from those which govern the
combinations of inert matter, and must be investigated upon principles
essentially different. How then, it may be asked, can a medicinal
substance be brought to act _chemically_ upon the _living_ body?
Notwithstanding the general proposition, that the animal processes to
which we have alluded, are governed by laws peculiar to life, yet it
must be admitted that such processes are occasionally influenced,[177]
modified, and controlled by powers strictly chemical in their operation;
although in some cases it will be seen that such effects afford only
apparent exceptions to the general law: for several of the remedies
whose operations have been regarded as purely chemical, exert their
influence on parts which cannot be strictly considered under the control
of the living principle; of which _Antacids_, and certain _Antidotes_
and _Antiseptics_, to be hereafter explained, may be considered as
examples: in like manner will cataplasms of acetic acid hasten the
exfoliation of carious bone; a practice which has lately been employed
with much success in the Infirmary at Gloucester. Upon the same
principle alkaline applications may be made to dissolve coagulated
blood; suppose, for the sake of illustration, that the bladder should
become filled with coagulum through hemorrhage from the prostate gland,
and that the most serious consequences were to be apprehended from the
distention; in such an emergency, a dilute and tepid solution of potass,
if injected through the catheter, might prove eminently serviceable;
although such a practice would require the utmost skill for its safe
direction, since the removal of the plug, thus afforded by Nature to the
bleeding vessel, might be followed by an immediate return of active
hemorrhage. On the contrary, other agents destroy the vitality of the
organ before they can produce any change in the matter of which it is
composed, as the action of _Escharotics_ will clearly demonstrate.
REFRIGERANTS.
Substances which directly diminish the force of the circulation, and
reduce the heat of the body, without occasioning any diminution of
sensibility or nervous energy.
These remedies may be considered either as external and local, or as
internal and general. In the first case, there will not be much
difficulty in substantiating their claims to be considered _Chemical
Agents_, but in the latter case, the theory of their operation is
unsatisfactory and obscure; and even the facts which are adduced to
establish the existence of such a class of remedies, are of a very
problematical character.
TOPICAL REFRIGERANTS. In the case of external inflammation,
refrigeration may be produced by the application of cold substances,
such as water, ice, or certain saline solutions, or by the abstraction
of heat by means of evaporation, which is very effectually accomplished
by the use of lotions composed of spirit or ether. By these methods we
are capable of directly diminishing the activity of the vessels of the
part; thus, in burns and scalds, the pain is instantly relieved, and the
inflammation effectually reduced.
INTERNAL REFRIGERANTS. There are certain saline substances which, by
undergoing a rapid solution, and acquiring an increased capacity for
caloric, produce a diminution of temperature, and if this takes place in
the stomach, the sensation of cold which it will produce is equivalent
to a partial abstraction of stimulus; which, being extended by sympathy
to the heart, occasions a transient reduction in the force of the
circulation, and by this, or by a similar sympathetic affection, causes
a sensation of cold over the whole body; in this manner Dr. Murray
explains the refrigerant operation of nitre, which after all is of a
very doubtful nature. We shall perhaps not feel much difficulty in
accepting this theory, and in allowing that general refrigerant effects
may be temporarily produced, by occasioning an impression of cold upon
the stomach. The theory which is proposed to explain the refrigerant
operation of vegetable acids and certain other substances, and which we
have now to consider, is derived from those chemical views respecting
animal heat, in which the consumption of oxygen in the act of
respiration is considered the principal source. Dr. Murray,[178] who has
given a luminous exposition of this theory, says “it is established by
numerous experiments and observations, that the quantity of oxygen
consumed in the lungs is materially influenced by the nature of the
ingesta received into the stomach. When the food and drink are composed
of substances which contain a small proportion of oxygen, it is known
that the consumption of oxygen in the lungs is increased, and this even
in a short time after the aliment has been received; thus Mr. Spalding,
the celebrated diver, observed, that whenever he used a diet of animal
food, or drank spirituous liquors, he consumed in a much shorter time
the oxygen of the atmospheric air in his diving-bell; and therefore he
had learned from experience to confine himself to a vegetable diet, and
to water for drink, when following his profession.”[179] During
digestion too, it was established by the experiments of Lavoisier and
Seguin, that a larger proportion of oxygen than usual is consumed.
But it is known, that the animal temperature is derived from the
consumption of oxygen gas by respiration; and, that an increase in that
consumption will occasion a greater evolution of caloric in the system,
and consequently an increase of temperature in the body, while a
diminution in the consumption of oxygen will have an opposite effect.
If, then, when the temperature of the body is morbidly increased, we
introduce into the stomach substances containing a large proportion of
oxygen, especially in a loose state of combination, we may succeed in
reducing the general temperature. This we accomplish in part by a
vegetable diet, but still more effectually by the free use of the
_Acids_. The vegetable acids in particular, which are found by
experience to be the best refrigerants, are readily acted upon by the
digestive powers, and assimilated with the food; and as the large
quantity of oxygen which they contain is already in a concrete state,
little sensible heat can be produced by the combination of that element
with the other principles of the food. The nutritious matter which is
received into the blood, containing thus a larger proportion of oxygen
than usual, will be disposed to abstract less of it from the air in the
lungs, and consequently less caloric will be evolved; the temperature of
the body will be reduced; and this, again operating as a reduction of
stimulus, will lessen the number and force of the contractions of the
heart.
Such is the philosophical web which chemical ingenuity has wove for
us,—the device is beautiful, but the fabric will be found too frail to
endure the touch. The experiments of Dr. Crawford, in proof of the
chemical origin of animal heat, are highly ingenious and plausible, but
it is now generally admitted that the temperature of animals depends
upon the living principle[180] which animates them, and that although
the absorption of oxygen, in the act of respiration, may directly
contribute something to its production, yet that its chief action is
that of serving as a stimulus to the living power in generating it; for,
as Sir Gilbert Blane[181] remarks, oxygen plays an interesting and
active part as an exciting power throughout all nature, both animate and
inanimate. If the heat of the body depended on respiration alone, any
one might, by a voluntary effort of quick, deep, and prolonged
respiration, increase the temperature of his body at will; the effect
also of the emotions of the mind, in generating both heat and cold, adds
Sir Gilbert, is proof sufficient of temperature depending on a vital,
and not on a chemical cause.
ANTACIDS:
Remedies which obviate acidity in the stomach, by combining with the
acid, and neutralizing it.
This is the most decided instance of chemical action which occurs in the
history of medicinal operations. We have an acid whose presence excites
morbid symptoms in the _primæ viæ_, and these are immediately removed by
the administration of any one of those substances which are capable of
forming a natural compound with the acid in question, _out of the body_,
and the same proportions are required in both cases for saturation. If a
carbonated alkali be employed, the same disengagement of carbonic acid
takes place in the stomach as would occur in the laboratory, and a new
compound is produced, whose operation varies according to the chemical
nature of the substance employed; thus, the salt which magnesia forms
with the acid in the stomach proves slightly purgative, while that which
lime produces under similar circumstances is distinguished by an
opposite property.
ANTILITHICS AND LITHONTHRYPTICS.
ANTILITHICS[182] are remedies which have the power of preventing the
formation of those mechanical deposites from the urine, which give
origin to calculous concretions; and may belong either to the class of
Vital, or Chemical Agents.
LITHONTHRYPTICS[183] are those medicines which, by a chemical operation,
are capable of dissolving calculous concretions.
It has been already shewn, while treating the subject of Diuretics, that
certain substances, when internally administered, are capable of passing
the barriers of digestion, and of entering the circulation; and that,
moreover, these bodies may be again separated by the secretory vessels
of the kidneys, and be ejected from the body in the urine. It cannot
therefore be contended, that the urinary calculus is placed beyond the
sphere of direct medicinal influence, nor can any argument, founded upon
the alleged incompatibility of chemical and vital action, be fairly
maintained in this case; for the urinary calculus, as well as the urine
itself,[184] may very justly be considered as extraneous to the living
body. The existence of such a class of remedies as that of
Lithonthryptics being thus established, we have to consider the mode and
possible extent of their operation in the different varieties of the
disease, which they are thus calculated to palliate or cure. In entering
upon this inquiry, it is not my intention to prosecute the subject
farther than may be necessary to explain the _modus operandi_ of the
remedies in question, and in conformity with the object and plan of this
work, to establish some general principles that are to direct us in
their election, combination, and administration; for farther details the
practitioner must consult the systematic treatises of _Prout_[185] and
_Marcet_,[186] and the very able papers of Mr. _Brande_,[187] and Dr.
_Wilson Philip_.[188]
The urine may be considered as one of the most heterogeneous of the
animal fluids;[189] and since a knowledge of its composition, and that
of the morbid changes of which it is susceptible, must constitute the
basis of all our knowledge respecting the formation and cure of
calculous affections, the following results of an elaborate analysis by
_Berzelius_, are submitted with a view to elucidate our pathological
researches.
_Animal Principles._│Water 933·00
„ │Urea 30·10
„ │Lithic Acid 1·00
„ │Pure Lactic Acid, Lactate of Ammonia, and
│ Animal matters not separable from these 17·14
„ │Mucus of the Bladder ·32
_Alkaline and Earthy│Sulphate of Potass
Salts._ │ 3·71
„ │Sulphate of Soda 3·16
„ │Phosphate of Soda 2·94
„ │Phosphate of Ammonia 1·65
„ │Muriate of Soda 4·45
„ │Muriate of Ammonia 1·50
„ │Earthy Phosphates with a trace of Fluate
│ of Lime 1·00
„ │Silex ·03
———————
1000·00
———————
Besides the above ingredients, which appear to be essential to healthy
urine, Dr. Prout observes that in different diseases it may contain
Albumen, Fibrin, and the red particles of the blood; Nitric acid;
various acids, which are found to be modifications of the Lithic; Oxalic
acid; Benzoic acid; Carbonic acid;[190] Xanthic Oxide; Cystic Oxide;
Sugar; Bile; and Pus.
It will be necessary in this place to make a few observations upon the
nature and habitudes of those principles, which are more immediately
active in the production of calculi—
1. _Urea_ is a principle peculiar to urine, and must be regarded as a
result of the action of the kidneys upon some of the constituents
of the blood, perhaps, as Dr. Prout suggests, upon its albuminous
matter. For a long time it was regarded as the peculiar principle
upon which the colour and other sensible qualities of the urine
depended; Berzelius however has corrected this fallacy, and
considers that the Lactic acid, and its accompanying animal
matters, are the bodies which impart to this fluid the
characteristic smell and colour which distinguish it.[191]
2. _Lithic_, or _Uric[192] Acid_. As this principle is not found in
the blood, but is constantly present in healthy urine, it follows
that it must be generated by the action of the kidneys. M.
Majendie[193] has lately endeavoured to prove that its secretion
depends upon the _Azote_ received in alimentary substances, and
for the following reasons, _viz._ 1. Azote is a component part of
_Lithic Acid_[194]—2. Those persons who use a large portion of
animal food, and fermented liquors, are liable to calculous
disorders—3. When animals are confined to food which contains no
Azote, no Lithic acid is formed—but of this anon.—Berzelius and
other animal chemists have supposed that this acid exists in urine
in a free state; but Dr. Prout, whose arguments appear very
satisfactory and decisive, is of opinion that it is always in
combination with ammonia (_Lithate of Ammonia_), from which
however it is very easily separated by the addition of any acid,
even the carbonic, in the form of a red powder. It moreover
appears to be susceptible of several important modifications, with
which it behoves the pathologist to be acquainted; the profession
is greatly indebted to the ingenuity and industry of Dr. Prout for
some very essential additions to our knowledge, respecting the
habitudes of _Lithic acid_ with different bodies.
_Erythric Acid._ When nitric acid diluted with about an equal bulk of
water, is poured upon pure lithic acid, and a moderate heat is
applied, an effervescence takes place, and the lithic acid is
dissolved; if we then concentrate this solution by a gentle
evaporation, we obtain transparent colourless crystals, which have
been found to constitute a peculiar acid, to which M. Brugnatelli
has given the name of _Erythric acid_.
_Purpuric Acid._ Dr. Prout has discovered that if into a strong
solution of the above crystals in water, whilst boiling hot, we
carefully drop some pure ammonia, the solution acquires a
beautiful purple[195] colour, and crystals of _purpurate of
ammonia_ speedily begin to form and subside. If these crystals are
treated by means of potass and sulphuric acid, pure _Purpuric
acid_ is obtained in the form of a yellowish, or cream-coloured
powder.
3. _The Phosphates._ As the Phosphoric acid and its compounds perform
an important part in the generation of calculi, their origin[196]
and history demand particular attention from the chemist. The
Phosphoric acid frequently exists in the urine in a free state,
when it would appear to act, like any other acid, as a precipitant
of the Lithic acid; this however is not the circumstance that
renders its presence formidable; it is to the abundance of its
compounds that we are to look for mischief. In healthy urine the
phosphoric acid appears to exist in union with soda and ammonia,
and partly with lime and magnesia; the latter salts being retained
in solution by an excess of acid; but the proportion of these
bodies is liable to considerable variation.[197]
Having thus briefly noticed those particular points in the chemistry of
the subject with which the therapeutic principles are more immediately
connected, we shall be better prepared to examine and appreciate the
several plans of treatment which have been proposed for the prevention,
cure, or palliation of calculous disorders; and here the subject
naturally divides itself into two parts; the one comprehending the
_modus operandi_ of Antilithics, or those remedies which prevent or
correct the calculous diathesis; the other, explaining the solvent
action of Lithonthryptics over concretions already formed.
The line of demarcation by which healthy and morbid urine are separated,
is so slight that it is difficult to define its limits; nor would the
circumstance appear to be materially important, for the boundary is
daily exceeded, not only with impunity, but even without our
consciousness of the event; and Dr. Prout has accordingly denominated
such occasional deviations, the “_Sediments of Health_.”
The same enlightened author considers that mechanical deposites from the
urine, although composed of the same general ingredients, may, in a
pathological point of view, be conveniently divided into three classes,
viz. _Pulverulent_ or _Amorphous Sediments_; 2. _Crystalline Sediments_,
usually denominated gravel; and 3. _Solid Concretions_, or calculi
formed by the aggregation of these latter sediments. The first of these
may be passed over, as unconnected with the present subject; the latter
however constitutes an essential object of research; for a complete
acquaintance with the chemical history of calculi can alone furnish the
true indications of cure.
Scheele,[198] with whom the inquiry originated, conceived that every
calculus consisted of a peculiar concrete acid, soluble in alkaline
lixivia, and which Morveau denominated the _Lithic Acid_; but the
subsequent researches of Fourcroy, Vauquelin, Wollaston, Pearson, Henry,
Brande, Marcet, and Prout, have demonstrated the existence of _several_
bodies in the composition of urinary calculi, viz. _Lithic Acid_;
_Phosphate of Lime_; _Ammoniaco-magnesian Phosphate_; _Oxalate of Lime_;
_Cystic Oxide_;[199] and _Xanthic Oxide_;[200] to which may be added an
_animal cementing ingredient_. The varieties of calculi produced by the
combination or intermixture of these ingredients, are represented in the
following Tabular Arrangement.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ A TABULAR VIEW OF THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF URINARY CALCULI. │
├───────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────┤
│ SPECIES OF │ EXTERNAL │ CHEMICAL │ REMARKS. │
│ CALCULI. │ CHARACTERS. │ COMPOSITION. │ │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│1. LITHIC or │_Form_, a │It consists │It is the │
│ URIC. │ flattened oval;│ principally of │ prevailing │
│ │ _Specific │ _Lithic Acid_; │ species; but │
│ │ gravity_, │ when treated │ the surface │
│ │ generally │ with nitric │ sometimes │
│ │ exceeds 1·500; │ acid, a │ occurs finely │
│ │ _Colour_, │ beautiful pink │ tuberculated. │
│ │ brownish or │ substance │ It frequently │
│ │ fawn-like; │ results. This │ constitutes the│
│ │ _surface_ │ calculus is │ _Nuclei_ of the│
│ │ smooth, texture│ slightly │ other species. │
│ │ laminated. │ soluble in │ │
│ │ │ water, │ │
│ │ │ abundantly in │ │
│ │ │ the pure │ │
│ │ │ alkalies. │ │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│2. MULBERRY. │_Colour_, │It is _Oxalate of│This species │
│ │ dark-brown; │ Lime_, and is │ includes some │
│ │ _texture_, │ decomposed in │ varieties which│
│ │ harder than │ the flame of a │ are remarkably │
│ │ that of the │ spirit lamp, │ smooth and pale│
│ │ other species; │ swelling out │ coloured, │
│ │ _Sp. grav._ │ into a white │ resembling a │
│ │ from 1·428 to │ efflorescence, │ _hemp seed_. │
│ │ 1·976. │ which is │ │
│ │ _Surface_, │ _Quick-lime_. │ │
│ │ studded with │ │ │
│ │ tubercles. │ │ │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│3. BONE EARTH. │_Colour_, pale │Principally │ │
│ │ brown or gray; │ _Phosphate of │ │
│ │ _surface_ │ Lime_. It is │ │
│ │ smooth and │ soluble in │ │
│ │ polished; │ muriatic acid. │ │
│ │ _structure_, │ │ │
│ │ regularly │ │ │
│ │ laminated; the │ │ │
│ │ laminæ easily │ │ │
│ │ separating into│ │ │
│ │ concrete │ │ │
│ │ crusts. │ │ │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│4. TRIPLE. │_Colour_, │It is an │This species │
│ │ generally │ _Ammoniaco- │ attains a │
│ │ brilliant │ magnesian │ larger size │
│ │ white; │ phosphate_, │ than any of the│
│ │ _surface_ │ generally mixed│ others. │
│ │ uneven, studded│ with phosphate │ │
│ │ with shining │ of lime; pure │ │
│ │ crystals; less │ alkalies │ │
│ │ compact than │ decompose it, │ │
│ │ the preceding │ extricating its│ │
│ │ species; │ ammonia. │ │
│ │ between its │ │ │
│ │ laminæ, small │ │ │
│ │ cells occur, │ │ │
│ │ filled with │ │ │
│ │ sparkling │ │ │
│ │ particles. │ │ │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│5. FUSIBLE. │_Colour_, │A compound of the│It is very │
│ │ greyish-white. │ two foregoing │ fusible, │
│ │ │ species. │ melting into a │
│ │ │ │ vitreous │
│ │ │ │ globule. │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│6. CYSTIC. │Very like the │It consists of │It is a rare │
│ │ Triple │ _Cystic Oxide_;│ species. │
│ │ Calculus, but │ under the │ │
│ │ it is │ blow-pipe it │ │
│ │ unstratified │ yields a │ │
│ │ and more │ peculiarly │ │
│ │ compact, and │ fetid odour. It│ │
│ │ homogeneous. │ is soluble in │ │
│ │ │ acids, and in │ │
│ │ │ alkalies even │ │
│ │ │ if they are │ │
│ │ │ fully saturated│ │
│ │ │ with carbonic │ │
│ │ │ acid. │ │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│7. ALTERNATING.│Its section │Compound of │ │
│ │ exhibits │ several │ │
│ │ different │ species, │ │
│ │ concentric │ alternating │ │
│ │ laminæ. │ with each │ │
│ │ │ other. │ │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│8. COMPOUND. │No characteristic│The ingredients │ │
│ │ form. │ are separable │ │
│ │ │ only by │ │
│ │ │ chemical │ │
│ │ │ analysis. │ │
└───────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────┘
Let us now inquire into the circumstances under which the several
substances enumerated in the foregoing table, are found to be deposited;
and first of the _Lithic acid Diathesis_. It has been already stated,
that the lithic acid exists in the urine in combination with ammonia, so
as to be held in solution under ordinary circumstances; if however any
free acid be generated, the lithic acid is immediately precipitated,
giving rise to the appearance so well known under the name of _red
gravel_; from this view of the subject the lithic acid deposite must be
considered as arising, not from the excess of that substance in the
urine, but from a decomposition of the compounds into which it enters by
the agency of a free acid. M. Majendie is therefore incorrect in
attributing its appearance to the quantity of azote in the ingesta; an
opinion which has been very ably controverted by Dr. Philip, in a paper
published in the sixth volume of the Medical Transactions. It appears,
moreover, that whatever tends to disturb the process of digestion, by
favouring the production of acid, may be considered as the exciting
cause of the lithic deposites; especially where the cutaneous functions
are imperfectly performed; for Dr. Philip is of opinion, that the
precipitating acid, in a healthy state of the system, is thrown off by
the skin; and he supposes that even when generated in excess, it may be
diverted to the surface of the body by merely increasing the insensible
perspiration. The medical treatment of the lithic diathesis is thus
rendered simple and satisfactory; and if the opinion of Dr. Prout be
true, that at least two-thirds of the whole number of calculi originate
from lithic acid, the extreme importance of the subject is too apparent
to require comment. Remedies, medicinal and dietetic, that are capable
of correcting dyspeptic symptoms, such as slight bitters,[201] will
doubtless prove valuable resources; while all those agents which have a
tendency to correct and regulate the insensible perspiration, will
necessarily fall under the head of anti-lithic remedies. Mr. Copland
Hutchison, in a paper which has been published in the Transactions of
the Medico-Chirurgical Society, has shewn a comparative rarity of
calculous disorders in British seamen. Can the quantity of muriate of
soda taken with their food, from its stimulating influence upon the
cutaneous functions, be considered as affording a plausible explanation
of this fact? The _Phosphatic Diathesis_ seems to be accompanied with
considerable derangement of the chylo-poietic viscera, and Dr. Prout
very justly remarks, what I have frequently observed, that the stools
are extremely unnatural; as the phosphates are retained in solution by
an excess of acid, it would appear as if an alkaline principle was
occasionally developed, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that this
may be sometimes derived from bilious regurgitations;[202] in some
cases, the alkali is derived from the spontaneous decomposition of urine
itself, especially where the bladder has lost its _governing
power_,[203] as from some injury[204] of the spine; or from some local
affection of the bladder or prostate gland; wherever the urine undergoes
an incipient process of decomposition, ammonia will be generated, and an
_ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate_[205] be immediately precipitated: hence
in cases where the bladder is unable to discharge its contents, this
deposite is very apt to take place, as in diseases in the prostate; and
this explains the reason why the triple phosphates are so frequently
formed in elderly people, who cannot wholly evacuate their bladder.
It will appear evident from these cursory observations, that some
varieties of Calculi will be influenced by acids, and others by
alkalies, and that the exhibition of such remedies will be liable to
palliate, or to aggravate the symptoms, according to the character and
composition of the offending calculus, and according to the prevailing
diathesis of the patient; as a general rule to direct us in the
chemico-medical treatment of these cases, Dr. Marcet states, that
“_Whenever the lithic acid predominates, the alkalies[206] are the
appropriate remedies, but that when the calcareous or magnesian salts
prevail, the acids are to be resorted to_.” But if it be asked how we
are to discover the nature of the calculous affection, so as to direct
the suitable remedy? the reply is obvious—by an examination of the
sediment deposited by the recent urine, or by an analysis of the small
fragments which are frequently voided with it; the Phosphates subside
from the urine as a _white_, lithic acid, generally, as a _red_ deposit;
and since the phosphates are held in solution in the urine by an excess
of acid, it is evident that whenever such acidity is diminished by the
hand of Nature or art, a white sabulous deposit will ensue; hence, says
Mr. Brande, it occurs in the urine of persons who drink soda water, or
take magnesia; the remedy of such a deposit, when it takes place
habitually, is a course of acidulous medicines; on the contrary, since
_lithic acid_ is precipitated by the acids, alkalies are naturally
suggested for the prevention of that deposit. In the _compound_ calculi,
acids and alkalies may be equally injurious or beneficial, for since
these bodies are composed of a variety of ingredients, the action of any
one solvent must be partial, and may convert the smooth calculus into a
rough and highly irritating body, or vice versa. In the _alternating_
calculi it may be judicious to exhibit these remedies alternately, as
the symptoms of the case and the deposit of the urine may indicate.
After all, however, the solvent powers of Lithonthryptic remedies must
be very limited, and in advanced cases we can never expect to procure
more than palliation. With respect to the agency of these different
remedies, as _Antilithics_, I would observe, that while experience bears
us out in confiding in the production of certain chemical effects from
their use, we must not forget that much is to be effected by their
judicious administration as _vital_ agents: and it will be hereafter my
duty to point out the many advantages that may be obtained, by combining
in one formula, medicines which individually belong to each class.
Independent of any chemical effect, alkaline substances are found by
daily experience to allay the morbid irritability of the urinary organs
in a manner not yet explained; alkalies may also prove _generally_
serviceable in these disorders, by acting immediately upon the digestive
organs, for the disposition of forming calculi is always, more or less,
accompanied with the indications of deranged digestion; and it is
probable that the first link of the series of actions, which cause this
disposition, has its origin in the stomach.
The alkaline carbonates are found to answer as effectually as the pure
alkalies, and they have the advantage of being less liable to disagree
with the stomach. Mr. Hatchett has proposed the carbonate of magnesia,
in doses of ℈j to ʒj, as a valuable substitute for alkaline remedies in
cases of lithic calculi; but as its insolubility must render its
absorption equivocal, the beneficial operation of the substance must
principally depend upon its neutralizing any excess of acid in the primæ
viæ, and in this way there can be no doubt of its lithonthryptic agency;
“but,” says Dr. Marcet, “such is the tendency which the public has to
over-rate the utility of a new practice, or to take a mistaken view of
its proper application, that there is every reason to believe that the
use of magnesia has of late years become a frequent source of evil in
calculous complaints.” Lime-water has been also recommended for the
purpose of fulfilling the same indications, and as not being liable to
produce that irritability of stomach which frequently attends the long
continued use of the fixed alkalies; besides which, some chemists have
maintained that it exerts a peculiar solvent power over the cementing
animal matter of the concretion, and thereby destroys its cohesion.[207]
Where an acid is indicated, the _Muriatic_ will in my judgment be found
as convenient and effectual as any that can be administered. Mr. Brande
proposes _Cream of Tartar_ for this purpose; upon this point I differ
with him, for this salt, to say the least of it, is questionable in its
mode of operation; for although its first impression upon the stomach is
that of an acid, the subsequent processes of digestion decompose it, and
eliminate its base, which being absorbed acts upon the urinary organs as
an alkali. I have seen a white sabulous deposit, consisting of the
Phosphates, in the urine of persons after the constant use of _Imperial_
as a beverage, which I am at a loss to explain upon any other principle.
Sir Gilbert Blane has also very satisfactorily shewn, that a fixed
alkali produces the same effect upon the urinary organs whether it be
exhibited alone, or in combination with citric acid; in this latter case
the salt undoubtedly undergoes a decomposition _in transitu_, as I have
more fully explained under the consideration of Diuretics, (_page 94_.)
During an alterative course of Lithonthryptic remedies it may be
beneficial to interpose occasionally a purgative medicine, but we must
not combine it with the lithonthryptic, at least, if we wish this latter
medicine to reach the urinary passages; for it is a law which I have
already attempted to establish (_see page 94_), that _Catharsis suspends
the process of alimentary absorption_.
There remains to be considered another mode of applying a solvent, and
which would seem on the first view of the subject to be full of
promise,—that of injecting the proposed menstruum into the bladder.
Unfortunately, however, the irritable state of this organ will generally
preclude the possibility of preserving the menstruum, for a sufficient
length of time, in contact with the calculus to accomplish any material
solution; nor am I aware that any case, in favour of such a practice,
stands recorded. An ingenious and novel application of the powers of
Electro-chemistry has been lately[208] proposed by M M. Prevost and
Dumas, as capable of affording means for the solution of the calculus
within the bladder; the suggestion is highly plausible, and ought not to
be hastily rejected without trial. Could the functions of the part be
protected against the influence of so powerful an agent, it is evident
that, by a galvanic battery of sufficient intensity, a calculus composed
of alkaline or earthy salts might be transferred from the bladder by the
simple introduction of a double sound, communicating on one hand with
the calculus, and, on the other, with two vessels filled with water, in
which are plunged the opposite poles of a galvanic apparatus.[209] This
arrangement would transfer the acid constituents into the vessel
connected with the _positive_ end, and the bases into that of the
_negative_ end. So far, however, as the experiments have hitherto been
carried, this degree of galvanic operation would seem to excite too much
irritation in the bladder to be admissible; but it still offers a
resource of an apparently more practicable nature. This consists in
giving to the calculus a tendency to crumble from the slightest force;
such a friability, in short, as shall render it easily broken into
pieces sufficiently small to be evacuated through the urethra,
especially by the aid of dilating that passage, an operation upon which
much has lately been said and written. A fusible calculus from the human
subject was submitted to the action of a pile, consisting of 120 pairs
of plates, for twelve hours in succession. The platinum wires,
constituting the poles, were placed in contact with the calculus, about
six or eight lines distant from each other, and the whole plunged in a
vessel filled with pure water. During the galvanic action, the bases and
phosphoric acid first arrived at their respective poles, then re-entered
into combination, when the salt thus reformed was precipitated in the
state of powder. The calculus weighed 92 grains before the experiment,
and was reduced at its termination to 80. The process being continued,
at the end of sixteen hours it presented a mass of such friable texture
as to be reduced into small crystalline particles by the slightest
pressure; the largest of which did not exceed the size of a lentil, so
that it might have easily passed through the urethra.
In order to ascertain how far this decomposition could be effected in
the living body, the ingenious experimentalists selected a dog of rather
large size, into whose bladder they introduced a fusible calculus
attached to a sound, and between two conductors of platinum; the bladder
was next distended by injecting tepid water, and the apparatus subjected
to galvanic influence. After a little struggling, the animal became
calm, and was subjected to the operation during an hour. On removing the
sound, the calculus shewed unequivocal marks of decomposition. The same
process was repeated, night and morning, during six days, when the
friability of the calculus rendered it impossible to continue the
experiment. It had lost weight in the same proportion as in the
preceding trial. The bladder, which was afterwards examined, exhibited
no appearance of injury or disease.[210] The authors assert that this
organ does not suffer any inconvenience from this more moderate degree
of galvanic action, and suggest, as a proof of the mildness of its
influence, that we should immerse the tongue in a vessel filled with
water, in which a calculus is undergoing decomposition, and it will be
found that the tongue, which is far more sensible than the bladder, will
scarcely perceive the galvanic action, even when decomposition is going
on briskly. The authors add, that this process cannot offer any
advantage for the removal of those calculi which consist wholly of _Uric
acid_, or which contain a large proportion of it.[211]
ANTIDOTES.
Synon: _Alexipharmics._ _Alexiterials._ _Counter-poisons._
Medicines which are capable of preventing the ill effects of a poison;
or, of counteracting its fatal virulence.
There is perhaps no subject upon which the credulity of mankind has been
so extravagantly exercised as on that of POISONS; nor is there,
certainly, any class of remedies whose history has suffered so many
vicissitudes from the caprice of hypothesis, as that of ANTIDOTES.[212]
It is not my intention, on the present occasion,[213] to enumerate the
many extraordinary virtues[214] which credulity has, at different times,
assigned to such medicines; nor shall I consume the time of the reader
by attempting to expose the absurdity of those fearful powers with which
ignorance, terror, and imposture, have invested certain poisons,—a
subtlety so extreme as to defeat the most skilful caution, and a
virulence so manageable as to be capable of the most accurate
graduation; so that while the former attribute was believed to ensure
their deadly operation, although exerted through the most secret and
least suspicious medium, as that of gloves,[215] tapers, or letters, the
latter was said to enable the accomplished assassin to measure the
allotted moments of his victim with the nicest precision, and to
occasion his death at any period that might best answer the objects of
the assassination.[216]
The abandonment of such notions may be considered as one among the many
advantages which have arisen to medicine, from the cultivation of
physiology.
Without farther introduction, I shall proceed to the main object of this
work, and inquire how far a _chemical agent_ may be capable of
neutralizing, or of decomposing, a poisonous substance in the human
body; and endeavour to ascertain the degree of confidence to which it
may in each particular case be entitled; equally important is it to
learn, whether certain _vital_ agents may not be serviceable in cases of
poisoning, either by promoting the elimination of the poison, or by
producing a state of the system best calculated to resist its
deleterious operation.
It may be safely asserted that we possess very few true antidotes; for
although several of the mineral poisons may be neutralized or decomposed
by various reagents, yet their destructive action is generally so rapid,
that the mischief is effected before any chemical changes can avail;
and, in other cases, the substances resulting from the chemical action,
are as poisonous as the original ingredients, as in the case of the
decomposition of _Corrosive Sublimate_, by the alkalies and earths, when
the precipitated oxide is as virulent as the original salt; while, under
certain circumstances, I suspect that the vital powers of the stomach
are in direct opposition to those changes and decompositions which so
readily, and so uniformly, take place in our laboratories. To _vital
agents_ then, the practitioner must principally look for succour; but
before we can establish any general rules for the treatment of
poisoning, it is essential to distinguish between the different modes in
which poisonous substances produce their effects, or at least to
determine the parts of the living system through which they act; for it
will be found, that each poison has its own _modus operandi_, from which
alone can be derived the particular indications of cure.
The hypotheses devised by the ancient physicians, to account for the
destructive powers of these substances, were principally derived from
mechanical notions respecting the supposed form of their particles,
which they imagined capable of lacerating and disuniting the animal
fibres by the sharpness of their spiculæ;[217] it is however, now
satisfactorily established that the action of a poison in the human
stomach is very rarely, if ever, _mechanical_; sometimes _chemical_; but
for the most part _vital_ in its operation.
Each of the three kingdoms of Nature furnishes a number of poisons, the
investigation of whose chemical properties and physiological actions,
and that of the symptoms to which their administration gives rise, the
lesions of structure which they occasion, and of the medical treatment
which they require, constitutes an elaborate branch of science
designated by the term TOXICOLOGY, and of which I have more fully
treated in my work on Medical Jurisprudence.
Poisons differ materially from each other, not only with respect to the
modes in which they produce their effects in relation to the several
vital organs, but with respect to their application; some of those, for
instance, which, if introduced into a wound, are speedily fatal, may be
taken into the stomach with complete impunity, as in the instance of the
venom of the viper and other snakes, which appears to exert no influence
on the stomach; others, on the contrary, display their deleterious
action on the stomach alone, such as caustic acids, and alkalies,
corrosive sublimate, and some chemical poisons; while others, again, are
equally destructive whether applied to the inner surface of the stomach,
or to the lower intestines, in the form of clyster, or even to the
mucous membrane of the mouth or nose; to the eye; to the vagina and
orifice of the uterus, or to an abraded portion of the skin. There is,
moreover, a class of substances which may be termed _Aerial_ poisons,
for they may exist in the state of gas, or be held dissolved in the
atmosphere, and be received by respiration, or by the mucous membranes
of the nose and throat; the saliva may also thus become the medium for
transferring various subtile poisons from the atmosphere to the animal
body; this is well illustrated by the fact of the transfer of metallic
influence, as related in the case of a gentleman in perfect health who
became salivated in consequence of sitting for one hour by the side of a
person who was in a state of mercurial ptyalism, in order to give him a
lesson in botany.
It also deserves notice, that a poison acts with different degrees of
force and celerity in different parts of the same tissue; its
absorption, for instance, would appear to be energetic in proportion to
the number of veins,[218] although several apparent exceptions to this
law might be adduced, and it is evident that the plethoric state of the
part with respect to its blood-vessels has a considerable share in
modifying the effects; this observation, however, has no relation to
those poisons which operate on the system through the sympathetic
communication of the nerves; Mr. Brodie, for instance, found that the
poison of bitter almonds acted more speedily when applied to the tongue
than when injected into the intestine, though the latter presents a much
better absorbing surface.
_Foderé_, in the fourth volume of his _Medicine Legale_, arranges
poisons according to their action on the living system, and which, with
a slight alteration in the order of the classes, has been adopted by
_Orfila_, and most other writers on Toxicology. Poisons are thus reduced
into six classes: viz. 1. CORROSIVE or ESCHAROTIC, as the _Preparations
of Mercury_, _Arsenic_, _Antimony_, _Copper_, _Tin_, _Zinc_, _Silver_,
_Gold_, and _Bismuth_; the _concentrated Acids_, and _caustic Alkalies_,
and _Earths_; _Cantharides_; _glass and enamel powder_; _diamond
dust_.[219] 2. ASTRINGENT POISONS, of which the _preparations of Lead_
constitute the only species. 3. ACRID or RUBEFACIENT POISONS, which,
with a few exceptions, are furnished by the vegetable kingdom, as
certain _drastic purgatives_, _Hellebore_, _Euphorbium_, &c. 4. NARCOTIC
POISONS, _Opium_, _Henbane_, the _Cherry-laurel_, _Stramonium_, &c. 5.
NARCOTICO-ACRID, embracing such articles as produce the united effects
of the two former, and which constitute some of the most deadly poisons,
as the _Ticunas_, _Nux-vomica_, _Belladonna_, _Tobacco_, _Hemlock_,
_Digitalis_, &c. 6. SEPTIC POISONS, _contagious miasmata_, _putrid
exhalations from animal matter_, _Sulphuretted Hydrogen_, the _venom of
the viper_, &c.
The value of this classification has been very justly stated to consist
in its combining to a certain degree, the advantages of a pathological
arrangement with those of one founded on the basis of Natural History;
for, while it is strictly pathological, it at the same time distributes
the different poisons, with some few and unimportant exceptions, in an
order corresponding with that of their natural history. The First two
classes, for instance, present us with substances of a mineral origin;
the Third and Fourth, with those which are chiefly of a vegetable
nature; and the Sixth, with objects principally belonging to the animal
kingdom. The importance of acknowledging a division, which has a
reference to the organic and inorganic kingdoms of Nature, is
considerable in a chemical point of view; for in enumerating the various
experiments to be instituted for the detection of poisons, we are thus
enabled to bring together a connected series of processes, nearly allied
to, intimately connected with, and in some respects mutually dependent
upon, each other. At the same time it must be acknowledged, that this
classification has many defects and some fallacies. In the first place,
it has little or no reference to the enlarged views of the modern
physiologist, respecting the “_modus operandi_” of Poisons; nor indeed
is its construction susceptible of such modifications and improvements,
as can ever render its degree of perfection progressive with the
advancement of science. In the next place, the classes are in many
particulars ill defined, and indistinctly, if not erroneously, divided.
How questionable, for instance, are the boundaries which separate
_Corrosive_ from _Acrid_ poisons? the respective species, even, of each
class are, in many cases, less allied to each other, than are the great
divisions to which they are subordinate. As an exemplification of this
fact we have only to compare the physiological actions of _Arsenic_ and
_Corrosive Sublimate_, both of which are arranged under the class of
Corrosive Poisons. The former of these substances undoubtedly occasions
death by being absorbed, and thus acting as a vital agent; the latter,
by its local action, as a caustic on the textures with which it
immediately comes into contact. In the same manner, if we examine the
individual actions of the different species composing the class of
“_Acrid_ Poisons,” we shall discover the same want of uniformity; thus,
the _Spurge Flax_, and the _Iatropa Curcas_, act by occasioning a local
inflammation, while the _Hellebore_, being rapidly absorbed, exerts a
fatal action on the nervous system, and produces only a very slight
inflammation. The class of Narcotic Poisons is certainly more absolute
in its definition, and more uniform in its physiological affinities, and
therefore less objectionable than the divisions to which we have just
alluded; but the propriety of the class “_Narcotico-Acrid_” is by no
means equally unexceptionable; indeed Orfila himself questions it,
“because the narcotic or sedative effects only follow the previous
excitement.” Some of the poisons of this division also are rapidly
absorbed, and act, through the medium of the circulation, on the nervous
system, without producing any local inflammation; while others, on the
contrary, merely act upon the extremities of the nerves, with which they
come in contact, and, without being absorbed, occasion death by a
species of sympathetic action.
These few objections, and many more might be urged, are sufficient to
demonstrate the imperfection of the classification under consideration,
and which must render it wholly unavailable to the physician in the
treatment of cases of poisoning, who must derive his plan of cure from
the physiological action of the substance against which he has to
contend; thus, for instance, _Arsenic_ and _Corrosive Sublimate_ are
both corrosive poisons, but so materially do they differ from each other
in their physiological actions that, when swallowed, they will require
for the preservation of the individual, a very different system of
treatment.
For such reasons I have ventured to propose a new arrangement of
Poisons, which may furnish the practitioner with a general theorem for
the administration of Antidotes.
A SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF POISONS,
NEWLY ARRANGED
ACCORDING TO THE DIFFERENT PRIMARY OPERATIONS, BY WHICH THEY PRODUCE
THEIR EFFECTS,
With a view to furnish a General Theorem for the administration of
Antidotes.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
CLASS I. POISONS WHICH ACT PRIMARILY, THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF THE
NERVES, WITHOUT BEING ABSORBED; OR EXCITING LOCAL
INFLAMMATION.
_Order 1._ _By which the functions of the Nervous System are
suspended, or destroyed._
(_Death by Suffocation from paralysis of the
Respiratory muscles._)
Alcohol.
Aconite.
Oil of Tobacco.
Essential Oil of Almonds.[220]
Camphor.[220]
Opium?[220]
Salts of Lead?
Croton Tiglium.[221]
_Order 2._ _By which the heart is rendered insensible to the
Stimulus of the Blood._
(_Death by Syncope._)
Infusion of Tobacco.
Upas Antiar.
CLASS II. POISONS WHICH, BY ENTERING THE CIRCULATION, ACT THROUGH THAT
MEDIUM, WITH DIFFERENT DEGREES OF ENERGY, ON THE HEART,
BRAIN, AND ALIMENTARY CANAL.
(_Death in many forms._)
Arsenic.
Emetic Tartar.
Muriate of Baryta.
Hellebore.
Savine.
Meadow Saffron.
Squill.
Opium?[221]
Lettuce.
Henbane.
Prussic Acid.
Deadly Nightshade.[221]
Hemlock.
Camphor.[221]
Coculus Indicus.
CLASS III. POISONS WHICH, THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF THE CIRCULATION, EXPEND
THEIR ENERGIES UPON THE SPINAL MARROW, WITHOUT DIRECTLY
INVOLVING THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN.
(_Death by Tetanic Convulsions._)
Nux Vomica—and the whole tribe of
_Strychnus_.
CLASS IV. POISONS WHICH PRODUCE A DIRECT LOCAL ACTION ON THE MUCOUS
MEMBRANE OF THE ALIMENTARY CANAL.
(_Death by Gangrene._)
Corrosive Sublimate.[220]
Verdigris.
Muriate and
Oxide of Tin.
Sulphate of Zinc.
Nitrate of Silver.
Concentrated Acids.
Caustic Alkalies.
Cantharides.
Bryony.
Elaterium.
Euphorbium.
Colocynth.
Hedge Hyssop.
Ranunculi.
Nitre.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The _First Class_ of our arrangement comprehends such poisons as
operate, through the medium of the nerves, upon the organs immediately
subservient to life; in their application it is obvious that they cannot
require to be introduced into the stomach; they may convey their
destructive influence by an application to any part duly supplied with
nerves, and whose extremities are exposed to their action. It had been
long admitted that a poison might occasion death, by acting on the
nerves of the stomach and intestines without being absorbed; but to the
experimental labours of Mr. Brodie[222] we are principally indebted for
our present correct views of the subject. The class admits of two
important divisions, into one comprehending those poisons which destroy
the functions of the brain, and into another, including those which
direct their influence upon the heart. We shall offer a few observations
upon the facts which have suggested such a division, and upon the
practical advantages which may attend its adoption.
It was observed by _Bichât_, and the observation has been fully
confirmed by _Brodie_, that the influence of the brain is not _directly_
necessary to the action of the heart; and is _immediately_ necessary to
life, only because the muscles of respiration owe their action to its
influence.[223] For when the functions of the brain are destroyed, even
when the head is removed, the heart continues to contract for some time
afterwards, and then ceases only in consequence of the suspension of
respiration, which is under the direct influence of the brain. Assuming
this as a fact, it will appear evident that certain poisons may, by
affecting the brain, so paralyse the muscles of respiration as to
occasion death by suffocation, and by such a mode of operation I imagine
that those substances, arranged in the former division of my first
class, prove mortal. _Mr. Brodie_ accordingly found that, by the
administration of a large dose of alcohol to a rabbit, the pupils of its
eyes became dilated, the extremities convulsed, and the respiration
laborious, and that this latter function was gradually performed at
longer and longer intervals, and that it at length entirely ceased. Two
minutes after the apparent death of the animal, he opened the thorax,
and found the heart acting with moderate force and frequency,
_circulating dark coloured blood_; he then introduced a tube into the
trachea, and produced artificial respiration by inflating the lungs, and
he found that by these means the action of the heart might be kept up to
the natural standard, as in an animal from whom the head is removed. The
same phenomena resulted from the injection of two drops of the
_Essential Oil of Bitter Almonds_, diffused in half an ounce of water,
into the rectum of a cat; and from the application of the empyreumatic
oil of _Tobacco_ to the tongue, and rectum of cats and dogs. Now it is
obvious that the functions of the brain are immediately disordered by
the influence of these poisons on the tongue, stomach, and lower bowels
of animals, so instantaneously, that it is impossible absorption should
have already taken place.
Although the general proposition seems to be established, that the brain
is not _immediately_ necessary to the action of the heart, yet it must
not lead us to the conclusion that the heart is therefore incapable of
being affected by violent impressions on the nervous system; the fact is
quite otherwise, for although the brain may be removed, and the
circulation be nevertheless maintained by artificial respiration, yet an
injury of another kind inflicted on the brain, may be followed by those
immediately fatal consequences which decapitation itself would not
produce; thus is a blow on the head commonly followed by syncope, and
there are certain poisons that would seem to act in the same manner,
such is the _Infusion of Tobacco_,[224] which suspends the action of the
heart long before the animal ceases to respire, and kills by producing
syncope, although in this latter case it has been questioned whether the
spinal marrow may not be primarily affected, which has been shewn by
recent experiments to have an intimate relation with the action of the
heart. Be this as it may, it is sufficiently obvious, that the second
division of the first class is sanctioned by theory, and confirmed by
experiment.
We come now to speak of the Second Class,—of those Poisons which enter
the circulation, and act through that medium on the heart, brain, and
alimentary canal. These organs, however, are affected in very different
degrees by different poisons, or even by the same poisons, under
different circumstances. _Mr. Brodie_ has shewn that vegetable poison,
although when introduced into the alimentary canal affect life, in
consequence of the nervous sympathy which subsists between these
surfaces and the common sensorium, yet, that the same poisons applied
externally to a wound, produce their effects exclusively through the
medium of the circulation, being conveyed to the brain only by mixing
with the blood in its vessels, and not by being conveyed through the
lymphatics, for a ligature upon the great blood-vessels prevents their
producing deleterious effects; whereas a ligature upon the thoracic
duct, or general canal through which all the absorbents pour their
contents into the blood, does _not_ in the least retard or prevent the
operation of the poison. There are also several of the mineral poisons
which, whether introduced into the stomach, or applied externally to a
wound, poison the animal in consequence of being carried into the
circulation. It had long been supposed that Arsenic occasioned death by
inflaming the stomach; but _Mr. Brodie_ has very satisfactorily shewn
that its influence arises from its absorption, and that it must be
regarded rather as a _vital_, than as a _chemical_ agent. In the first
place, he has found the inflammation of the stomach, in several cases,
so slight, that on a superficial examination it might have been easily
overlooked; and, in most of his experiments with Arsenic, death took
place in too short a time to be considered as the result of
inflammation; and in the next place, in whatever manner the poison is
applied, whether _externally_ to a wound, or _internally_ to the
membrane of the stomach, the inflammation is confined to the stomach and
intestines; and, indeed, it is commonly more violent, and even more
immediate, when applied to a wound, than when internally administered;
and it also precedes any inflammation of the wound. This important fact
was proved by an experiment made by Mr. Hunter and Sir Everard Home, and
subsequently by the repeated investigations of Mr. Brodie.
It has been just stated that after a poison has found its way into the
circulation, it expends its virulence upon some particular organs. In
some cases this is much more striking than in others. The preparations
of _Baryta_, and of _Tartarized Antimony_, attack the heart, and
occasion death by syncope. _Arsenic_ is less definite in its action, it
influences both the brain and the heart, but with different degrees of
force in different cases, so that it is often difficult to ascertain
which of these organs is the first to fail in its functions.
_Hydro-cyanic Acid_ is absorbed, and destroys life by its action upon
the nervous system, whose energies it would seem to extinguish without
any ostensible injury to the respiration and circulation; for in all
those animals which were killed by it in the experiments of _Orfila_,
_Brodie_, and others, the heart was found acting regularly, and
circulating dark-coloured blood; and in some cases, this phenomenon was
visible for many minutes after the animal was in other respects
apparently dead.
Some substances would seem to direct their powers to various parts of
the alimentary canal; and the appearance so produced might be mistaken
for the effects of the local action of the poison, had they not been
clearly proved by experiment to have arisen from an application
addressed through the medium of the circulation; thus is inflammation of
the _primæ viæ_ induced by the contact of Arsenic with an external
surface of the body!
The _Third Class_ of my arrangement includes those poisons which enter
the circulation, and, through that medium, expend their influence upon
the spinal marrow, without _directly_ involving the functions of the
brain. _M. Majendie_, in the year 1809, submitted to the first class of
the French Institute a series of experiments which had conducted him to
the extraordinary result above stated. He found that an entire class of
vegetables (the _bitter Strychnus_) possesses this singular property.
The _Fourth Class_ comprehends all those substances which destroy life
by a local action upon the alimentary canal, not by any impression upon
their nerves, but by simply inducing a fatal lesion in the membranes.
Through one or more of the above modes of operation all poisons may be
said to produce their fatal effects. In some cases a poisonous substance
will be found to act in several different ways; thus, the _Nightshade_
is evidently absorbed, carried into the circulation, and is enabled,
through that medium to act upon the brain; at the same time it exerts a
local action upon the stomach, although less violent than that
occasioned by the acrid poisons; it moreover would appear, upon some
occasions, to act directly through the medium of the nerves, like those
substances which have been received in our first class, or else, how
shall we explain the fact of the pupil of the eye becoming permanently
dilated by the contact of the _Belladonna_ with the tunica conjunctiva?
It would appear therefore that this plant unites within itself all the
three great modes of action, upon which I have just attempted to
establish a physiological arrangement of Poisons. So again, _Corrosive
Sublimate_, although placed in the fourth division, as being a substance
which destroys by inflicting local mischief, is nevertheless capable of
being absorbed. The embarrassments, however, which might be supposed to
arise from this double mode of operation, are of but trifling
importance. It is to the primary operation of a poison to which we are
to direct our attention, the subsequent effects are less important in as
much as they are more capable of being controlled.
Having thus offered a summary of our present views respecting the
physiological action of Poisons, we are prepared to lay down a general
plan of treatment, which, it will be seen, can only be successful when
conducted on principles strictly conformable with the just notions which
the preceding experiments have so satisfactorily established.
Where a poisonous substance has, either through accident or design,
found its way into the alimentary canal, three important indications
are, if possible, to be fulfilled; and under these heads I shall offer
such observations as may serve to instruct the practitioner in the
philosophy of the general treatment, reserving the details to be
observed in that of each poison, for more particular notice in a
subsequent part of the work, where the history of these substances will
be individually considered. The indications to which I allude are the
following, viz.
1. _The immediate ejectment of the poison from the body, by the
operation of vomiting and purging._
Whatever may be the nature of the poison, we should endeavour with all
possible expedition, to eject it from the body; and upon the promptness
with which this is effected, the safety of the patient will generally
depend; for the dangerous effects of such substances advance in a very
increasing ratio, with the time they remain in contact with a living
surface. A question may arise, whether in some cases it would not be
judicious to attempt in the first instance the neutralization or
decomposition of the poison; where a mineral acid, or a caustic alkali
has been swallowed, it would undoubtedly be right to neutralize, and
dilute it, as soon as possible, and then to excite vomiting, which may
be advantageously effected by thrusting the finger down the throat, or
by tickling the internal fauces with a feather: where an emetic is at
hand, whatever may be its nature, it should be promptly given, but if
circumstances will allow us the opportunity of selection, _Antimony_,
_Ipecacuanha_, &c. should be rejected, and _Sulphate of Zinc_, or
_Sulphate of Copper_, for several reasons, be preferred; in the first
place they do not require much dilution[225] for their action, a
circumstance of no small importance in the treatment of poisons that act
by being absorbed; in the next place, they are extremely expeditious, a
dose of fifteen or twenty grains producing almost instantaneous
vomiting, without exciting that previous stage of nausea which so
frequently characterises other emetics, and which occasions a state of
the vascular system highly favourable to the function of absorption, (as
I have so fully explained at page 86, &c.)
The practice of emptying the stomach by means of a syringe, as proposed
by Boerhaave, has lately been revived with all the confidence of a _new_
invention. There are cases of narcotic poisoning in which there can be
no doubt it would furnish the practitioner with a valuable resource, but
I much fear that it will be found to be less successful than its more
sanguine advocates have anticipated; for where the stomach has so far
lost its power as to be insensible to the stimulus of a potent emetic,
the chances of recovery are small; the practice, however, in such cases
ought never to be neglected, for it cannot possibly do harm, and may
perhaps be beneficial.
After all has been ejected, which the operations of art can effect, we
are to proceed, without delay, to the fulfilment of the second
indication; viz.
2. _The Decomposition of any remaining Portion, and the adoption of
measures best calculated to obviate its absorption._
Where the substance is in a solid form, and acts by absorption, we
should be very cautious how we favour its solution; while, if it exists
in a liquid state, our object must be to render its active portion
insoluble; this problem involves a series of questions which are wholly
_chemical_. In order to prevent, or retard, the absorption of the active
matter, we must, to a great degree, depend upon the agency of _vital_
adjuvants; this latter indication however does not apply to _Corrosive
Sublimate_ and other substances which act upon the stomach locally, and
are not absorbed; copious dilution also, in such cases, will frequently
disarm the poison of its virulence,[226] but it should be followed as
quickly as possible by vomiting. In cases where the poison requires to
be absorbed, before it can display its energies, it would be generally
unsafe to administer any solvent. Nothing therefore can be less true as
an aphorism, nor more dangerous as a precept, than the unqualified
assertion of Boerhaave, “_Aqua omnia venena enervat, quæ cum aqua
misceri possunt_.” (Prælect. in Instit: T. vi. p. 289.) _Alkaline_
solutions and _Magnesia_, in cases of the ingestion of arsenic,
accelerate its fatal effects, by promoting its solution,[227] whereas
_Lime_, or its _Carbonate_, has as an opposite tendency,[228] in
consequence of the insolubility of _Arsenite of Lime_; so again, Orfila
has shewn that the pernicious qualities of the _Muriate of Baryta_ are
counteracted by the administration of any soluble _Sulphate_, which
renders the former substance _insoluble_. In cases where _Verdegris_ has
been swallowed, the administration of vinegar greatly increases its
virulence, as M. Drouard has ascertained, by converting the substance
into a soluble _acetate of copper_. This view of the subject will
explain why the pure earth _Baryta_ is so slow, and comparatively inert,
in its effects upon the system, while its _muriate_ is distinguished by
the extreme rapidity and virulence with which it operates. The propriety
of administering _vinegar_, _lemonade_, and different acid potations, in
order to counteract the baneful effects of _Opium_, which has been so
often questioned, will thus also receive ample explanation; it must
appear that, if any quantity of the substance of opium remain in the
primæ viæ, acid, or mucilaginous drinks will, by favouring its solution
and absorption, accelerate its fatal effects;[229] but should it have
been previously ejected from the stomach, that then the anti-narcotic
influence of a vegetable acid[230] may remove the consecutive stupor and
delirium, and thus realize the expectations which Virgil has so
poetically raised.
“Media fert tristes succos tardumque saporem
Felicis Mali: quo non præsentius ullum
(Pocula si quando sævæ infecere novercæ
Miscueruntque herbas, et non innoxia verba)
Auxilium venit, ac membris agit atra venena.”
“Nor be the Citron, Media’s boast unsung,
Though harsh the juice, and ling’ring on the tongue.
When the drug’d bowl mid witching curses brew’d
Wastes the pale youth by step-dame hate pursu’d,
Its powerful aid unbinds the mutter’d spell
And frees the victim from the draught of hell.”
Chardin, in his travels through Persia, informs us that when a Persian
finds himself in a distressed situation, he has recourse to a piece of
opium as large as the thumb, and that immediately afterwards he drinks a
glassful of vinegar; by which he is thrown into a fit of laughter,
terminating in convulsions and death.
With regard to the use of _Antidotes_, it has been already stated how
little they are to be depended upon; in certain cases, however, we are
bound to acknowledge their power, but they should be very rarely
trusted, unless subsequent to, or in conjunction with, the operation of
an emetic; in many cases the effects of this latter remedy may be
promoted by the ingestion of liquids holding the particular antidote in
solution, a practice which offers the double advantage of accelerating
the elimination of the poison, and at the same time of decomposing any
which may remain. Orfila has fully established the fact of _Albumen_
being a counter-poison to _Corrosive Sublimate_; vomiting may therefore
be very judiciously promoted in cases of such poisoning by water holding
the white of egg in solution; with equal effect, where _Verdegris_ has
been swallowed, sugared water may be used as a diluent to encourage
emesis; and _Muriate of Soda_ in solution will be found the most
efficient antidote to _Nitrate of Silver_; and _Sulphate of Magnesia_ to
_Acetate of Lead_. Where an emetic salt, like _Tartarized Antimony_, has
been taken, copious dilution with common water will in general so
provoke vomiting, as to render it its own antidote; but it may be useful
to remember, that the _Infusion of Galls_, and according to Berthollet,
the _Decoctions of Bark_, at the temperature of from 30° to 40° _Fah._
have the power of decomposing it; while Orfila considers milk the most
efficient counter-poison to the _Sulphate of Zinc_.
Having ejected from the stomach all the poisonous matter we can by
vomiting, and attempted to decompose what remains, we are to pursue such
measures as may be calculated to prevent the absorption of the poison
into the circulation; it has been already observed that on this account
nauseating emetics should be avoided; the reader is now requested to
refer to our _exposé_ of the celebrated doctrine of _Majendie_, (_page
86_, _note_) and he will see that _Venesection_ proves one of the most
powerful means of exciting the function of absorption; hence in
poisoning by arsenic, such an expedient should never be
recommended,[231] while a particle of that substance remains in the
body; where _Corrosive Sublimate_ has been swallowed, the same
precaution is unnecessary. The last indication which remains to be
fulfilled is—
3. _To anticipate the occurrence of the Consecutive Phœnomena, and to
combat them by appropriate treatment._
This is to be conducted on the general principles of Therapeutics; the
treatment must necessarily vary in each particular case. Where the
exhaustion of nervous energy is to be feared, as after poisoning by
_Prussic Acid_, ammonia, and other diffusible stimulants, together with
external warmth, will furnish the best resource; for the same reason
Venesection should be performed with great caution and judgment after a
narcotic poison. Where, on the other hand, inflammatory action is to be
anticipated, it is unnecessary to detail the plan of treatment which may
be adopted with the greatest chance of success. In cases where the
nervous system is stupified, the symptoms may be combated by vegetable
acids, infusion of coffee, &c. but where it is in a state of
præternatural excitement, recourse must be had to opiates.
ESCHAROTICS:[232]
Substances whose application to the animal solids, erodes, or decomposes
them.
The operation of these bodies may, in general, be considered chemical;
for having destroyed the life of the part to which they are applied,
they cause, as if by a species of resulting affinity, the elements of
the animal matter to enter into a new state of combination; this is well
exemplified in the action of caustic potass, where the nascent elements
thus disengaged by the decomposition of the animal substance, reunite in
proportions to generate an oily matter, which may be observed to form a
film over the ulcerated surface, while the excess of nitrogen and
hydrogen constitute ammonia, which is disengaged during the action of
the caustic; and may be rendered sensible by inverting over the surface,
a small jar moistened with muriatic acid, when the fumes of _Muriate of
Ammonia_ become visible.[233]
Their surgical value consists in their power to remove excrescencies, to
establish an ulcer, or to convert an ulcerated surface into a simple
sore.
IV. OF MECHANICAL REMEDIES.
This subdivision includes those classes of remedies, whose operation
depends entirely upon _mechanical_ principles; and we must agree with
Dr. Murray in considering them as the least important of all the
articles which we have enumerated, and which cannot therefore constitute
objects of elaborate inquiry.
ANTHELMINTICS:
Remedies which expel worms[234] from the intestinal canal.
It has been already stated, (_page 90_) that certain bodies have the
power of increasing the peristaltic motions of the intestinal canal, by
operating as mechanical stimulants upon its fibres; in this manner the
filings of tin and iron, or the irritating down which covers the pods of
the _Dolichos Pruriens_, are supposed to act in dislodging and
evacuating the worms from the intestines. But there is a variety of
remedies employed as vermifuges, which must owe their effects to a very
different mode of operation; _Bitters_ for instance appear to prove an
absolute poison[235] to these animals, while they, at the same time,
give an increased tone to the organs of digestion; from whose debility
the generation of worms would seem to arise. Other remedies, again,
obviously depend upon their simple cathartic property, for the powers
which they possess in the evacuation of worms. See _Terebinthinæ
Oleum_—_Cambogia_.
In the cure of Ascarides the local application of the remedy becomes
necessary, in the form of glyster, and which acts both _mechanically_ in
washing out the gut, and _medicinally_ in proving obnoxious to the
animals. According to the experience of some of our best practitioners,
a strong decoction of the _Semina Santonici_ proves most efficacious
upon these occasions.
DEMULCENTS:
Medicines which are capable of shielding sensible surfaces from the
action of acrid matter, by involving it in a mild and viscid medium.
It cannot be denied that where these remedies admit of direct
application, considerable benefit may arise; in the progress of a
catarrh, we have all experienced the relief that may be occasioned by
lubricating the fauces with demulcents, which, by soothing the top of
the trachea, quiets, by a kind of contiguous sympathy, the whole
pulmonary structure; in certain states of intestinal irritation, the
same remedies have furnished considerable benefit, and in ophthalmia,
relief has been obtained by the application of a demulcent to the
inflamed conjunctiva, by which it is defended from the irritation of the
tears; see also _Formula 61_; but in parts beyond the reach of the first
passages, and to which no fluid can arrive but through the medium of the
secretions, it is very difficult to explain the principle upon which
their beneficial operation can depend; and it seems indeed highly
probable that they act in such cases as simple diluents, for the process
of digestion must necessarily deprive them of their characteristic
viscidity. The administration of demulcent drinks in gonorrhæa is
probably of no farther service in assuaging the _ardor urinæ_, than an
equivalent quantity of pure water; although Dr. Murray observes, “it is
sufficiently certain, that many substances, which undergo the process of
digestion, are afterwards separated in their entire state from the
blood, by particular secreting organs; and there is, continues he, no
gland which has this power more particularly than the kidneys;
substances received into the stomach and digested, afterwards passing
off in the urine with all their peculiar properties.” This is
undoubtedly very true, but mucilaginous substances rarely or never pass
off in this manner; if they evade the assimilative functions, they pass
through the alimentary canal, and are thus eliminated. I can state, as
the result of experiment, that the urine undergoes no change except in
the relative proportion of its water, by the copious and repeated
administration of mild mucilages. Dr. Saunders has very justly remarked
that the long list of _Ptisans_, _Decoctions_, _&c._ usually prescribed
upon these occasions, generally owe their virtues to the watery diluent
itself.
The pharmaceutical applications of this class of medicines constitute,
perhaps, not the least part of their value, by which we are enabled to
introduce acrid substances into the stomach with safety and effect; but
such services will more properly fall under our notice in a future part
of the work.
DILUENTS:
Watery liquors, which increase the fluidity of the blood, and render
several of the secreted and excreted fluids less viscid.
There are certainly few remedies whose operation is more simple,
obvious, or important; and yet there are scarcely any whose value has
been more mistaken, or whose application has been so frequently
perverted through the suggestions of false theory; water is the
universal beverage of animals, and the necessity of its supply is
indicated by thirst, a sensation which in excess, is borne with less
tranquillity even than that of hunger; in certain morbid states of the
body its presence is to be regarded as indicating the necessity of
copious potation; and yet how often has the prejudiced physician, under
such circumstances, aggravated the pressure of disease, by adding the
sufferings of Tantalus. In febrile affections, the irritation of thirst
tends to keep up the disease, and hence diluents, besides the other
beneficial effects which they may produce, must be regarded as important
remedies. There are also diseases of the alimentary canal which may be
removed by the same agents; when water is conveyed into the intestines
it will have a tendency, by mixing with, and diluting the biliary
secretion, to diminish its acrimony, and thus to obviate a source of
morbid irritation; the dilution of the chyme and chyle may also have a
salutary tendency, and favour the absorption of the finer and more
nutritive parts of the lacteals; and by increasing the fluidity of the
mass, expedite the numerous combinations which it is destined to
undergo. The blood itself is also thus modified in its fluidity;
although it has been very truly observed that in healthy bodies, or such
as are without any obstruction of the excretions, an unusual distension
of the vessels cannot be produced, or at least long subsist; for it is
evident that such an increased quantity of water in the blood will
immediately pass off by one or other of the excretions; this effect,
however, in itself, renders the operation of diluents of signal service
in the treatment of the disease; in consequence, for instance, of their
disposition to pass off by urine, they furnish valuable resources in
diseases of the urinary organs, allaying the pain of strangury, and the
irritation from an inflamed bladder. From these observations, the
practitioner will be led to appreciate the value of diluents; and many
of the beneficial effects which are daily experienced from the copious
potation of mineral waters, are, without doubt, to be wholly attributed
to simple dilution. See _Aqua_.
It is here necessary to say a few words upon the misapplication of this
order of remedies. Dr. Davy found by experiment that when an animal is
bled to death, the last portions of blood that flow are of a much lower
specific gravity than that which flows first, in consequence of the
former containing more water, which it may be inferred was derived by
the increased activity of the absorbents, exerted chiefly on mucous and
serous membranes. Since then venesection promotes and accelerates
absorption,[236] it is clear that, in inflammatory diseases, where we
have recourse to blood-letting, in order to diminish the volume of
circulating fluids, we ought not to suffer the patient to indulge in an
unrestrained use of liquids, which he eagerly demands to satisfy a
thirst which, in all probability, is the natural consequence of
increased absorption. In such cases, it is often better to take liquids
in small divided doses, which will have the effect of moderating the
thirst, without overloading the arterial system, and bringing on that
tension and plenitude which are liable to be produced by swallowing too
large a proportion of liquids.
In the use of water upon such occasions, it may moreover be observed,
that its temperature ought to be attended to; as a general rule it may
be laid down, that in the _cold_ stage it should be hot, in the _hot_,
cold, and in the _sweating_, tepid.
With regard to the value of diluents, as capable of promoting the
operation of other remedies, many observations of great practical
importance might be adduced; but this subject will be more properly
elucidated when we come to consider the influence of solubility in
modifying the activity of medicinal substances, and which constitutes a
very curious and interesting object of chemico-medical enquiry.
While speaking of Diluents it may be cursorily noticed, that water
appears, under certain circumstances of the body, to suffer
decomposition, and to have its elements appropriated to new
combinations. Count Rumford has endeavoured to prove, that the
surprisingly small quantity of solid food which is sufficient for
nourishment, when converted into rich and palatable soup, is owing to
the culinary process having prepared the water for chemical
decomposition,[237] and that this is ultimately effected during the act
of Digestion.[238] It cannot be denied that the exorbitant potation of
water has a tendency to produce fat, but this may depend upon the
vascular distention which is thus occasioned. Gin drinkers, before they
become materially injured by the habit, grow extremely corpulent, as may
often be witnessed in unfortunate cyprians of the lower orders. Can the
hydrogen of the spirit contribute to this effect?
EMOLLIENTS:
Substances whose application diminishes the force of cohesion in the
particles of the solid matter of the human body, and thereby renders
them more lax and flexible.
According to this definition, which we derive from Dr. Cullen, the
primary operation of emollients would appear to be purely mechanical,
for they are insinuated into the matter of the solid fibre, and either
diminish its density, or lessen the friction between its particles; this
explanation will undoubtedly apply to those emollients which consist of
unctuous bodies, and which are introduced into the animal fibre by
friction; but it is evident that the beneficial effects of _Cataplasms_
and _Fomentations_ cannot be so explained; for in these instances, none
of the materials can be absorbed through the entire cuticle; and yet the
relaxation and consequent ease which such warm applications produce on
inflamed surfaces is very considerable, but it must be wholly attributed
to the relaxing effects of warmth and moisture upon the extreme vessels
of the surface, propagated by _contiguous sympathy_ to the deeper seated
organs.
The operation of those substances which afford relief to excoriated
surfaces by their bland qualities, as mucilaginous lotions in
erysipelatous affections, is too obvious to require explanation.
Having thus investigated the manner in which medicinal substances
produce their effects upon the living system, we shall be better
prepared to appreciate the advantages which are to be derived from their
combination with each other, and to escape the too common error of
uniting in one formula, remedies which are rendered adverse by the
incompatibility of their physiological actions.
ON THE
THEORY AND ART
OF
PRESCRIBING.
“_To know
“That which before us lies in daily life,
“Is the prime wisdom._”
MILTON.
ON THE
THEORY AND ART
OF
PRESCRIBING.
OF MEDICINAL COMBINATION.
“_Variorum mixtura novas sæpe vires generet, in simplicibus nequaquam
reperiundas longe saluberrimas._”
GAUBIUS.
It is a truth universally admitted, that the arm of physic has derived
much additional power and increased energy, from the resources which are
furnished by the mixture and combination of medicinal bodies. I by no
means intend to insinuate that the physician cannot frequently fulfil
his most important indications by the administration of one simple
remedy; I only contend that, in many cases, by its scientific
combination with other medicines, it will not only act with greater
certainty and less inconvenience, but that its sphere of influence may
be thus more widely extended, and its powers so modified or changed, as
to give rise to a remedy of new powers. Such a theory is amply justified
by the state of combination in which certain medicinal principles are
found in our more efficient vegetable remedies, while the medicinal
practice founded upon it is thus, as it were, sanctioned by Nature’s own
prescriptions; enter but her laboratory, and you will soon be satisfied,
that many of her potent remedies do not owe their valuable powers to any
one specific ingredient, but to the combined or modified energies of
various, and sometimes opposite principles. This view of the subject
opens an interesting and unexplored field[239] of medical and chemical
research, and I shall endeavour to avail myself of the novelties its
investigation may present, and of the hints it may suggest for the
improvement of _extemporaneous combination_. By contemplating the laws
by which Nature effects her wise purposes, we may learn to emulate her
processes, and even in some cases to correct and assist her
operations:[240] such at least has been the happy result of our labours
in the other departments of natural knowledge. It is said for instance
that by observing the means used by nature for preventing the diffusion
of light in the eye-ball, Euler derived an important hint for the
improvement of his telescope; and more lately, the structure of the
crystalline humour of the eye has been successfully imitated in the
invention of achromatic lenses. On the other hand, it is hardly
necessary to observe to what extent these instruments of art are capable
of improving and multiplying the powers of that natural organ, to the
contemplation of whose structure and functions, we are, as I have just
stated, so greatly indebted for their origin and perfection. So shall I
endeavour to shew, in the progress of this work, that the combinations
of nature, as exemplified in her more valuable remedies, are capable, if
properly studied, of suggesting many important hints for improving the
arrangements of art; while art in return may frequently supply the
defects, or extend the advantages of natural compounds.
AN ANALYSIS
OF
THE OBJECTS TO BE OBTAINED BY MIXING AND COMBINING MEDICINAL SUBSTANCES.
The objects to be attained, and the resources which are furnished, by
MEDICINAL COMBINATION, together with the different modes of its
operation, and the laws by which it is governed, may with much practical
advantage be arranged in the following order.
I.
TO PROMOTE THE ACTION OF THE BASIS, OR PRINCIPAL MEDICINE.
A.—_By combining together several different Forms, or Preparations, of
the same substance_.
The utility of such a combination is obvious, whenever we desire the
full and general effects of _all_ the principles of a medicinal body in
solution; thus, where the _Bark_ is required in the cure of an
intermittent fever, and the stomach will not allow the exhibition of the
powder, it will be eligible to conjoin in one formula, the tincture,
decoction, and extract, as exemplified by _Formulæ 42, 126, 127_. The
necessity of such a combination may be expressed by the following canon.
_Whenever the chemical nature of the medicinal substance will not admit
of the full solution of all its active principles in any_ ONE _Solvent_,
_and its exhibition in substance is at the same time impracticable_. For
farther illustrations see _Form. 2, 25, 33, 38, 70, 109_.
Practitoners, probably without having reasoned upon the theory, have
very generally adopted the practice, of combining the different
solutions of the same substance; for in the prescriptions of practical
physicians we commonly find, that the decoction or infusion of a
vegetable remedy is quickened by a certain portion of a corresponding
tincture.
B.—_By combining the Basis with Substances which are of the_ SAME
NATURE, _that is, which are_ INDIVIDUALLY _capable of producing the same
effect, but with less energy than when in combination with each other._
Dr. FORDYCE first established the existence of the singular and
important law, that _a combination of similar[241] remedies will produce
a more certain, speedy, and considerable effect than an equivalent dose
of any single one_; a fact which does not appear to have been known to
any ancient physician. The earliest mention of it that I can find is by
VALISNIERI, the favourite pupil of Malpighi, who filled the medical
chair at Padua in 1711, nearly ninety years before Fordyce published his
valuable memoir on the combination of medicines, but he does not attempt
any generalization[242] of the subject; he merely states, as the result
of careful experiments, that twelve drachms of _Cassia Pulp_ are about
equivalent in purgative strength to four ounces of _Manna_; and yet,
says he, if we give eight drachms of _Cassia Pulp_, in combination with
four drachms of _Manna_, we obtain double the effect! How, adds the
professor, can this possibly happen? Surely the very contrary _ought_ to
obtain, since four drachms of _Cassia_ are much more than equivalent to
an equal weight of _Manna_; the strength of the former being to that of
the latter as 8 to 3.
The truth of this law of medicinal combination must be continually felt
by the practitioner in the ordinary routine of his practice, viz.
NARCOTICS will better fulfil the intention of allaying irritation and
pain, when composed of several of such medicines in combination, than
when they consist of any single one, even should the dose, in this
latter case, be increased. See _Formulæ 3, 4, 5_.
ANTISPASMODICS acquire increased efficacy by the application of the same
principle. _Form. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25_.
BITTER TONICS are also thus exalted, see _Form. 39, 40, 41_. The
beneficial effects, however, which arise from combinations of this kind
will admit of a satisfactory explanation upon another principle; we may,
for instance, consider them as medicines, differing from each other in
their composition, and producing by their union an assemblage of bitter,
astringent, and aromatic principles.
AROMATIC and DIFFUSIBLE STIMULANTS. There are perhaps no remedies which
receive greater mutual benefit be intermixture with each other, than the
individuals which compose this class; for they not only thus acquire
increased force and efficacy, but at the same time they lose much of
their acrimony; if, for instance, any one spice, as the dried capsule of
the _Capsicum_, be taken into the stomach, it will excite a sense of
heat and pain; in like manner will a quantity of _Black Pepper_; but if
an equivalent quantity of these two stimulants be given in combination
with each other, no such sense of pain is produced, but, on the
contrary, a pleasant warmth is experienced, and a genial glow felt over
the whole body; and if a greater number of spices be joined together,
the chance of pain and inflammation being produced is still farther
diminished. The truth of this law is also strikingly illustrated, as Dr.
Fordyce has observed, by that universal maxim in cookery, _never to
employ one spice, if more can be procured_; the object, in this case,
being to make the stomach bear a large quantity of food without
nausea.[243] This same principle also finds an illustration of its
importance, as it regards the class of stimulants, in the following
preparations of our Pharmacopœia, viz. “_Pulvis Cinnamomi Compositus_;
_Infusum Armoraciæ compositum_; _Infusum Aurantii Compositum_; _Spiritus
Lavendulæ compositus_; _Tinctura Cinchonæ composita_; _Tinctura
Valeriana Ammoniata_; and the _Confectio Opii_, the elegant and
scientific substitute for the celebrated _Mithridate_ or _Theriaca_. The
practitioner is also referred to _Form. 45, 47_, and to _Allii Radix_.”
The local action of these stimulants would appear to be placed under the
dominion of the same law, and perhaps the origin of the custom, so long
observed, of mixing together the varieties of snuff, may thus receive a
plausible and philosophical explanation; certain it is that by such
combination the harsh pungency of each ingredient will be diminished,
whilst the general potency of the application, in exciting the nerves,
will be increased, and rendered more grateful; the same principle will
direct the formation of safe and efficient plaisters and lotions; the
_Emplastrum Cumini_ of the London, and the _Emplastrum Aromaticum_ of
the Dublin Pharmacopœia, offer examples of its judicious application.
ASTRINGENTS. For illustrations see _Form. 51, 58_.
EMETICS are certainly more efficient when composed of _Ipecacuan_ united
with _Tartarized Antimony_, or _Sulphate of Zinc_, than when they simply
consist of any one of such substances in an equivalent dose. See _Form.
63, 65_.
CATHARTICS not only acquire a very great increase of power by
combination with each other, but they are at the same time rendered less
irritating in their operation; the _Extractum Colocynthidis compositum_
affords an excellent example of a compound purgative mass being much
more active and manageable, and less liable to irritate, than any one of
its components separately taken. Additional examples of this fact are
furnished by _Formulæ 70, 76, 78, 79, 81, 88_. In many cases, however,
the fact of purgatives thus accelerating and correcting each other’s
operation may be explained by considering them as substances endowed
with different powers, as already demonstrated, (p. 88), and which will
be more fully considered in the third division of this Essay.
DIURETICS. Under this class of medicinal agents it may be observed that,
_whenever a medicine is liable to produce effects different from those
we desire, its combination with similar remedies is particularly
eligible_, by which the action of the basis may be directed and fixed;
thus the individuals which compose the class of Diuretics are uncertain
in their operation, and disposed when exhibited singly to produce
diaphoretic, and other contrary effects; it is, therefore, in such
cases, highly judicious to unite several of them in one Formula, by
which we increase their powers, and are more likely to ensure their
operation. _Formulæ 101, 103, 108, 109, 110, 111, 115_, are constructed
upon this principle.
DIAPHORETICS. Our maxim, “VIS UNITA FORTIOR,” certainly applies with
equal truth to this class of medicinal agents. _Form. 122, 124_.
EXPECTORANTS. More is frequently to be gained by the co-operation of
these remedies than can be obtained by the exhibition of them
separately, as in _Form. 134, 135_.
DEMULCENTS do not appear to obtain any other benefit from combination
than, occasionally, a convenience and efficacy of application arising
from a suitable degree of consistence and solubility. See article
“_Trochisci_.”
The operation of the law which has thus formed the first object of this
inquiry, will be found, like every other, to have a natural and well
defined limit; it is easy to perceive that by multiplying the number of
ingredients too far, we shall either so increase the quantity and bulk
of the medicine as to render it nauseous and cumbersome, or so reduce
the dose of each constituent as to fritter away the force and energy of
the combination.
The propriety of combining _several_ stimulants, of the diffusible
class, in _one_ formula, has been questioned on different grounds. Dr.
Chapman, in his work on Therapeutics, adduces some arguments on this
point, which, although they fail in establishing his general position,
certainly suggest an important exception to the practice in question;
“by directing,” says he, “stimulating remedies, _separately_, we shall
economise our resources in many lingering diseases.” The justness of
this statement must be admitted to its fullest extent, and practitioners
will, on certain occasions, do well to act in conformity with the views
that suggested it; for instance, in the feeble forms of protracted
fevers, where the indications are to be met with the continued action of
stimulants, it will certainly be salutary to alternate the use of
_camphor_, _ammonia_, and other remedies of a similar nature, in
preference to presenting them all at once in combination, so that the
system may not lose its susceptibility by the continued impression of
the same stimulant; the same motive should induce us, on particular
occasions, to employ in succession different narcotics, for each of them
affects sensibility in its own peculiar manner.[244] The nervous system,
as _Richerand_ has very justly observed, may be compared to a soil, rich
in different juices, and which requires the cultivator to plant the
germs of a diversified vegetation to develope the whole of its
fecundity; to insure a perpetual return, therefore, it will be right to
sow a succession of different seeds. Hoffman also has offered us some
advice upon this subject; he directs us in the treatment of chronic
diseases to suspend the administration of remedies, at intervals, and
afterwards to resume them, lest the system should become _habituated_,
and ultimately _insensible_ to their influence.
But there remains for our investigation a still more important
precaution respecting this law of medicinal combination;—that, in
combining substances in the manner, and for the object just related, the
practitioner should be well satisfied that their medicinal virtues are
in reality _practically_ SIMILAR, or he will fall into an error of the
most fatal tendency; it has been already shewn, and I hope I shall not
be considered tedious by again directing the reader’s attention to the
fact, that medicines are not necessarily similar because they have been
arranged in the same artificial division of remedies; in order to
establish a perfect similarity _their operations must be found by
experience to continue similar under every condition of the human body;
and that, moreover, they must owe such similarity to modes of operation
which are compatible with each other, and consonant with the general
mode of cure_; we have only to refer to the history of Diuretics (_page
92_) for a full illustration of this important truth; thus _Squill_,
_Calomel_, and _Digitalis_, are each powerful Diuretics, but
nevertheless they cannot be considered _similar_ remedies, since
_Digitalis_ will entirely fail in its effects in the very cases that
_Calomel and Squill_ succeed; and _Squill_ will prove inert when
_Digitalis_ is capable of producing the most powerful influence; this
arises from their modes of operation being dissimilar, and consequently
requiring for their success such different states of the living system.
_Squill_, it will be seen, acts _primarily_ on the urinary organs, by
stimulating the secreting vessels of the kidneys; _Mercury_, on the
contrary, acts primarily on the absorbents, and _secondarily_ on the
kidneys; whereas _Digitalis_ produces its effects by diminishing
arterial action, and increasing that of absorption.
Dr. Blackall, in his “Observations upon the Cure of Dropsies,” has
offered some remarks so valuable in themselves, and so illustrative of
this important subject, that I shall take leave to quote the passage.
“Many physicians,” he observes, “are fond of combining _Squill_,
_Calomel_, and _Digitalis_, as a diuretic in dropsy; a practice unsafe,
and not very decidedly possessing the merit even of being consistent.
_Digitalis_ greatly depresses the action of the heart and arteries, and
controls the circulation, and it seems most unreasonable to believe that
its curative powers can be independent of such an effect; on the other
hand, _Mercury_, if it does not pass off quickly, is always exciting
fever, and raising and hardening the pulse; speaking from experience,
where the urine is coaguable, and _Digitalis_ agrees, both the others
are, often at least, positively injurious. On the contrary, where the
urine is foul, and not coaguable, and _Squills_ with _Calomel_ render
service, I have on that very account, made less trial of Digitalis, and
cannot therefore speak of it from much experience.” See _Form. 103_, and
the _note_ thereon.
The individual medicines which compose the class of DIAPHORETICS vary no
less in their primary operations, as the synoptical arrangement at _page
99_ very fully exemplifies; thus, in the cure of intermittent fevers,
diaphoretics are useful both in the paroxysm, and during the
intermission; in the first case they shorten its duration; in the second
they support the tone of the extreme vessels, and prevent its
recurrence; but in these opposite states of disease a very different
kind of diaphoretic is required—to fulfil the first indication, a
cooling and relaxing one is necessary; to answer the second, the
stimulating diaphoretic is exacted; the one may be said to _solicit_,
the other to _extort_, perspiration. So again EMMENAGOGUES can only be
considered relative agents, since the suppression of the catamenia may
depend upon, or be connected with, very different states of the system;
in some cases with a diminished, and in others with an increased state
of excitement; for on many occasions the suppression of the menses is
the effect, and not the cause of disease; _Boerhaave_ has very justly
observed, that it is a most dangerous error to ascribe all the diseases
of young females to a retention of the catamenia, which often do not
appear because the patients are disordered from other causes. If,
therefore, we were to attempt a combination of the several medicines
which have gained reputation as _Emmenagogues_, it is very obvious, that
we should bring together an assemblage of adverse and incompatible
remedies; nor would the physician be less inconsistent were he to
combine EXPECTORANTS, without a due regard to their modes of operation;
it is only necessary to observe their classification, as presented at
page 102, to become satisfied how greatly the success of such remedies
must depend upon their scientific adaptation to each particular case.
The class of ANTISPASMODICS may likewise embrace remedies of the most
opposite tendency, for spasm may occur under the most opposite
circumstances—in an extreme condition of weakness, as in nervous
affections, and in an highly excited state, as in cholic, &c.; it is
hardly necessary, therefore, to point out the mischief that must arise
from the fortuitous and indiscriminate admixture of the individual
substances which are thus unavoidably arranged in the same artificial
classification. _Bark_ and _Steel_ are also too often considered as
equivalent _Tonics_; in Dropsy, says Dr. Blackall, it is far otherwise,
the former being infinitely to be preferred after the dropsy of young
persons, of acute disease, and of sound stamina; the latter being suited
to a vitiated rather than to a feeble habit, and indicated more by a
pale sallow complexion, and a want of red colour in the blood, as shewn
by the paleness of the lips, than by any other signs. Need we then
adduce farther illustrations of the obvious but important fact, that the
terms employed to denote the different classes of remedies are
frequently but relative ones, expressive of effects which are produced
only in reference to a particular state of the living body? and as this
necessarily varies in different states of health and disease, it follows
that medicines are convertible agents, and that when we attempt to
institute general rules respecting their administration, without taking
into consideration the constitution and circumstances of the patient
upon whom they are to operate, we shall generally be disappointed in the
result. We may say of medicines what Van Swieten said of diet, “to
assert that such, or such a thing be wholesome, without a knowledge of
the condition of the person for whom it is intended, is like a sailor
pronouncing the wind to be fair without knowing to what port the vessel
is bound.” Boerhaave was so fully impressed with this truth that he
exclaimed, “_nullum ego cognosco remedium, nisi quod tempestivo usu fiat
tale_.”
Although medicines which produce the same ultimate effects by modes of
operation obviously different, cannot be considered SIMILAR, in the
sense affixed to the term in the present section, yet if these different
modes of operation be not physiologically incompatible with each other,
the union of such remedies may not only be admissible, but even useful;
and it will, accordingly, constitute an object of inquiry in a
succeeding section. (III. A.)
C.—_By combining the Basis with Substances of a_ DIFFERENT NATURE, _and
which do not exert any Chemical influence upon it, but are found, by
experience, to be capable of rendering the Stomach, or System, or any
particular organ, more susceptible of its action_.
Thus it is that the system is rendered more susceptible of the influence
of Mercury, by combining it with Antimony and Opium.[245] Where the
stomach is insensible to impressions, the exhibition of Opium previous
to, or in combination with, any active medicine, often assists its
operation; this is remarkably striking in some states of mania, when
emetics will fail, unless the stomach be previously influenced and
prepared by a narcotic; indeed, in ordinary cases of inirritability of
stomach, the addition of a small quantity of opium will often render an
emetic active.[246]
So again the system, when it is in that particular condition which is
indicated by a hot and dry skin, is unsusceptible of the expectorant
powers of Squill, unless it be in union with antimony or some powerful
diaphoretic, (_Form. 134_.) Squill is by no means disposed to act upon
the urinary organs, when exhibited singly; but calomel, and some other
mercurial preparations,[247] when in conjunction with it, appear to
direct its influence to the kidneys, and to render these organs more
susceptible of its operation; (103, 106.) Upon the same principle,
_Antimonial Wine_ quickens the operation of saline cathartics (69);
_Opium_ increases the sudorific powers of _Antimony_ (124); and the
purgative operation of _Jalap_ is promoted by _Ipecacuan_ (84). Dr.
Aikin asserts that fifteen grains of the former purgative when combined
with two or three grains of the latter root, will purge more than double
that quantity of Jalap when administered without such an adjunct.
Sir John Pringle speaks of the advantages which may be obtained by
combining an alkali with a bitter infusion, by which the diuretic
effects of the former will be increased, while the latter is calculated
to remove any gastric debility, and to impart a general tone to the
body: there is no doubt but that _Bitters_, from their invigorating
influence upon the _primæ viæ_, (_see page 78_) increase the effects of
remedies whose operation is connected with changes _in transitu_, or
with absorption, as in the exhibition of certain diuretics;[248] they
also frequently render the stomach and bowels more susceptible of bodies
that act by impression, as purgatives, emetics, &c.
We may discover the operation of such a principle in some of the more
active compounds presented to us by nature: many herbs owe their
efficacy to a cause of this kind. _Elaterium_, as I have ascertained by
experiment, contains a purgative element, _sui generis_, (_Elatin_) and
a bitter principle, which in itself is quite inert, and yet its presence
in the compound renders the alimentary canal more susceptible of the
impression of the active ingredient, and therefore increases its force.
See _Extract_. _Elaterii._ The history of _Senna_ will afford some
interesting facts in farther elucidation of this subject; the leaves of
this plant, like _Elaterium_, appear to contain an active principle, in
combination with a bitter, which latter ingredient, although destitute
of purgative properties, considerably increases those of the former; for
if this be removed, as happens when Senna is transplanted into the south
of France, the purgative principle is weakened, but may be again
restored by the artificial addition of some bitter extractive. The fruit
or pods of Senna[249] contain only the purgative principle, and are
therefore comparatively feeble, unless the defect be compensated by art.
Dr. Cullen has observed that a much smaller quantity of the leaves is
required for a dose if they be infused in company with some bitter
plant; and it has been found that the watery infusion of _Rhubarb_ is
rendered more purgative by the addition of _Calumba_.
The experiments of Seguin have established beyond all doubt that the
active principle of vegetable astringents is a peculiar element, to
which the name of _Tannin_ has been given; but the efficacy of this
ingredient is undoubtedly enhanced by the presence of the gallic acid
with which it is usually associated, although this acid, when separated
from the native combination, is incapable of producing the least
astringent effect; that peculiar flavour which we so commonly experience
in unripe fruits, and which we designate by the term _acerbness_, is the
result of a combination of the astringent principle with some vegetable
acid. The relative sweetness of sugar, when in different degrees of
purity, depends upon the operation of the same law of combination; _pure
sugar_, as Dr. Mac Culloch has very justly observed, however paradoxical
it may appear, _is not so sweet as that which is impure_; the sweetness
of _melasses_, compared with that of refined sugar, is too well known to
require more than a bare mention; the vegetable extractive matter in
this case, increases the effect of the saccharine principle with which
it is combined; for the same reason grapes, differing very materially in
their proportion of saccharine matter, may seem _to the taste_ equally
sweet, and such in fact is the case on comparing the luscious grapes of
Spain, with the _Chasselas_ of Paris; and yet the vinous produce is
entirely different, the result of the one being a sweet and luscious
wine, while that of the other is hard and dry, because, in truth, these
grapes contain very different proportions of sugar; and however
powerfully the extractive matter may modify the effects of this
principle upon the palate and organs of taste, it cannot alter the
quantity of alcohol resulting from its fermentation.[250] Crystallized
sugar also appears less sweet to the taste than loaf sugar, but this may
depend upon the different state of aggregation, and, consequently, the
different degrees of solubility possessed by the sugar in these two
forms.
In some cases, the addition of certain bodies will induce the absorbents
to admit and carry into the circulation remedies which, in a more simple
state, they would reject as injurious; this position is supported by the
fact of mercury being more readily absorbed when in combination with
animal matter, see _Ung: Hydrarg:_ and it is probable that iron, in the
form of a _tanno-gallate_, will be more acceptable than when presented
in a more purely mineral state: see _Ferri Sulphas_.
Does it not therefore appear from the preceding remarks, that _certain
elements exist in the composition of vegetable remedies, as furnished by
nature, which, although individually inert, confer additional strength
and impulse upon the principle of activity with which they are
associated_.[251]
The solutions of saline cathartics appear likewise to gain an accession
of power and celerity of operation by impregnation with _Carbonic acid
gas_, depending probably upon the intestines thus receiving a degree of
distention favourable to the action of the salt, (19, 23.) Certain it is
that the operation of emetics, as well as that of glysters, is
materially increased by the stimulus of distention.
In enumerating the methods to be adopted for increasing the energies of
a remedy, by rendering the system more susceptible of its action, it is
right to know that, under certain circumstances, Venesection deserves a
distinguished rank amongst the ADJUVANTIA. The fact is strikingly
discovered in the exhibition of _Mercurial[252] Preparations_, and some
other alterative medicines. Whether the “_Vis Conservatrix_,” which
Nature, when in a state of health and vigour, opposes to the admission
of poisonous substances into the circulation, be overcome by
blood-letting, is a question which I shall leave others to decide; but
thus much reiterated practice has taught me, that the system in a strong
and healthy condition frequently is overcome the moment the stomach
becomes deranged, the circulation languid, or the general tone of the
system impaired. I have frequently seen this during my Hospital
practice: if a patient who has been using mercurial friction, or taking
the preparations of that metal without effect, be transferred into a
close and unhealthy ward, his appetite soon fails, the tongue becomes
furred, and the system instantly yields to the influence of the remedy.
Nauseating doses of _antimony_[253] frequently repeated, or the
accidental supervention of any disease of debility, will be attended
with the same phenomena. My practice has also afforded me an opportunity
of appreciating the debilitating effects of despondency in a case of
this description; a patient had been taking mercurial medicines, and
using frictions for a considerable period, without any apparent effect:
under these circumstances he was abruptly told that he would fall a
victim to his disease; the unhappy man experienced an unusual shock at
this opinion, and in a few hours became violently salivated.[254]
VENESECTION, moreover, increases the effects of cathartic medicines. I
have often noticed this fact in contending with a plethoric diathesis;
whenever the bleeding preceded the purgative, the effects of the latter
have been uniformly more speedy and considerable; in obstinate
constipation the same fact has been observed, and mild remedies have
been known to act more powerfully, when preceded by blood-letting, than
potent ones have when exhibited antecedent to it. Venesection has
certainly an extraordinary power in awakening the susceptibility of the
_primæ viæ_ to remedial impressions; in some diseases, as in the
_Cynanche Trachealis_, or Croup, so great is the insensibility of the
stomach, that Emetics frequently fail in their effects; and Dr. Hamilton
has given as much as a hundred grains of _Calomel_ in the twenty-four
hours: in such cases previous venesection affords most extraordinary
assistance. Dr. Fothergill also remarks that emetics are more beneficial
after bleeding, (_Dissert. Med. Inaug. de Emet. usu._) The effects of
_Bark_, _Steel_, and other tonics, are certainly influenced in the same
manner; whether in any case it may be prudent or judicious to have
recourse to such a practice, is a question not immediately connected
with the present inquiry.
Limited must have been the experience of that practitioner who has not
frequently witnessed the utility of Venesection in producing a state of
system favourable to the operation of various remedies. In acute
diseases, how frequently does an opiate succeed in allaying irritation
after copious bleeding, which could not be made to occasion any
beneficial influence previous to that operation? In Pneumonia I have
repeatedly seen such a plan of treatment act like a charm upon the
patient.
PURGATIVES also awaken the susceptibility of the body to mercurial
impressions, and it is remarked by Dr. Chapman that this practice
affords a resource which rarely disappoints the practitioner. This class
of remedies moreover seems capable of exalting the efficacy, and indeed
of accelerating the benefit to be derived from many alteratives, when
administered _previous_ to the exhibition of these latter substances;
the advantages of a course of Steel medicines are undoubtedly increased
by such means. The febrifugous and antiseptic properties of diluted
muriatic acid (see _Form. 145_.) are inconsiderable, unless its
exhibition be accompanied with cathartics. I beg to refer the
practitioner to some cases published by me in the _Medical and Physical
Journal for December_, 1809, in further illustration of these views.
Experience enables me also to state that _Diuretics_ are considerably
assisted by similar means, having many instances in my case book of the
failure of these agents before, and their successful operation after,
the exhibition of a cathartic. Dr. Darwin observes that “_Absorptions
are always increased by Inanition_,” and in support of this position
refers to the frequent advantage derived from evacuations in the cure of
ulcers. I have certainly seen obstinate sores in the leg cured by small
and repeated bleedings. Dr. Chapman arrives at the same conclusion,
although by a different train of reasoning; he states that the
blood-vessels and absorbents[255] are to a certain extent “antagonising
powers:” instructed by this obvious fact, we ought, says he, in the
exhibition of diuretics to regulate the state of the system by
interposing purgatives, or even venesection, as the state of the
circulation may indicate.
EMETICS also, in certain conditions of the system, would appear to
render the stomach more sensible to the impression of other remedies;
Dr. Eberle, of Philadelphia,[256] has remarked such an effect with
respect to the administration of the Peruvian Bark.
CHANGE OF DIET AND OF HABITS may be also classed amongst the
_Ajuvantia_, but the young practitioner must be warned that he is not to
exercise his _Caduceus_ as Sancho’s Doctor did his wand. I have seen a
young disciple of Esculapius so vex his patient, that his food became
more nauseous to him than his medicine, and I verily believe his
Physician was more irksome than his disease. It was well observed by Dr.
Percival that the prejudices of the sick should never be contemned with
wantonness, or opposed with harshness; for, silenced by authority, they
will operate secretly and forcibly on the mind, creating fear, anxiety,
and watchfulness. And with regard to diet it may be here stated, that no
function of the body is so materially influenced by mental impressions
as that series of actions constituting what is termed _Digestion_—the
unexpected communication of any distressing event destroys the keenest
appetite,[257] and converts the sensation of hunger into one of disgust
at the bare idea of food: a fact which did not escape the penetrating
eye of our immortal Shakespeare, for he represents Henry dismissing
Wolsey from his government with these words—
—— Read o’er this;
And after, this: and then to breakfast
_with what appetite_ you have.
If feelings of disgust are excited by the repast, the stomach will never
act with healthy energy on the ingesta; and in cases of extreme
aversion, they are either returned, or they pass through the alimentary
canal almost unchanged: on the other hand, the gratification which
attends a favourite meal is in itself a specific stimulus to the organs
of digestion, especially in weak and debilitated habits. Dr. Merriman
has lately communicated to me a case which affords a striking
illustration of the powerful influence of the mind upon these organs: a
lady of rank labouring under menorrhagia, suffered with that irritable
and unrelenting state of stomach which so commonly attends that disease,
and to such a degree that every kind of aliment and medicine was alike
rejected: after the total failure of the usual expedients to appease the
stomach and procure relief, she applied to Miss Prescott, and was
_magnetised_, when she immediately, to the astonishment of all her
friends, ate a beef steak, and continued to repeat the meal every day
for six weeks, without the least inconvenience! but the disease itself,
notwithstanding this treacherous amnesty of the stomach, continued with
unabated violence, and shortly afterwards terminated her life.
The diet of a sick person ought never to _combine too much nutriment in
too small a space_;[258] when so given it will even in health be
followed by _fermentation_ instead of _digestion_; and although we may
admit the expediency of that domestic maxim, “_a little and often_,” yet
this is to be received with limitation; no one, for instance, who
possesses any philosophical knowledge, will adapt his practice to the
notions of Sir William Temple, who asserted that “the stomach of a
valetudinarian was like a school-boy, always doing mischief when
unemployed,” and that we should therefore not allow it any interval of
repose: to this I answer, that the conversion of aliment into blood is
effected by a series of elaborate processes, several of which are only
perfectly performed during the quiescence of the rest: it would seem,
for instance, that the process of _chylification_ is incompatible with
that by which the first changes are produced in the stomach; this is
evident from the well-known fact, that our appetite for food ceases when
the former process commences, although the repast should, at the time,
have been insufficient to satisfy the craving of nature; whereas, in
diseases of imperfect, or depraved digestion, as in _Diabetes_, _Tabes
Mesenterica_, &c. we find that the appetite for food is never satisfied
by the most nutritive meals. It merits notice also, that whenever the
stomach be called into action during the assimilating stages of
digestion, the process will, in weak persons, be much disturbed, if not
entirely suspended. These views have long since confirmed me in the
propriety of treating mesenteric affections in a manner very different
from that which is generally pursued; and I may add that the result has
been very satisfactory. The plan to which I allude, consists in
enforcing longer intervals between each meal, which should be scanty,
and in quantity short of what the appetite may require; in this way are
the unwilling absorbents induced to perform their duties with greater
promptitude and activity; but it is a practice which, from the extreme
anxiety of friends and relatives, the feelings of craving and hunger
expressed by the patient, and the mistaken but universal prejudice
respecting diet, it is always painful to propose, and generally
impossible to enforce; where, however, circumstances have given a full
and unreserved controul, the advantage of the plan has been most
decisive.
There is still another remark which I am desirous of offering, in this
place, on the subject of Diet; _viz._—that in all cases of feeble or
imperfect digestion, _the Valetudinarian ought never to take his
principal meal in a state of fatigue_—and yet let me ask, whether there
is a habit more generally pursued, or more tenaciously defended? Aye,
and defended too upon _principle_—the invalid merchant, the banker, the
attorney, the government clerk, are all impressed with the same belief,
that after the sedentary occupations of the day, to walk several miles
to their villas, or to fatigue themselves with exercise before their
dinner, or rather early supper, will sharpen their tardy stomachs, and
invigorate their feeble organs of digestion. The consequence is
obvious,—instead of curing, such a practice is calculated to perpetuate,
and even to aggravate the malady under which they suffer; by calling
upon the powers of digestion at a period, when the body is in a state of
exhaustion from fatigue. Often have I, in the course of my practice in
this town, cured the Dyspeptic invalid, by merely inducing him to
abandon so mischievous a habit.
II.
TO CORRECT THE OPERATION OF THE BASIS, BY OBVIATING ANY UNPLEASANT
EFFECTS IT MIGHT BE LIKELY TO OCCASION, AND WHICH WOULD PERVERT ITS
INTENDED ACTION, AND DEFEAT THE OBJECTS OF ITS EXHIBITION.
A. _By_ MECHANICALLY _separating, or_ CHEMICALLY _neutralizing, the
offending Ingredient_.
The scientific physician, from his knowledge of the chemical composition
of a medicine, and of the principles upon which its different qualities
depend, is enabled to remove or render inert the element which imparts
to it a deleterious operation; thus it has been found that the peculiar
principle in the _Spanish Fly_, which so frequently irritates the
urinary organs, is soluble in boiling water; ebullition in water
therefore offers the means of depriving it of the power of thus acting
upon the kidneys, while it does not effect any alteration in its
vesicatory properties. It is upon the same principle that many vegetable
substances of a very acrid nature, become harmless by boiling, or by
chemical manipulation, and some of them might even in times of scarcity
and want, be introduced as wholesome and nutritious articles of diet.
The experiments of _Westring_ shew that the bitterness of the _Lichen
Islandicus_ may be entirely removed by maceration in an alkaline ley,
and a tasteless, but highly nutritious fecula be thus obtained; in the
same manner the _Æsculus Hippocastanum_ (Horse Chesnut) may be deprived
of its bitterness, leaving a residuum which will afford a kind of bread;
and according to _Parmentier_ (_Recherches sur les vegetaux
nourissans_,) excellent starch may be also made from it. _Dr. Darwin_
observes, that if the roots of _White Bryony_ be rasped into cold water,
and agitated with it, the acrid juice of the root along with the
mucilage will be dissolved, or swim in the water; while a starch
perfectly wholesome and nutritious will subside, and may be
advantageously used as food; by a similar species of address the French
prepare from the acrid _Arum_ the harmless, but highly prized cosmetic,
called _Cyprus powder_.
There are many substances which receive a much pleasanter mode of
operation by having their solubilities increased or diminished; thus the
griping occasioned by several drastic purgatives is obviated by the
addition of some alkali: and the nauseating tendency of _Camboge_, which
arises from its too easy solubility, is prevented by incorporating it
with some insoluble body; as in the _Pilulæ Cambogiæ Comp:_ but the
farther consideration of this question will be resumed in the fourth
section of the Analysis. (iv. c.)
Numerous attempts have been made to correct the inconvenient effects of
_Opium_, such as nausea, head-ache, and costiveness, by removing the
resinous element, upon which such evils have been supposed to depend,
and we have accordingly been at different times presented with a variety
of _Formulæ_ for the accomplishment of so desirable an object; (_see
Opium_). More recently, opium has been discovered to possess _two_
active principles, viz. _Morphia_ and _Narcotine_, which would appear
from the researches of M. Majendie to exert very different powers upon
the animal system; the former imparting to opium its _soporific_, the
latter, its _exciting_ property; whence it is proposed to remove this
latter principle in order to render the operation of opium milder, and
at the same time to divest it of those objectionable properties which so
greatly limit its medicinal utility. _See Opium._
B. _By adding some substance capable of guarding the stomach, or system,
against its deleterious effects._
The virtues of our most important remedies are frequently lost, or much
invalidated, for want of proper attention to the circumstances
comprehended in this section. It may be almost admitted as an axiom that
_whenever an_ ALTERATIVE _medicine acts with violence upon the primæ
viæ, its energies are uselessly expended, and the object of its
exhibition defeated_. So again, _Diaphoretics_, _Diuretics_, and many
other remedies, suffer a diminution in their effects, whenever they
stimulate the stomach or bowels to excess. _Guaiacum_ thus loses its
anti-arthritic, _Squill_ its diuretic, and _Antimony_ and _Ipecacuan_
their diaphoretic, virtues; the action of these substances may therefore
require correction, and a medicine must be selected capable of
fulfilling that intention. _Opium_ has very extensive powers as a
corrigent. _See Form. 57, 100, 106, 110_. Dr. Mead combined alkaline
salts, when intended to act as diuretics, with opium, in order to
prevent their action upon the bowels. _Acetate of Lead_, when
administered in cases of hæmopthysis, or uterine hemorrhage, should also
be guarded by the addition of a small portion of the same narcotic. Dr.
Sutton, of Greenwich, has lately written a paper to shew, that where we
wish to limit the operation of an emetic to the stomach, and to prevent
its action on the bowels, we should add five or six drops of laudanum to
the emetic draught, which in his experience has answered the purpose in
question.[259] The griping and nauseating tendency of some remedies
receives correction by the addition of _Aromatic stimulants_, or
_Essential oils_, (69, 71, 78, 84, 85, 92,) or by small portions of a
corresponding tincture, (70, 76.) It has been already stated, that the
griping from _Senna_ and _resinous_ purgatives may be, in a great
degree, obviated by the addition of alkalies; it remains to be observed,
that the same remedies are also mitigated in severity, by _saline_
purgatives, (77.) I learn from Sir Henry Halford, that in his practice
he has found the addition of _Extract of Hyoscyamus_ render the
operation of the _compound extract of Colocynth_ much more mild, and no
less efficacious. Of the value of such a combination, I am myself able
to bear ample testimony. _Alum_ is corrected in its tendency to disturb
the bowels by the addition of _Nutmeg_, (_Form. 53_,) or some aromatic;
and the drastic operation of _Colocynth_ may be mitigated by trituration
with _Camphor_. There are several substances which are deprived of their
acrimonious qualities by trituration with mucilage, milk, barley-water,
&c. The tendency which mercurial preparations possess of affecting the
bowels, is, with the exception of _Corrosive Sublimate_, corrected by
_Opium_, but the acrid operation of this latter salt is more securely
guarded against by the decoction of _Guaiacum_ or _Mezereon_, or by the
plentiful exhibition of mucilaginous drinks and broths. In certain
diseases of the uterus and vagina, astringent lotions are indicated, but
it may happen, as in the cauliflower excrescence, or in the oozing
tumour of the labium, that such applications are too irritating; in such
cases the effect of the lotion is _corrected_ by the addition of
mucilage. The enfeebling influence of _Digitalis_, _Tobacco_, and some
other narcotics, is successfully opposed by aromatics and stimulants. It
has already been stated that several attempts have been made to correct
the operation of _Opium_ by the application of mechanical and chemical
resources; it would, however, appear that, for obviating its effects
upon the intestinal excretions, the judicious addition of some purgative
will offer the most effectual corrigent; and, according to my own
experience, the _Aloetic_ preparations are to be preferred upon such an
occasion, as in _Form. 11, 12, 13_. In some cases, I have found that a
combination of the watery infusion of _Opium_ with some bitter, will
secure the narcotic virtues without those consecutive effects upon the
alimentary canal, which we are always so desirous to obviate; the
_Decoctum Aloes compositum_ also furnishes upon such an occasion a very
appropriate adjunct. Let us remember that one of the effects of opium is
to paralyse, for a time, the muscular fibres of the intestines: now
experience has taught us that the remedies above directed have a
peculiar tendency to augment the peristaltic motions of the _primæ viæ_.
Upon the same principle the addition of calomel will prevent the
paralysing influence of this narcotic upon the biliary functions. I have
known several patients who could never take opium unless in such a form
of combination.
In general, a formula contains but one _corrigent_; but circumstances
may occur, where two different ingredients are required to obviate two
very different effects, as in _Form. 16_, in which the _Nitric acid_ is
introduced for the purpose of counteracting the deleterious effects of
the opium upon the nervous system, while the _Aloetic_ preparation is
calculated to obviate its particular tendency upon the alimentary canal.
Sometimes the unpleasant or perverse operation of a medicine may be
obviated by changing the form of its exhibition, the period at which it
is taken, or the extent of its dose; Dr. Cullen, for instance, found
that the nauseating operation of _Camboge_ might be obviated, by
repeating small doses at short intervals. (89.)
Before quitting the present subject, it deserves notice, that there is
frequently a _chemical_ condition of the stomach that may interfere with
the mild operation of a medicine, and may therefore require
consideration: this is particularly exemplified in the action of those
antimonial preparations which are liable to become emetic and drastic by
the presence of an acid; it is, for this reason, very eligible to guard
such substances with antacid adjuncts. See _Antimonii Sulphuretum_, and
_Form. 125, 128_. There is also, upon some occasions, an irritable state
of the _primæ viæ_ depending upon a deficient secretion of mucus, which
renders even small doses of any active medicine mischievous;
mucilaginous decoctions in such a case will offer the readiest
_corrigent_; see _Scammonia_.
The vinous infusion of _Colchicum_ appears to act more violently when
acid is present in the stomach; small doses of _Magnesia_ may therefore
precede, and accompany its exhibition, with advantage.
III.
TO OBTAIN THE JOINT OPERATION OF TWO OR MORE MEDICINES.
A. _By uniting those substances which are calculated to produce the_
SAME ULTIMATE RESULTS, _although by totally different modes of
operation_.
It has been already stated, (_page 152_), that we may frequently combine
substances together whose modes of operation are dissimilar, with
considerable advantage, provided they be not physiologically
incompatible with each other. We may illustrate this subject by a
reference to the operation of purgatives; a series of medicinal
substances may be produced, each of which has the property of exciting
catharsis, but by a very different mode of action; one for instance
stimulates the muscular fibres of the intestines; a second acts upon the
exhalant vessels, and mucous glands; and a third exerts its influence
upon the neighbouring organs, so as to produce an increased flow of
their secretions into the bowels; but since such modes of action are
quite compatible with each other, they may be simultaneously
established, not only without any loss of efficacy, but with the most
decided advantage; suppose, for instance, we administer a substance
which, either from its insolubility or peculiar nature, acts exclusively
upon the muscular fibres of the alimentary canal, its peristaltic
motions will be undoubtedly thus increased, and the contents of the
bowels evacuated, but the operation will be slow, and probably
accompanied with considerable _tormina_; now it is evident that if to
such a remedy we add those which can produce an increased flow of serous
fluids, the effect will be both quicker and easier. _The infusion of
Senna_ is thus quickened and corrected by _Soluble Tartar_. In the same
manner various substances included in the class of diuretics, which,
although different, still if they be not adverse in their operation, may
be conjoined; _Digitalis_ and _Potass_ are not similar, nor are they
incompatible, for while the alkali, through the medium of the
circulation, stimulates the secreting organs of the kidneys, the
foxglove may, by its sympathetic action, rouse the energy of the
absorbents. In the administration of diaphoretics we shall frequently
derive additional force, as well as certainty, by combining those which
act by relaxing the cutaneous emunctories, with those which prove
diaphoretic by imparting a general increase of momentum to the blood.
B. _By combining Medicines which have entirely different powers, and
which are required to obviate different symptoms, or to answer different
indications._
Arrangements constructed upon this principle constitute some of the most
valuable remedies with which we are acquainted; they are in general
_extemporaneous_, because their value depends upon their being varied
and modified according to the symptoms and circumstances of each
particular case. The following general elucidation of the subject may
serve to demonstrate the nature and importance of such combinations.
PURGATIVES _with_ ANTISPASMODICS. The practice suggested by Drs. Stoll
and Warren, in the treatment of _Cholica Pictonum_, affords a striking
example of the expediency of combinations of this nature. It is found in
that disease, as well as in others attended with spasmodic constriction
of the intestinal canal, that purgatives produce no effects unless the
spasm be allayed by combining them with _Opium_, (_see Form. 71, 75,
76_,) it is from such a cause that the purgative so popular with tailors
and shoemakers, and which consists of _Aloes_ with _Sagapenum_ or
_Galbanum_, affords such prompt relief in the spasmodic cholic to which
they are subject.
PURGATIVES _with_ TONICS. In the exhibition of cathartics how frequently
it occurs in practice that the patient’s strength will hardly allow the
evacuation; in such a case the addition of _steel_ as a roborant (_Form.
72, 92, 93_,) or even of _æther_, or _ammonia_, as a diffusible
stimulant, is strongly indicated: the Cheltenham waters offer a natural
combination of this character. So again in the cure of dropsy we have
often two indications to fulfil—to evacuate the water, and to support
the strength of the patient; hence the necessity of combining brisk and
stimulating purges, such as _Scammony_, _Jalap_, &c. with active tonics,
(83.) In the treatment of amenorrhæa the same medicinal arrangement is
not unfrequently indicated.
PURGATIVES _with_ MERCURIAL ALTERATIVES. In habitual costiveness, where
there appears to be a deficiency of bile, a combination of _Pilula
Hydrargyri_, with certain _Aloetic_ compounds, may prove serviceable;
for while the latter remedy will, in the absence of bile, supply to the
intestines a congenial stimulus, the former will tend to restore the
bilious secretion by its influence upon the hepatic system. _See Form.
79, 81_.
PURGATIVES _with_ DIAPHORETICS. This combination of effects is often
useful in practice, but it is desirable that the latter should not be
established until the operation of the purgative upon the bowels has
subsided. This is accomplished by certain doses of _Tartarized Antimony_
in conjunction with some purgative. The _Pulvis Aloes Compositus_ of our
Pharmacopœia produces a somewhat similar effect.
DIAPHORETICS _with_ TONICS. How frequently is the practitioner desirous
of determining to the skin, and at the same time of supporting the
strength of the general system? in the progress of a continued fever we
are repeatedly called upon to fulfil such indications. Dr. Bree[260]
also observes that “in the exhibition of _Diaphoretics_ the addition of
a bitter infusion, or tincture, is frequently proper; for the stomach
should be gently excited and strengthened during the use of a
diaphoretic draught.” On the other hand, _Tonics_ not unfrequently
require the aid of a diaphoretic; for instance, in the cure of _Cynanche
maligna_, the use of bark is indicated; but if the skin be hot and dry,
it should be accompanied with a diaphoretic. _See Form. 126_.
ANTISPASMODICS _with_ TONICS, _or_ NARCOTICS. Under the history of
Antispasmodics, (_page 78_) it is stated that there are certain bodies
which seem to exert an absolute control over inordinate muscular action,
from whatever general cause it may have arisen; in administering such
remedies, however, the intelligent practitioner will not overlook the
peculiar condition of the system in its relations to the disease; where
debility is present, the _Antispasmodic_ will be usefully combined with
a _Tonic_; and, in certain morbid states of the nervous system, with a
_Narcotic_.
ASTRINGENTS _with_ DIAPHORETICS. Dr. Fordyce has observed, that
combinations of this kind are often indicated in cases of Diarrhœa,
where it is necessary to astringe the vessels of the intestines, and at
the same time to relax those of the skin; such an indication, he says,
may be fulfilled by exhibiting _Tormentil root_, or any other vegetable
astringent, with _Ipecacuan_.
ASTRINGENTS _with_ NARCOTICS, and ABSORBENTS. It has been already
observed, that in a Diarrhœa, depending upon the influx of acrid fluids
into the intestines, there are three modes of treatment by which the
malady may be obviated, viz. by a narcotic, _diminishing the
irritability of the intestines_; by an astringent, _restraining the
serous excretion_; and by an absorbent, _neutralizing the acrid matter_.
As the modes of action are not incompatible with each other, they maybe
simultaneously established with the greatest advantage. _See Form. 52_.
ASTRINGENTS _with_ TONICS. A combination of certain medicines belonging
to these two classes is frequently indicated; in the treatment of
passive hemorrhage, we have to astringe the bleeding vessels, and, at
the same time, to cure the hemorrhagic diathesis by remedies which are
capable of restoring the general tone of the system. In the treatment of
the chronic and humid coughs of old persons, I have very frequently
witnessed the beneficial union of the warm and stimulating influence of
_Myrrh_ with the astringent effects of _Sulphate of Zinc_. _Form. 69_
presents the combination which I have usually adopted with success on
such occasions.
DIURETICS _with_ TONICS. As Dropsy is frequently associated with great
debility, the practitioner should combine his diuretics with some tonic
medicine; but in forming a judgment upon the case he must be guided by
those precepts which have been laid down under the consideration of
Diuretics at page 97. See _Form. 114_.
DIURETICS _with_ AROMATIC STIMULANTS. Such a combination will be found
advantageous in those cases where the powers of the system require to be
excited by more prompt measures than those afforded by the agency of
tonics. _Ethereal_ preparations, with Squill and other stimulating
diuretics, are well calculated upon such occasions to afford valuable
assistance. _Form. 101–116._
TONICS _with_ DIFFUSIBLE STIMULANTS. In the cure of dyspepsia, we
frequently require a remedy, for the purpose of obviating debility, that
is more sudden in its action, and prompt in its effects, than that of a
bitter _tonic_, whose operation is almost imperceptible; while the case
may at the same time stand in need of that permanent increase of tone,
which the latter remedy can alone supply; such an indication therefore
must be fulfilled by combination. _Form. 40, 42._
TONICS _with_ PURGATIVES. In the exhibition of tonic medicines it is
frequently essential to accompany their operation with purgation; in
intermittent fevers, for instance, when attended with a redundant
secretion of bile, or any obstruction of the viscera, the _bark_ must be
given in combination with some laxative, for which purpose Boerhaave has
recommended _Muriate of Ammonia_; _Mead_, _Rhubarb_; whilst in many
cases, experience suggests the propriety of selecting some of the warmer
cathartics, especially the Alöetic: and I shall take this opportunity to
observe, that notwithstanding the opinion so strongly expressed by
Sydenham, that “_to add any thing to the bark argues either ignorance or
craft_,” the most respectable testimony may be adduced to demonstrate
the great advantages which have arisen from the various combinations of
this heroic remedy. Sir George Baker has said that “_there is less of
reason than of severity_,” in the above remark of Sydenham; for that it
was found in the cure of the intermittent fever, which he describes,
that, according to circumstances, sometimes the _Virginian snake root_,
and in other cases _Myrrh_, were added with propriety and advantage;
and, according to the experience of several practitioners, a drachm of
the _rust of iron_, and the same quantity of the powder of _black
pepper_, added to each ounce of _bark_, were the means of subduing the
most inveterate agues. _Formula 44_ presents a combination, which we
learn from Dr. Petrie’s letter to Sir George Baker, constitutes a
celebrated Dutch remedy for an ague, and which was tried with success in
the hospital at Lincoln, in those obstinate intermittents which
prevailed in the year 1781. Hillary speaks of an epidemic intermittent
at Barbadoes, in which the bark was of no avail, unless combined with
saline remedies, or some of the tonic bitters. Dr. Barton has stated
that Bark combined with Mercury in a small proportion, is one of the
best remedies for removing the swelling of the spleen after an
intermittent.
EXPECTORANTS _with_ DIFFUSIBLE STIMULANTS. We have seen that
expectorants may be usefully associated with tonics; it sometimes occurs
that these remedies require the addition of some diffusible stimulant.
In certain states of _Peripneumonia notha_, where the powers of life are
ebbing, and the lungs become inundated with viscid mucus, I have
experienced the value of a combination of some stimulating expectorant
and _ammonia_.
ANTACIDS _with_ TONICS. In the cure of cardialgia we have obviously two
indications; to neutralize the offending acid by some chemical agent,
and to correct the morbid state of the digestive functions by some
appropriate remedy. _See Form. 152_. The same observation will apply in
the treatment of certain cases of chlorosis, where cardialgia is not
unfrequently a very vexatious attendant, and solicits the union of
emmenagogues with antacids, or absorbents, as in _Form. 99_.
LITHONTHRYPTICS _with_ NARCOTICS. As a palliative in calculous
irritation, the union of alkalies and opium proves a valuable resource.
Henbane may likewise be advantageously combined with a Lithonthryptic;
for, be it remembered, that few narcotics are more efficacious in
allaying nephritic irritation. (_Form. 156._) We have also frequently
two important indications to fulfil in the treatment of urinary
concretions; where the lithic acid diathesis prevails, it will be
necessary to neutralize any acidity in the first passages, and at the
same time to regulate the functions of the skin; we have moreover to
give tone to the digestive organs; so that, in such cases, the art of
medicinal combination is well calculated to extend our resources.
In the formation of these compounds we should rarely attempt to fulfil
more than two indications, although cases may occur in which it will be
eligible to assail the disease with an engine of _triple_ powers, as
exemplified by _Form. 52_ .
In constructing, however, such complex arrangements the practitioner
must of course take care that he does not fall into the error of
CONTRAINDICATION, and combine substances which possess properties
essentially different, and which are at variance with, or directly
opposed to each other; it is an error of the most serious description,
and unfortunately is one of too common occurrence in the lower walks of
medical practice; “_crimine ab uno disce omnes_.” I lately met with a
country practitioner who, upon being asked by a lady whom he attended,
the intention of three different draughts which he had sent her,
replied, that one would warm, the second cool her, and that the third
was calculated to moderate the too violent effects of either; thus it is
that discredit and contempt fall upon the use of medicines, which ought
only to attach to the ignorant pretenders, or designing knaves who
administer them.
Having, in the commencement of this inquiry, stated that all the
principles of combination, capable of practical application in the
construction of extemporaneous formulæ, are exemplified in the
composition of the various productions of Nature, I shall conclude the
present section by shewing, that _many of our most valuable vegetables
owe their useful properties to the joint operation of the several
distinct and different ingredients which enter into their composition_.
How many substances does Nature produce in the vegetable kingdom, in
which the permanent tonic quality of bitterness exerts its influence in
union with the transient stimulating powers of an aromatic principle?
indeed there is a series of vegetable remedies of this kind: commencing
with those that are simply bitter, we gradually proceed through the
different species, each blending as we advance an increasing proportion
of aroma, until we arrive at those in which the aromatic quality greatly
preponderates. _Peruvian Bark_ may be said to combine within itself the
properties of _bitterness_, _astringency_, and _aroma_; a fact which
suggested the probability of our being able to produce an artificial
compound that might emulate the effects of Cinchona, and to a certain
extent the idea appears to have been realised; for we are told by Dr.
Cullen, that he frequently succeeded in the cure of an intermittent by a
combination of _Oak Bark_ and _Gentian_, when neither bitters nor
astringents, separately, produced the least impression; and I am
informed by Dr. Harrison, that in the Horncastle Dispensary, of which he
was for many years physician, he never employed any other remedy for
curing the ague of Lincolnshire than equal parts of _Bistorta_
(astringent) and _Calamus Aromaticus_ (bitter and aromatic), neither of
which plants, _individually_, ever produced the least benefit in such
diseases. Berzelius attempted to produce a compound of this description
by adding to the bark of the _Ash_ some _Tormentil root_ and _Ginger_;
and he observes that it acted as an excellent tonic, and that according
to the experiments of his friends it seemed to cure quartan agues.[261]
In the aromatic barks and woods, such as those of the _Canella_,
_Orange-peel_, _Sassafras_, &c. the aromatic principle[262] is combined
with a bitter ingredient; a union which proves of singular service in
the formidable bowel complaints so common in tropical climates.
The great superiority of the hop, as an ingredient in our malt liquors,
depends upon the fact of its containing within itself several distinct
and independent elements of activity, which the other bitter herbs that
have at different times been employed as its substitute, do not possess.
The philosophy of its operation may be adduced as a striking
illustration of the present subject; first, then, it contains a _bitter_
principle, which imparts to the beverage a tonic quality and an
agreeable flavour; while at the same time an _aromatic_ ingredient adds
a warm and stimulant property and modifies the bitterness; the hop,
moreover, contains an _astringent_ ingredient (_Tannin_ and _Gallic
Acid_), the effects of which are to precipitate the vegetable mucilage,
and thus to remove from the beer the active principle of its
fermentation; every attempt therefore to substitute an ordinary bitter
for that of the hop must necessarily fail, unless a compound can be so
artfully constructed as to contain in due proportions, the principles of
bitterness, astringency, and aroma. _Quassia_ must therefore necessarily
prove but a sorry substitute; it will impart bitterness enough, but it
will not be modified by agreeable aroma; and as it contains no
astringent principle, it will fail in precipitating the vegetable
mucilage, or gluten; in consequence of which the beer so manufactured
will be in a perpetual state of fermentation until it is entirely
spoilt.[263] _Rhubarb_ is another medical plant which may be brought
forward in elucidation of the analogies subsisting between natural and
artificial combinations; in this case Nature has presented us with a
singular and most important union of medicinal powers,—that of an
astringent, with a cathartic property! virtues, which we might, without
the light of experience, have pronounced to be incompatible with each
other; and yet we find that in this instance the property of astringency
never interferes with, or opposes the purgative force, since the former
does not display itself unless the substance be administered in small
doses; or, when given in larger ones, not until it has ceased to operate
as a cathartic.
IV.
TO OBTAIN A NEW AND ACTIVE REMEDY NOT AFFORDED BY ANY SINGLE SUBSTANCE.
A. _By combining medicines which excite different actions in the Stomach
and System, in consequence of which_ NEW, _or modified results, are
produced._
This constitutes by far the most obscure part of the subject of
medicinal combination, and must ever continue so until we become better
acquainted with the laws which govern the action of medicinal substances
upon the living system. That the most valuable effects, however, are
really produced by such arrangements, we have the testimony of long
experience, and examples are furnished in the valuable and well-known
operation of many officinal preparations; thus the “_Pulvis Ipecacuanhæ
compositus_” contains as its active elements, _Opium_ and _Ipecacuanha_;
and yet, in well regulated doses, it neither possesses the narcotic
operation of the former, nor the nauseating effects of the latter; they
appear to be mutually lost, and converted into a powerful diaphoretic:
so again, the emetic operation of _Sulphuret of Antimony_, and the
specific influence of _Calomel_, are changed by combination with each
other, giving rise to a remedy eminently distinguished for its powers as
an alterative. Dr. Bree observes that _Tincture of Squills_ combined
with _Extract of Henbane_, and the _Nitric Acid_, have been proved by
much experience to be expectorant and sedative in a paroxysm of asthma,
although each article, uncombined, had been given without success. See
_Form. 139_. The efficacy of _Hemlock_, in quieting Pulmonary
irritation, has been frequently adverted to in the course of this work;
I have to state, in this place, that its value, on such occasions, is
generally enhanced by combination with _Ipecacuanha_.
It is probable that many of our natural remedies owe their efficacy to
the results of a similar species of combination. In the fourth edition
of this work it was stated that, according to the assertion of Dr.
Chapman, “_Kino_, when administered in union with _Calumba_, constituted
a pretty certain, and powerful purgative;” since the publication of this
fact, I have investigated what, if true, would appear to be a most
extraordinary anomaly in the philosophy of medicinal combination, and I
find that the statement of Dr. Chapman[264] is not borne out by
experiment. That we might arrive at a just conclusion upon this subject,
I requested the assistance of my friend Dr. John Davy, whose character
for experimental accuracy, and whose situation as Superintendant of the
Medical Division of the General Military Hospital at Chatham, seemed to
point him out as a person peculiarly adapted for such an inquiry; the
result of his trials does not establish that of the experiments of Dr.
Chapman, but on the contrary it seems to prove, that neither _Kino_ nor
_Calumba_, when taken separately, has a constipating effect, and that in
the form of powder (especially the _Calumba_) each has an aperient
quality, which is not increased by exhibiting the two medicines together
in a state of mixture. The trials from which these inferences are drawn
were made on different individuals in tolerable health, and they were
repeated more than once; in some cases they were given separately, and
in others, mixed together, in doses varying from a scruple to a drachm
of each.
B. _By combining Substances which have the property of acting chemically
upon each other; the result of which is the formation of_ NEW COMPOUNDS,
_or the decomposition of the original Ingredients, and the developement
of their more_ ACTIVE ELEMENTS.
A. _The Formation of New Compounds._
It is not necessary to extend our researches beyond the range of the
Pharmacopœiæ,[265] to collect a variety of interesting and important
examples, in illustration of this division of our subject; if we require
a striking example of the agency of chemical combination in destroying
the identity of the original constituents, and of giving origin to a
compound of new powers, it may be exemplified by the well known instance
of _Sulphate of Potass_, a substance possessing but a weak affinity for
water, and exerting but little energy upon the animal œconomy; whereas
the two ingredients of which it consists are distinguished for the
extreme eagerness with which they unite with water, and for the caustic
activity which they display in their action upon animal matter.
Under this head the class of metals will also present itself to our
consideration, all the individuals of which, with the exception perhaps
of iron, are perfectly inert and harmless; even arsenic, lead, copper,
and mercury, which in certain states of combination constitute some of
the most virulent of known substances, exert no action upon the living
system, unless they be in union with some other body; but when so
united, how valuable do they become, and what various medicinal effects
may they not be made to produce.
The _Acetic Acid_ and _Ammonia_ become neutralized by combination with
each other, affording a compound of new virtues. _Sulphate of Zinc_, and
_Acetate of Lead_, when mixed together in solution, decompose each
other, and the _Acetate of Zinc_ which is formed, affords a more
valuable remedy than either of the former salts, as an application in
ophthalmia. The “_Mistura Ferri Composita_” of our Pharmacopœia offers
another example of the same chemical resource. I also beg the reader to
refer to the construction of _Formula 82_, which presents an instance of
a purgative draught being produced by combination, in which the original
properties of every element are entirely changed. See also _Formula 87_,
the chemical actions of which are more complicated, but no less
instructive than the preceding one; the ingredients of the formula are
the _Carbonates of Soda_ and _Magnesia_,—_Sulphate of Iron_,—_Diluted
Sulphuric Acid_, and _Water_—and when mixed together, the following
decompositions would appear to take place; the free _Sulphuric Acid_,
together with that which exists in the _Sulphate of Iron_, being just
sufficient to decompose the _Carbonates of Soda_ and _Magnesia_, forms
two neutral _Sulphates_ (viz. _Sulphates of Soda_ and _Magnesia_,) and
thereby disengages a volume of _Carbonic Acid gas_, which not only
increases the purgative operation of the new saline compounds, but, by
its excess, holds in solution the _Carbonate of Iron_, which is formed
by the decomposition of the _Sulphate_, and which in that state displays
an effect powerfully tonic.
Before we quit the consideration of medicinal compounds as the results
of chemical action, it is expedient to remind the practitioner of the
essential difference between _Mixture_ and _Combination_, a difference
which affects the medicinal virtues no less than the chemical characters
of bodies; it is determined by ample experience, that substances will
produce effects upon the living system when presented in a state of
simple mechanical mixture, very different from those which the same
medicines will occasion when they are combined by the agency of chemical
affinity, as is well exemplified in the comparative effects of alcohol
as existing in ardent spirits, and in wine (see _Vinum_); or in the
relative powers of _Mercury_ in the _Unguentum Hydrargyri_ of the London
College, and the _Unguentum Oxidi Hydrargyri cinerei_ of the
Pharmacopœia of Edinburgh, (see _Unguent. Hydrargyri_); the former of
which is a true chemical compound, whereas the latter is a simple
mixture of its ingredients.
B. _The Developement of Active Elements._
The accomplishment of such an effect is in many instances the sole
object of a pharmaceutical process. It is thus that we obtain pure
_Citric acid_ from the juice of the Lemon; _Tartaric acid_, from Cream
of Tartar; _Benzoic acid_, from the resinous substance known by the name
of _Gum Benzoin_; upon the same principle, the _Muriatic_ and _Nitric_
acids are elicited from the saline compounds in which they exist.
_Ammonia_, in its pungent form, is developed from its inodorous
_Muriate_; and the fixed alkalies are obtained in their caustic state,
from the comparatively mild _carbonates_ in which they naturally exist.
But a more striking and instructive instance of the effect of chemical
action, in developing an active, or useful principle, cannot perhaps be
selected than that of the well known stimulant Plaister, composed of
_Muriate of Ammonia_, _Soap_, and _Lead Plaister_, in which the alkali
of soap enters into combination with the muriatic acid, when the
_Ammonia_, upon which the virtues of the plaister solely depend, is
slowly disengaged in the form of gas, producing a powerfully rubifacient
and stimulant effect: the “_Cataplasma Fermenti_,” or “_Yeast
Poultice_,” is indebted for its antiseptic properties to a similar
agency, for they do not depend upon any virtue in the ingredients
themselves, but upon their decomposition, and the consequent
developement of an active element, which is _Carbonic Acid_. The
practitioner unacquainted with the _modus operandi_ of these
combinations, would inevitably fall into an error by which their
efficacy must be lost; he would hardly apply them as soon as they were
formed, nor would he be aware of the necessity of repeating them at
short intervals.
The decomposition of _Calomel_ by lime water, forming the well known
“_black wash_” and that of _corrosive sublimate_ in the same fluid,
constituting the “_aqua phagadenica_,” furnish remedies which derive all
their peculiar efficacy from the developement of the mercury in
different states of oxidation. The reader will find another, and a very
striking illustration of the same principle in the history of
“_Alterative Drops_,” under the article “_Hydrargyri Oxy-murias_.”
A substance separated by chemical precipitation is often a valuable
remedy, being in a much more subtle and impalpable form than any body
can be rendered by mechanical triture and levigation;[266] for example,
the _Carbonate of Lead_, (Cerussa), when diffused in water, is according
to the experience of our best surgeons, far less active as a topical
application than the same substance when produced at once by
precipitation from the _Sub-acetate_ of that metal. In some cases, also,
the substance obtained by precipitation is in a different state of
oxidation from that which is prepared by a different process, see _Mist.
Ferri Comp:_ It is a question well worthy of consideration whether a
more active preparation of the _Antimonial powder_ might not be formed
by obtaining the oxide by the precipitation of _Tartarized Antimony_.
Many interesting and important illustrations have been lately afforded
by an extended knowledge of vegetable chemistry, recent analyses having
developed principles of extreme activity from several of our most
esteemed plants; thus have Sertuerner and Robiquet succeeded in
separating a narcotic element from _Opium_ (_Morphia_); Majendie, and
_Pelletier_, an emetic principle from _Ipecacuan_, (_Emeta_); and the
last mentioned chemist, together with Caventou, a tonic one from
_Peruvian Bark_, (_Cinchonia_), the properties and applications of which
will be fully explained hereafter, under the history of the different
substances which contain them.
It is only here necessary to caution the practitioner against those
fallacies into which the captivating theories of the chemist may seduce
him; and, if the views which I have offered upon the subject of
combination be correct, it will follow as a corollary, that the
concentration _of an active element must in many cases abridge its
powers as a remedy_; for although the matter thus removed may
_individually_ be quite inert, yet, in combination, it may subdivide the
particles of the essential constituent, or modify its solubility, and
give impulse and steadiness to its operation; thus the vegetable alkali
_Quina_, although it indisputably constitutes the active matter of bark,
will be found inefficacious when separated from it, unless it be
rendered soluble by the addition of sulphuric, or some other acid.
C. _By combining substances, between which no other chemical change is
induced, than a diminution, or an increase, in the_ SOLUBILITIES _of the
principles, which are the repositories of their medicinal virtues_.
The degree of solubility possessed by a medicinal substance may perhaps
be regarded by some practitioners as a circumstance of but little or no
importance; it will however appear in many cases that _it not only
influences the activity of a remedy, but, like its dose, goes far to
determine its specific operation_; indeed, where a medicine is not, in
itself, very soluble, the increase of its solubility by any chemical
expedient, is tantamount to an increase of its dose.
It is probably owing to the diversity which exists in the solubility of
the active elements of certain purgatives, that so great a diversity
occurs in their operation; it is, for instance, easy to conceive that a
medicine may act more immediately and specially on the stomach, small,
or large intestines, according to the relative facility with which its
principles of activity enter into solution; that those which are
dissolved before they pass the pylorus are quick and violent in their
effects, and liable to affect the stomach, as is exemplified by the
action of _Gamboge_, &c. whilst some resinous purgatives, on the other
hand, as they contain principles less soluble, seldom act until they
have passed out of the stomach, and often not until they have reached
the colon. _Colocynth_ has a wider range of operation, since its
principles of activity reside both in soluble and in insoluble elements.
_Aloes_ again, being still further insoluble, pass through the whole
alimentary canal before they are sufficiently dissolved, and act
therefore more particularly upon the rectum, by which they are liable to
produce piles, tenesmus, and the various effects which so usually attend
their operation. The characteristic effects of _Rhubarb_, _Senna_,
_Saline Cathartics_, and indeed of all individual substances which
compose the class of the purgative medicines, will also admit of a
satisfactory explanation from the application of these views. It ought
moreover to enable the practitioner, by changing the solubilities of
these substances, to change their medicinal effects. Experience shews
that this is the fact, and that it may be effected either _by the
intervention of substances that act_ CHEMICALLY; or, _by the addition of
Ingredients whose operation is entirely_ MECHANICAL; thus by combining
_Aloes_ with _Soap_ or an _Alkaline Salt_, we quicken their operation,
and remove their tendency to irritate the rectum; the _Compound
Decoction of Aloes_ affords a combination of this kind. _Gamboge_, whose
too ready solubility it is an object to obviate, should be intimately
incorporated with some insoluble purgative, as for instance _Aloes_; a
formula of this nature was introduced by Dr. George Fordyce, and it has
been since simplified and admitted into our Pharmacopœia, under the
title of “_Pilulæ Cambogiæ Compositæ_.” _Tartrate of Potash_, which, on
account of its comparative solubility, has gained the name of _Soluble
Tartar_, acts with corresponding briskness upon the small intestines;
but by increasing its proportion of _Tartaric Acid_, we convert it into
a _super-tartrate_ or “_Cream of Tartar_,” which is a substance
characterized by a comparative degree of insolubility, and a
correspondent change is produced in the medicinal activity of the salt;
its purgative effects are considerably diminished, whilst its diuretic
powers are rendered more considerable. We may even extend this
experiment by adding to the _Cream of Tartar_, _Boracic Acid_, a
substance capable of increasing to a certain extent its solubility, when
we shall again find that its purgative properties are strengthened in an
equal proportion.
It has been observed that a mixture of different saline cathartics is
more efficient than an equivalent dose of any single one, a fact which
is strikingly exemplified in the prompt and active operation of
Cheltenham Salts, in comparatively small doses, as well as in that of
sea water. I submit whether this may not in some degree depend upon
increased solubility; for it is a law well known to the chemist, that
_when water has ceased to act upon a salt_, _in consequence of its
having obtained the term of saturation, the solution may still take up
another salt of a different kind_. I apprehend that an advantageous
application of this law might be frequently made in practice, and the
energies of a remedy thereby considerably extended.[267]
Where the active principle of a cathartic is not sufficiently soluble,
it is apt to vex and irritate the bowels, producing tormina instead of
exciting a free and copious excretion; hence the reason why the
operation of resinous purgatives is so commonly attended with griping,
and why relief may be obtained by combining them with _neutral salts_.
Thus also _Senna_, whose virtues reside in extractive matter, is apt by
decoction, or long exposure to the air, to act with griping, in
consequence of the extractive matter becoming by oxidation, resinous and
comparatively insoluble: this effect is best counteracted by the
addition of _soluble Tartar_, that will quicken its action, or by an
alkaline salt that will increase its solubility.
It appears then to be established as a pharmaceutical maxim, that _the
intensity and even specific action of a purgative medicine may be
modified or completely changed_, _by changing the degree of solubility
possessed by the principles in which its activity resides_.
The application of this principle is highly important in practice,
directing us in the choice of the different purgatives, according to the
objects which we may wish to fulfil by them, and pointing out safe and
easy methods by which we may increase, diminish, retard, or accelerate
their operation; it thus enables us to construct new and powerful
combinations, by imparting to established remedies fresh activity, or by
mitigating the acrimony and violence of arrangements in other respects
efficacious and eligible.
In the exhibition of solid substances, their mechanical state of
division may be capable of modifying their operation, from the influence
which this condition must necessarily exert upon their solubilities,
although I am by no means disposed to assign to it the importance which
Gaubius has ventured to express, “_Sunt quæ ruditer pulverata alvum,
subtilius vero urinas, aut alios humores movent_;” and Ray, speaking of
the _Asarum_ (Hist. p. 208) has the following remark—“_Quo tenuius est
tritum, eo magis urinas movere, minus autem alvum ducere creditur_;” and
Linnæus[268] observes that this same plant, when exhibited in the state
of _very fine_ powder, uniformly acts as an emetic, but that when
_coarsely_ powdered it always passes the stomach, and becomes cathartic.
M. Virey has made a similar observation with respect to
Hellebore,—“_L’Hellebore pulverisé fait vomiter; concassé il purge; et
en decoction prolongée, il en devient sudorifique ou diuretique._” I
have endeavoured under the article _Pulveres_ to establish some useful
precepts upon this subject, to which I beg to refer the reader.
The influence of solubility upon the medicinal energies and specific
effects of remedies, may be farther illustrated by a comparative
examination of the virtues of the _Acetate_ and _Sub-acetate_ (Goulard’s
Extract) _of Lead:_ the former preserves its solubility and integrity
under any degree of dilution, while the latter, when slightly diluted
with the purest water, in consequence of the carbonic acid diffused
through it, gives out a copious precipitate; the acetate therefore is
undoubtedly the more immediately active application as a preparation of
lead, but it is nevertheless perhaps less adapted to remove inflammation
and abate irritation than the turbid mixture of the sub-acetate, since
the slow and gradual action which is ensured by the latter is more
desirable than the instantaneous operation of the same remedy, applied
in a more soluble form: the popular injection for gonorrhæa, consisting
of a mixed solution of _Sulphate of Zinc_ and _Acetate of Lead_,
probably owes much of its value to the insoluble precipitate of
_Sulphate_ of lead which necessarily takes place, and which, from
becoming entangled in the mucus of the urethra, produces a more
permanent stimulus than what could have happened from a soluble salt:
(_Form. 62_) thus again the _Sulphuret of Antimony_, and some other
preparations of that metal, of slow solubility, establish a more
permanent influence than _Tartarized Antimony_, and may be preferable to
it in cases where immediate and active evacuations are not required.
Of remedies composed of vegetable tonics, the useful application of this
principle is also apparent. Thus the addition of _alkalies_, or
_lime-water_, to the infusions of _Gentian_, &c. or to the decoctions of
_Bark_, by rendering their extractive and resinous principles more
soluble, increase their elegance, and exalt their virtues, (_Form. 39,
41_,) although this law admits of an important exception to be hereafter
explained. A knowledge of this principle likewise offers many useful
hints connected with the successful exhibition of active remedies; it
points out the medicines which require dilution in order to promote
their operation, and those whose too speedy and violent effects may be
retarded and checked by an abstinence from all potation. Thus, in the
exhibition of _Diuretics_ likely to become cathartic or diaphoretic, no
liquid should be given for at least an hour after their administration;
the same caution applies with respect to the _Compound Powder of
Ipecacuan_, which has a strong tendency to excite vomiting. When the
remedy has passed out of the stomach, then the ingestion of fluids may,
and ought to be encouraged.
To Sir Francis Milman the profession is highly indebted for hints
concerning the importance of accompanying the exhibition of _Diuretics_
with plentiful dilution,[269] the arguments he adduces elucidate in a
very satisfactory manner the view which has been just taken of the
INFLUENCE OF SOLUBILITY.
The influence of solubility[270] in increasing the virulence of a
poisonous substance, has already been illustrated very fully (_page
135_,) and it has also been shewn under what circumstance it may be
admissible. When these active substances are administered as remedies,
in small doses, the precept respecting their solubility is even more
important, for in such cases the smallness of the quantity places their
operation more immediately under the control of various incidental
agents; _destroy_ the solubility of a medicine, and you will probably
divest it of those properties which render it useful. _Nitrate of
Silver_, by coming in contact with a _Muriatic Salt_, is rendered quite
inert, and may be discovered unaltered in the fæces of persons to whom
it has been administered. See _Argenti Nitras_.
Under the article _Plumbi Acetas_ the practitioner will also find that
the conjunction of this substance with any sulphuric salt, at once
deprives it of its valuable properties as a remedy in _Hæmopthysis_.
Some practitioners, whose opinions I always receive with respect, have
considered these views respecting the influence of solubility as
savouring too much of the refinement of theory, and instances have been
suggested which would appear to invalidate their pretensions; upon
examination, however, it will be found that such exceptions are but
apparent, and depend upon the solvent action of the gastric fluid. Thus
the _Protoxide of Iron_ would appear to be soluble in the fluids of the
stomach, and is consequently an active medicine, whereas the _Peroxide_
of the same metal, being insoluble under such circumstances, requires to
be combined with an acid, as in the _Tinctura Ferri Muriatis_, to render
it efficacious. The same remark will probably apply to the oxides of
antimony.
I shall conclude this section upon the influence of Solubility, by the
relation of an anecdote which may tend to confirm the justness of the
views I have offered, more satisfactorily perhaps than any additional
arguments derived from a scientific examination of chemical and
medicinal facts; in as much as it presents us with a practice, the
utility of which has been discovered by unassisted experience, and must
consequently be independent of theory. The American Indians, whenever
they undertake a long journey, and are likely to be destitute of
provisions, employ Tobacco for the purpose of counteracting the uneasy
sensations of hunger, and in its preparation for such a purpose they
adopt an expedient for modifying its powers, and protracting its
effects, which affords an instructive illustration of the influence of
solubility; it consists in combining the juice of Tobacco, with the
pulverized shells of snails, cockles, and oysters;[271] the mass is
dried, and formed into pills, of a convenient size to be held between
the gum and lip, which being gradually dissolved and swallowed, fulfil
the intention required.[272]
V.
TO AFFORD AN ELIGIBLE FORM.
A. _By which the efficacy of the remedy is enhanced._
After the views which have been submitted in the progress of the present
inquiry, it is evident, that the _form_ in which a remedy is
administered may exert some influence upon its medicinal effects; for
additional proofs of this fact, and for more particular directions, see
_Decocta_, _Infusa_, _Tincturæ_, _Misturæ_, _Pilulæ_, _Pulveres_, &c.
When a substance, or a combination of substances, requires the addition
of some other one, for the purpose of imparting a convenient, agreeable,
or efficacious form, _a vehicle should always be selected, whose effects
will be likely to correspond with the intention of the other
ingredients_. This precept may be exemplified by a reference to _Form.
80, 134_, and others, the _key-letters_ of which announce the _modus
operandi_ of their respective _vehicles_.
B. _By which its aspect or flavour is rendered more agreeable._
It should ever be the object of the practitioner to accommodate, as far
as he is able, the form and flavour of his medicines to the taste and
caprice of his patient, provided always that he does not compromise
their efficacy, and which often appears to be nearly connected with
those sensible qualities which render them disgusting and objectionable.
Some medicines are more grateful to the stomach, as well as more
efficacious in their operation, when exhibited in the state of
effervescence. To effect this we have only to introduce an alkaline
carbonate into the formula, and to direct a portion of some vegetable
acid to be added just before it is swallowed. We must, however, take
care that the ingredients are of a nature not likely to be decomposed by
the alkali, in the first instance, or by the neutral salt, which is
formed, in the second. See _Form. 27, 82, 86_.
C. _By which it is_ PRESERVED _from the spontaneous decomposition to
which it is liable._
It is sometimes adviseable to add an ingredient for the purpose of
preventing the sudden decomposition of a medicine; thus is the _Compound
Tincture of Cardamoms_ added to the _Compound Decoction of Aloes_, in
order that the latter may be preserved a longer period without change.
The addition of sugar will prevent ointments from becoming rancid.
Vegetable infusions, that are susceptible of mouldiness, are best
preserved from such deterioration by some aromatic addition. For the
knowledge of this fact we are indebted to Dr. Mac Culloch, who in a very
interesting paper, lately published in the Edinburgh Philosophical
Journal[273] has observed, that perfumes, such as _Essential Oils_, &c.
will prevent the production and growth of those minute cryptogamous
vegetables, upon which the phenomenon of mouldiness depends.[274]
Such are the objects which are to be attained by combining several
substances in one _Formula_, and such the laws by which these
compositions are to be regulated; but unless a physician can
satisfactorily trace the operation of each element in his prescription
to the accomplishment of one or more of the objects which I have
enumerated, SIMPLICITY should be regarded by him as the greatest
desideratum. I was once told by a practitioner in the country that the
quantity, or rather complexity of the medicines which he gave his
patients, for there never was any deficiency in the former, was always
increased in a ratio with the obscurity of their cases; “if,” said he,
“I fire a great profusion of shot, it is very extraordinary if some do
not hit the mark.” Sir Gilbert Blane[275] has given us a similar
anecdote; “a practitioner being asked by his patient why he put so many
ingredients into his prescription, is said to have answered more
facetiously than philosophically, _in order that the disease may take
which it likes best_.” A patient in the hands of such a practitioner has
not a much better chance than the Chinese Mandarin who, upon being
attacked with any disorder, calls in twelve or more physicians, and
swallows in one mixture all the potions which each separately
prescribes!
Let not the young practitioner however be so deceived; he should
remember that unless he be well acquainted with the mutual actions which
bodies exert upon each other, and upon the living system, it may be laid
down as an axiom, that _in proportion as he complicates a medicine, he
does but multiply the chances of its failure_. SUPERFLUA NUNQUAM NON
NOCENT: let him cherish this maxim in his remembrance, and in forming
compounds, always discard from them every element which has not its mode
of action clearly defined, and as thoroughly understood.
The perfection of a Medicinal Prescription may be defined by three
words; it should be PRECISE (in its _directions_,) CONCISE (in its
_construction_,) DECISIVE (in its _operation_.) It should carry upon its
very face an air of energy and decision, and speak intelligibly the
indications which it is to fulfil. It may be laid down as a position
which is not in much danger of being controverted, that _where the
intention of a medicinal compound is obscure, its operation will be
imbecile_.
A Medicinal Formula has been divided into four constituent parts, a
division which will be found to admit of useful application to practice,
in as much as it was evidently suggested with a view of accomplishing
the more prominent objects which have been related in the preceding
pages; or, in the language of Asclepiades, of enabling the BASIS to
operate “CITO,” “TUTO,” et “JUCUNDE.” Quickly, Safely, and
Pleasantly—thus
I. THE BASIS, or Principal Medicine.
(_curare._)
II. THE ADJUVANS; that which assists and promotes its operation.
(“_Cito._”)
III. THE CORRIGENS; that which corrects its operation.
(“_Tuto._”)
IV. THE CONSTITUENS; that which imparts an agreeable form.
(“_Jucunde._”)
These elements however are not all necessarily present in every
scientific formula, for many medicines do not require any addition to
promote their operation, and the mild and tractable nature of others
renders the addition of any corrective unnecessary; whilst many again
are in themselves sufficiently manageable, and do not therefore require
the _intermede_ of any _vehicle_ or _constituent_. It also frequently
occurs that one element is capable of fulfilling two or more of the
objects required; the ADJUVANS for instance, may at the same time act as
the CORRIGENS, or CONSTITUENS; thus the addition of _Soap_ to _Aloes_,
or _Extract of Jalap_, mitigates their acrimony, and at the same time
quickens their operation (80.) So again _Neutral Salts_ both quicken and
correct the griping which attends the operation of resinous purgatives.
The disposition of the key letters placed opposite to the elements of
the following _Formulæ_, will furnish the practitioner with a farther
elucidation of these principles, viz. 70, 71, 76, 77, 101, 102, 105,
135, &c. This coincidence, if possible, should be always attained, for
it simplifies the formula, and by decreasing the bulk of the remedy,
renders it less nauseous and more elegant.[276]
This division also affords the best general rule for placing the
ingredients of a formula in proper order, for the order should
correspond with that of the arrangement; and those elements intended to
act in unity should be marshalled together. The chemical and mechanical
nature however of a medicinal substance will occasionally offer
exceptions to any general rule; thus the volatile ingredients should be
those last added, and the constituent or _vehicle_ should be placed next
the particular element to which it is intended to impart convenience or
efficacy of form, or a capability of mixing with the other ingredients,
as may be seen in Formulæ 69, 71, 127, 136, &c. This consideration
induced the Committee, appointed to revise the late Pharmacopœia, to
alter the order of the ingredients in the “_Mistura Ferri composita_,”
and to place the “_Spiritus Myristicæ_” next in succession to the
“_Potassæ Sub-carbonas_” and _Myrrh_. If any substance require decoction
or infusion, a question then arises, determinable only by a knowledge of
its chemical composition, whether the remaining ingredients should be
added previous to, during, or subsequent to, that operation; _Formula
40_, which is recommended by Pringle as a remedy for Typhus fever, may
serve to exemplify this principle. The preparation of the ingredients is
resolved into three distinct stages, and it is easy to discover that by
any other arrangement their several virtues could not be fully obtained,
and secured from change. The _Cinchona_, for instance, yields its full
powers only by decoction, a process which would necessarily impair those
of _Serpentaria_, connected as they are with an essential oil; whilst
the addition of the acid at any other stage of the process than that
directed, would produce decompositions in the vegetable substances; and
it is evident that were the _Spirit of Cinnamon_ added previously, it
would be entirely lost by vaporization. So in making the _Compound
Decoction of Sarsaparilla_, the _Sassafras_ should be added after the
other ingredients have undergone boiling. The Decoctions of _Lichen
Islandicus_ and _Sarsaparilla_ constitute a popular remedy on the
Continent, in certain forms of Phthisis; now it is evident that as the
former plant loses its virtues by long coction, and the latter requires
a protracted ebullition for the extraction of its virtues, they ought
not to be included under the same general directions; each decoction
should be separately performed, and the results subsequently mixed.
COMPOUND MEDICINES have been divided into two Classes, _viz_.
I. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS,
which are those ordered in the Pharmacopœias, and kept ready prepared in
the shops. No uniform class of medicines however can answer the
indications of every case, and hence the necessity of
II. MAGISTRAL OR EXTEMPORANEOUS FORMULÆ.
These are constructed by the practitioner at the moment, and may be
either arrangements altogether new, or officinal preparations with
additions, or modifications. Too much importance cannot be assigned to
the Art which thus enables the physician to adopt and graduate a
powerful remedy to each particular case by a prompt and accurate
prescription; without this knowledge, the practitioner of the nineteenth
century, with all the collateral aid of modern science, will be as
helpless in the chamber of sickness as the physicians of ancient Egypt,
who were obliged by the laws to follow with servile exactness the
unvarying mandates of their medical code. _Extemporaneous_ are also
preferable to _Officinal Formulæ_, whenever the powers of the compound
are less liable to deterioration from being long kept; for examples, see
_Mistura Ferri composita_; _Infusum Sennæ_; _Liquor Hydrargyri
Oxymuriatis_, &c.
THE CHEMICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL ERRORS, WHICH MAY BE COMMITTED IN THE
COMPOSITION OF EXTEMPORANEOUS FORMULÆ, ARE REFERABLE TO THE FOLLOWING
SOURCES.
1.—_Substances are added together which are incapable of mixing, or, of
forming Compounds of uniform and suitable consistence._
This may be termed an error in the _Mechanism_ of the Prescription, and
has been generally regarded as being more inconvenient than dangerous,
more fatal to the credit of the Prescriber than to the case of the
Patient: the observations however which are offered in this work,
especially under the article _Pilulæ_, must satisfy the practitioner
that this error is more mischievous in its effects than has been usually
supposed; it is so palpable and self-evident in its nature, that it will
be unnecessary to illustrate it by more than one or two examples.
_Calomel_, for instance, has been ordered in an aqueous vehicle, and
certain _resinous tinctures_ have been directed in draughts, without the
necessary intervention of mucilage; so again, an intermixture of
substances has been formerly ordered in powder that possess the perverse
property of becoming liquid by triture (see _Pulveres_), and bodies have
been prescribed in the form of pills, whose consistence[277] renders it
impossible that they should preserve the globular form; or else they
have been so hard and insoluble, that they might be fired through a deal
board.[278] In the London Pharmacopœia of 1809, an error of this kind
unfortunately passed without correction with regard to the Formula for
preparing the _Syrup of Senna_.
II.—_Substances are added together which mutually decompose each other,
whence their original virtues are changed, or destroyed._
This is a more serious, but not a less frequent source of error; it has
been already shewn in this Analysis (IV. B) that the judicious and
scientific application of chemical science has furnished new and endless
resources to the physician, by exalting the efficacy and correcting the
acrimony of established remedies, or by combining inert substances so as
to create new and powerful medicines. With equal truth and confidence it
may be asserted, that the abuse of these means not only destroys the
virtues of the most valuable articles in the _Materia Medica_, but that
the mildest remedy may be thus converted into an instrument of torture,
and even of death. In a lecture delivered at Apothecaries’ Hall, Mr.
Brande stated that he had seen a prescription in which the _blue_, or
mercurial pill, was ordered in conjunction with nitric acid, and that
the patient was brought to “death’s door” from the formation of _nitrate
of mercury_ in his stomach! I have myself lately seen a _Recipe_,
professing to afford a preparation similar to the “_Black Drop_,” and
which directed a mixture of a _Tincture of Opium_, made with rectified
spirit, with _Nitric Acid_; in this case, it may be very safely inferred
that the author was not only ignorant of the chemical habitudes of these
bodies, but that he never performed the experiment in question, or he
would have learnt from dire experience, that in consequence of the rapid
evolution of _nitric ether_, the contents of the phial will explode with
violence, to the imminent hazard of the operator’s eye-sight. During the
course of my professional practice I have witnessed more than an
ordinary share of consumptive cases, and I can confidently state that in
the treatment of Hæmopthysis, the styptic properties of _Acetate of
lead_ are entirely invalidated by combination with _Alum_,[279] or by
its exhibition being accompanied with that of the acidulated _infusion
of roses_, or with small doses of _sulphate of magnesia_; and yet, I
would ask, whether this practice is not usual and general? The
practitioner however cannot be too often reminded that he is not to
reject a remedy whose value has been ascertained by experience, merely
because it appears to be unchemical: the popular and certainly useful
pill, consisting of calomel, rhubarb and soap, may be adduced as an
example of this kind. Of the _Mistura Ferri Composita_, I will only say
that it is a most valuable combination; and whether it be the product of
accident, or the result of philosophical induction, it equally deserves
a distinguished place in our list of tonic remedies: but it cannot be
denied that many of our esteemed arrangements, which are in apparent
contradiction to all the laws of composition, owe their efficacy to the
operation of affinities altogether blind and fortuitous.
It has been observed that the practice of combining certain vegetable
tonics with lime-water, although very common, is in cases where we are
desirous to obtain their _astringent_ effects, of very doubtful
propriety; for the fact is, that _Tannin_ forms with the alkalies and
alkaline earths, compounds that are not soluble in water,[280] and which
are therefore probably inefficacious. It may perhaps be said that such
an argument cannot avail, because if the astringent matter be even
introduced into the stomach in its purest form, it will immediately form
an insoluble compound on its contact with _gelatine_.[281] We know so
little of the laws of _gastric chemistry_, that it is difficult to learn
what changes take place in the animal laboratory; but it would seem
probable that the powers of the stomach rather consist in decomposing
the ingesta into simple forms, than in complicating them by favoring new
combinations; besides which, if such a compound were formed, it would be
subsequently decomposed _in transitu_; for the experiments of Sir H.
Davy shew that vegetable astringent matter passes through the body
unchanged. (_page 82._)
It is impossible to furnish any general rule that may enable the
practitioner to avoid mixing together substances which are incompatible
with each other; a knowledge of their chemical habitudes must in every
case direct him, and these are enumerated in the second part of this
work, under the history of each medicinal substance. The physician
however will find it useful to retain in his remembrance the simple and
beautiful law which has been so ably developed by the eminent author of
the “STATIQUE CHIMIQUE,” that _whenever two salts in a state of solution
are brought together, which contain, within themselves, elements capable
of producing a soluble and insoluble salt, a decomposition must
necessarily arise_;[282] he illustrates this law by the example of
_Nitrate of Silver_ and _Muriate of Potass_, whose elements are capable
of forming within themselves a soluble salt, _Nitrate of Potass_, and an
insoluble salt, _Muriate of Silver_. It deserves also to be remembered,
that a table of chemical affinity will not upon all occasions prove to
the medical practitioner an unerring pilot; in those cases for instance,
where a _super or sub Salt is readily formed, a substance less weakly
attracted by another than a third, will sometimes precipitate this third
from its combination with the second_, thus in the production of _Nitric
acid_, we decompose the _Nitrate of Potass_ by virtue of the superior
affinity of the _Sulphuric acid_ for its base, the nitric acid is
accordingly disengaged, and a _Sulphate of Potass_ remains in the
retort; now, paradoxical as it may appear, if nitric acid be poured upon
the _Sulphate of Potass_, a quantity of nitre will be reproduced, in
consequence of the saturation of a portion of the base, in such a
proportion as to enable the remaining atoms to form a _Bi-Sulphate of
Potass_. In the same manner the _Tartrate of Potass_ (Soluble Tartar)
is, contrary to the usual affinities, decomposed by all sub-acid
vegetables, which neutralize a portion of the base, and convert the salt
into the _Bi-tartrate of Potass_ (_Cream of Tartar_). The same effect is
even produced by _Carbonic acid_.[283]
There are besides certain cases wherein _Triple Salts_ are produced,
which afford apparent exceptions to the usual affinities of the bodies
involved in the combination; we have a very good illustration of this
truth in the decomposition of the _Liquor Ammoniæ Acetatis_ by
_Magnesia_; if the practitioner refers to a table of affinities, he will
perceive that _Acetic acid_ has a greater attraction for _Ammonia_ than
for _Magnesia_; but if upon this assurance he were to administer these
bodies together, he, or his patient, would soon discover that ammonia is
developed with considerable pungency; now in this case the _Magnesia_
forms a _triple Acetate_ with one part of the ammonia, and consequently
sets the remainder at liberty.
A popular error exists with respect to the subject of chemical
incompatibility, against which it may be here advisable to caution the
inexperienced prescriber, viz. that _no important change is produced, on
the admixture of solutions, unless precipitation is occasioned_. This
however occurs only when the new compound produced is insoluble; thus
_Sulphuric acid_ may be added to _Lime water_, by which a _Sulphate of
Lime_ is formed, but as its proportion is not too large for the water to
dissolve, no precipitate occurs; so again, a solution of _Nitrate of
Silver_ is not apparently disturbed by the addition of _Ammonia_,
because the resulting _Ammoniuret_ is a soluble compound. We should,
nevertheless, commit a great error in supposing that, for such a reason,
these bodies were not _incompatible_. On the other hand, the medicinal
powers of a solution are not necessarily destroyed by the occurrence of
a precipitate, although such a result should always be regarded with
suspicion.
III.—_The Methods directed for the preparation of the Ingredients are
either inadequate to the accomplishment of the object, or they change
and destroy the efficacy of the Substances._
The observations already offered upon _Formula 40_, will sufficiently
explain the nature of the various errors comprehended under this head:
so, again, if the virtues of a plant reside in _essential oils_, which
are easily volatilized, or in _extractive matter_, which readily
becomes oxidized, DECOCTION must necessarily destroy its efficacy; a
striking example of this fact is presented us in the history of the
_Laurel_ and _Bitter Almond:_ the poisonous influence of the essential
oil and distilled water of these vegetable substances is well known,
but their watery extracts are perfectly innocuous. A still more
familiar example is to be found in the onion, or in garlic, which by
simple coction is deprived of all its acrimonious qualities. On the
other hand, an error equally injurious would be committed, by
directing a simple infusion of a vegetable, whose medicinal properties
depended upon resino-mucilaginous principles. Orfila found that an
extract of Hemlock, prepared by boiling the dried powder in water and
evaporating the decoction, was entirely destitute of activity. See
_Decocta_, _Infusa_, _Extracta_.
An instance of the baneful effects which may arise from an erroneous
method of preparation happened some time ago to fall under my immediate
notice and care; it was in preparing an infusion of the root of the
_Veratrum_ with _Opium_, as directed by Mr. James Moore, when the
dispenser ignorantly substituted a spirituous for a vinous menstruum.
A very common error may be here noticed, which is that of prescribing a
substance in such a form, as not to be acted upon with any effect by the
solvent; as an example it may be stated, that in preparing an infusion
of _Juniper Berries_, unless pains be taken by strong contusion to break
the seed, it will contain but little power as a medicine.
The unbruised seeds of Mustard were commended by Dr. Mead,[284] in
Ascites, and by Bergius, in Intermittents; Dr. Cullen, however, has very
properly observed that the seeds given in the above manner are never
broken down or dissolved in the stomach, but pass away entire by stool,
and cannot therefore occasion any beneficial result.
It is unnecessary to multiply examples in proof of the numerous errors
into which a physician must unavoidably fall, who presumes to compose
prescriptions without a knowledge of the chemical habitudes of the
different substances which he combines. The file of every apothecary
would furnish a volume of instances, where the ingredients of the
prescription are fighting together in the dark, or at least are so
adverse to each other, as to constitute a most incongruous and chaotic
mass.
“Obstabat aliis aliud: quia corpore in uno
Frigida pugnabant calidis, humentia siccis,
Mollia cum duris, sine pondere, habentia pondus.”
_Ovid. Metamorph._ lib. 1. 19.
THE DOSES OF MEDICINAL SUBSTANCES are specific with respect to each, and
can therefore be only learnt from experience; the young and eager
practitioner, however, is too often betrayed into the error of supposing
that the powers of a remedy always increase in an equal ratio with its
dose, whereas THE DOSE ALONE VERY OFTEN DETERMINES ITS SPECIFIC ACTION.
“_Medicines_,” says Linnæus, “_differ from poisons, not in their nature,
but in their dose_,” which is but a paraphrase of the well known
aphorism of Pliny, “_Ubi virus, ibi virtus_.”[285]—So that food,
remedies, and poisons, may be said to branch into each other by
indefinable gradations;—Five grains of _Camphor_ act as a mild sedative
and slight diaphoretic, but twenty grains induce nausea, and act as a
stimulant; so again, _Opium_, in too large doses, instead of promoting,
prevents sleep, and rather stimulates the bowels than acts as a
narcotic. Two ounces of any neutral salt are apt to be emetic, one ounce
even of _Alum_ to be cathartic, and two drachms to be refrigerant; in
like manner the preparations of _Antimony_ either vomit, purge, or
sweat, according to the quantity exhibited.
Would it not appear that _powerful doses rather produce a local than a
general effect_? Experience seems to prove in this respect, that the
effect of an internal application is similar to that of an external
impression; if violent, it affects the part only to which it is applied,
as pinching does that of the skin, whereas titillation, which may be
said to differ only from the former in degree, acts upon the whole
system, and occasions itching and laughter, and if long continued,
weakness, sickness, vomiting, and convulsions; in like manner
_Digitalis_, if given in large doses, acts immediately upon the stomach
or bowels, becoming emetic and cathartic, but in smaller proportions it
produces a GENERAL effect, increasing all the excretions, especially
that of urine; so, again, large doses of the _Mercurial Pill_ act upon
the bowels, and are eliminated from the body, whereas the same remedy in
small doses affects the system generally, and excites a universal
influence. I am well satisfied that the regulation of the dose of a
medicine is even more important than it is usually supposed to be.
_Substances perfectly inert and useless in one dose may prove in another
active and valuable._ Hence may be explained the great efficacy of many
mineral waters, whilst the ingredients which impart activity to them are
found comparatively inert, when they become the elements of an
artificial combination; and hence probably the failure of many
_alterative_ medicines, when no other rational cause can be assigned for
it. We need not seek far for an example of the very different and
opposite effects which the same substance can produce in different
doses; the operation of _Common Salt_ is familiar to us all; Sir John
Pringle has shewn that in quantities such as we usually take with our
food, its action is highly septic, softening and resolving all meat to
which it is applied, whereas in large quantities it usually preserves
such substances from putrefaction, and therefore, when so taken, instead
of promoting, destroys digestion.
It is moreover probable that medicinal, like nutritive substances, are
more readily absorbed into the circulating system when presented in
small quantities, than when applied in more considerable proportions. It
is upon this principle that a large quantity of food, taken seldom, does
not fatten so much as smaller quantities at shorter intervals, as is
exemplified in the universal good condition of cooks and their
attendants. It is not pressing the principle of analogy too far to
suppose that the action of _alteratives_, which require to be absorbed,
may be more effectually answered by similar management; that is, _by
exhibiting small doses at short intervals_.
The operation of medicines is influenced by certain general
circumstances, which should be also kept in mind when we
apportion their dose; e.g. AGE—SEX—TEMPERAMENT—STRENGTH OF THE
PATIENT—HABIT—DIET—PROFESSION—CLIMATE—DURATION OF THE DISEASE—STATE OF
THE STOMACH—IDIOSYNCRASY—and THE VARIABLE ACTIVITY OF THE MEDICINAL
SUBSTANCE.
Women generally require smaller doses than men. Habit, or the protracted
use of a medicine, generally diminishes its power, although certain
cathartics appear to offer an exception, for when long continued, their
activity is proportionally increased, as is well known to every person
who is familiar with the operation of the Cheltenham waters. Dr. Lamb
has also stated with regard to the operation of Lead, “that the
constitution, so far from being reconciled to it by habit, is rendered
more and more sensible to its irritation by continuance.” Emetics also
frequently become more powerful by repetition; Cullen informs us that he
knew a person so accustomed to excite vomiting in himself that the one
twentieth part of a grain of tartarized antimony was sufficient to
excite a convulsive action of the stomach; in some cases such an effect
may perhaps be referred to the operation of the mind; for after the
frequent use of an emetic, the mere sight of it, or even conversation
relative to it, has been found sufficient to excite nausea.
In apportioning the dose of a very active medicine, it is of the
greatest moment to determine the relative degrees of power between the
system and the remedy, and to know to what extent the latter is likely
to be carried, consonantly with the powers of life to resist it; thus,
after a patient has been exhausted by protracted and severe suffering
and watching, a dose, different to one at the commencement of the
disease is requisite. The importance of this precept is impressed upon
my mind from having witnessed, in the course of my practice, several
instances of the mischief which has arisen from a want of attention to
it; that disease materially influences the condition of the body, and
its susceptibility to remedial impressions, has been already
demonstrated. Emetics act very readily in febrile affections, while in
those of the Neuroses[286] they produce their effects with difficulty.
In the application of external remedies to diseased parts, it especially
behoves the Surgeon to take into consideration the degree of vitality
possessed by such parts, and to graduate their strength accordingly.
Mr. Henry Earle[287] has published a very interesting case in
illustration of this principle. The arm of a person became paralytic, in
consequence of an injury of the axillary plexus of nerves from a
fracture of the collar bone; upon keeping the limb for nearly half an
hour in a tub of warm grains, ‘_which were previously ascertained by the
other hand not to be too hot_,’ the whole hand became blistered in a
most alarming manner, and sloughs formed at the extremities of the
fingers, and underneath the nails; a considerable degree of inflammation
subsequently spread in the course of the absorbents, and matter formed
in the axilla, which was soon absorbed, and the inflammation assuaged.
Whence it follows, that a limb deprived of its usual supply of nervous
energy cannot sustain, without injury, an elevation of temperature which
would not be in the least prejudicial to a healthy member. Mr. Earle
supports this conclusion by the relation of another case, in which the
ulnar nerve had been divided, for the cure of a painful affection of the
arm; the consequence of which operation was, that the patient was
incapable of washing in water at a temperature that was quite harmless
to every duly vitalized part, without suffering from vesication and
sloughs.
Before we quit the subject of DOSE, it may be necessary to observe, that
there are many remedies that do not act with greater violence in a large
dose than in one comparatively small; _Ipecacuan_, for instance, is more
certain in its operation, but not more violent, when given in a large
quantity; the same may be said of _Aloes_, and several other medicines.
THE VARIABLE ACTIVITY OF A MEDICINE should also be appreciated, and
perhaps the practitioner would act cautiously if he were to reduce the
dose, should it be a very considerable one, whenever a fresh parcel of
the medicine is commenced, especially of the powders of active
vegetables liable to deterioration from being kept, as those of
_Digitalis_, &c.
THE TIME OF THE DAY at which remedies should be administered deserves
likewise some attention. _Evacuating Medicines_ ought to be exhibited
late at night or early in the morning. It would seem that during sleep
the bowels are not so irritable, and consequently not so easily acted
upon, which allows time for the full solution of the substance; the same
observation applies to _Alterative_ and other medicines which are liable
to suffer from a vexatious irritability of the bowels; it is on this
account eligible to exhibit _Guaiacum_, _Pilulæ Hydrargyri_, &c. when
they are not intended to purge, at bed time. On the other hand, where
the effects of a remedy are likely to be lost by perspiration, as is the
case with _Diuretics_, many of which are by external heat changed into
_Diaphoretics_, it may become a question with the judicious practitioner
whether he cannot select some more favourable period for their
exhibition.
In fevers it is of importance to consult in all respects the quiet and
comfort of the patient; Dr. Hamilton therefore, in his valuable work on
Purgatives, very judiciously observes that, on this account, the
exhibition of purgative medicines should be so timed, that their effects
may be expected during the day.
In some cases the time of administering a remedy must be regulated by
the stage of the disease; thus, in fevers, a dose of opium will either
increase the heat of the body, augment thirst and restlessness, or
occasion tranquillity and sleep, according to the temperature of the
body at the time of its administration; for this reason Dr. Currie
advises us not to give the evening dose of Opium in Typhoid fevers, till
very late, or about one or two o’clock in the morning, when the heat is
subsiding, and moisture is coming on. Emetics administered for the cure
of the slighter cases of Pyrexia should be given in the evening, as
their operation leaves a tendency to sleep and diaphoresis, which it is
useful to promote. Remedies that require to be _absorbed_ will probably
be more efficient in the morning after sleep; the old custom of giving
medicines on a morning _fasting_, is not quite so absurd as some modern
practitioners have been led to suppose. Diaphoretics should be always
given after the digestive process is ended, for during the performance
of this function the emunctories of the skin are less disposed to
action.
THE INTERVALS BETWEEN EACH DOSE must be regulated by the nature of the
remedy and that of the objects which it is intended to fulfil, and
whether it be desirable or not that the latter dose should support the
effects of the preceding one, or whether there be any fear of a reaction
or collapse taking place after the effect of one dose has subsided,
unless immediately repeated; thus the effects of diffusible stimulants,
such as ammonia and æther, are very evanescent, they should therefore be
repeated at short intervals; the same may be said of _Diaphoretics_,
especially the lenient ones; we ought not to allow the period between
the doses to be so remote as to occasion any striking abatement in the
impression: so Opium, where its primary and stimulant operation is
required, as in diseases of debility, such as fevers of the typhoid
type, should be given in small doses at short intervals, so that it may
enkindle and sustain a uniform and regular state of excitement: but
where the object is to mitigate pain, allay irritation, and produce
sleep, it ought to be exhibited in full doses, at distant intervals.
There is a caution also which it is very necessary to impress upon the
practitioner, respecting the power which some medicines possess of
_accumulating_[288] in the system; this is notorious with regard to Lead
and Mercury, and probably with the preparations of Arsenic, and some
other metallic compounds. Dr. Withering has observed that the repetition
of small doses of _Digitalis_, at short intervals, till it produces a
sensible effect, is an unsafe practice, since a dangerous accumulation
will frequently take place before any signals of forbearance present
themselves. I have already alluded to the possibility of mercurial
accumulation, and its developement at a remote period.
CONSTITUTIONAL PECULIARITIES, or IDIOSYNCRASIES, will sometimes render
the operation of the mildest medicine poisonous, “_Virum novi_,” says
Gaubius, “_qui cum fatuum lapidum cancrorum pulvisculum ingessit, vix
mitius afficitur quam alii ab Arsenico_.” I have seen a general
Erysipelas follow the application of a blister, and tormina of the
bowels, no less severe than those produced by the ingestion of
_Arsenic_, attend the operation of purgatives composed of _Senna_! In
some constitutions Antimony has been known to produce a ptyalism; Dr.
James assured Sir George Baker that he knew six instances of it,
although the patients thus affected had neither their teeth loosened,
nor their breath made offensive. The peculiar susceptibility of certain
individuals to the effects of particular plants is also very singular:
Murray relates that unpleasant symptoms have been experienced by merely
keeping _Aconite_ for some time in the hand, or on the bosom. I am
acquainted with two persons in whom the odour of Ipecacuan always
produces a most distressing dyspnæa; Mr. Chevalier informs us, that he
once knew a lady who could not take _Powdered_ Rhubarb, without an
erysipelatous efflorescence almost immediately shewing itself on the
skin, and yet she could take it in the form of _Infusion_ with perfect
impunity. There are some idiosyncrasies so singular and incredible, that
nothing but unimpeachable testimony could sanction our belief in their
existence. Schenkius relates a case in which the general law of
astringents and cathartics was always reversed. Donatus tells us of a
boy whose jaws swelled, whose face broke out in spots, and whose lips
frothed, whenever he eat an egg.
The late Pope Pius VII. had such an antipathy to musk, that on one
occasion of presentation, an individual of the company having been
scented with that perfume, his holiness was obliged to dismiss the party
almost immediately.[289] Education, and early habits certainly establish
very extraordinary peculiarities in different countries with respect to
various objects of diet and luxury: what shall we say of the refinement
of the Ancients who regarded the flavour of the Citron with disgust,
while the odour of putrid fish was deemed by them so exquisite, that
they carried it about in caskets of onyx as a favourite perfume! Custom
makes the Greenlander relish his train oil; and Dr. Heberden tells us,
that there is a town in North America, where the spring-water is
brackish, and that, when the inhabitants visit any other province, they
choose to put salt into their tea or punch, in order, as they say, “_to
make it taste as it should do_.”[290]
CLIMATE. Several observations have already been offered upon the
influence of Climate in affecting the activity of our remedies.[291]
With regard to its relations to _Dose_, I have only one remark to make
to the English practitioner, and that by the way of caution, that he
will not allow his own previous experience in hot climates, or the
persuasions of other tropical practitioners to induce him to administer
such doses of Mercury, in England, as may have been found salutary in
India, or in other Colonies of similar temperature.
The popular scheme of Gaubius for graduating the doses of medicine to
different ages, which was published in several of the former editions of
this work, is now omitted, as being less easy of application than the
following simple formula by Dr. Young.
RULE.
_For children under twelve years, the doses of most Medicines must be
diminished in the proportion of the Age, to the Age increased by
12._
thus at two years to ⅐—viz.
2 1
—————— = —
2 + 12 7
At 21 the full dose may be given.
Every general rule however respecting the doses of medicines will have
exceptions. Thus children will bear larger doses of _Calomel_ than even
adults, and many medicines which do not affect adults, although
exhibited in considerable quantities, prove injurious even in small
doses to children.[292]
In concluding this part of the subject, it is proper to impress upon the
practitioner the importance of writing his prescriptions in legible
characters, and of avoiding all those abbreviations which are not
generally understood, or which are capable of misconstruction.[293]
ON THE PARTICULAR FORMS OF REMEDIES, AND THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES UPON
WHICH THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND ADMINISTRATION ARE TO BE REGULATED.
_SOLID FORMS._
PULVERES. _Powders._
The form of powder is in many cases the most efficient and eligible mode
in which a medicinal substance can be exhibited, more especially under
the following circumstances.
1. _Simple Powders._
1. Whenever a remedy requires the combination of all, or most of its
principles, to ensure its full effects, as _Bark_, _Ipecacuan_, _Jalap_,
&c.
2. Where medicinal bodies are insoluble, and indisposed to undergo those
essential changes, _in transitu_, which render them operative; for it
must be remembered that by minute division, every particle is presented
to the stomach in a state of activity, being more immediately exposed to
the solvent or decomposing powers of that organ.
3. Where the mechanical condition of the substance is such as to
occasion irritation[294] of the stomach, as the _Sulphuretum Antimonii_,
or in external applications to produce an improper effect upon the skin,
as _Hydrargyri nitrico-oxydum_.
The degree of fineness to which substances should be reduced by
pulverization, in order to obtain their utmost efficacy, is a very
important question. The impalpable form appears to be extremely
injurious to some bodies, as to _cinchona_, _rhubarb_, _guaiacum_, and
to certain aromatics, in consequence, probably, of an essential part of
their substance being dissipated, or chemically changed by the
operation. Fabbroni, for instance, found by experiment that cinchona
yielded a much larger proportion of soluble extractive, when only
coarsely powdered. I think it may be laid down as a general rule, that
_extreme pulverization assists the operation of all substances whose
active principles are not easily soluble, and of compound powders whose
ingredients require, for their activity, an intermixture; whilst it
certainly injures, if it does not destroy, the virtues of such as
contain as their active constituent, a volatile principle which is
easily dissipated, or extractive matter which is readily oxidized_.
2. _Compound Powders._
The disintegration of a substance is much accelerated and extended by
the addition of other materials; hence the pharmaceutical aphorism of
Gaubius, “_Celerior atque facilior succedat composita, quam simplex
pulverisatio._” Thus several refractory vegetable bodies, as _myrrh_,
_gamboge_, &c. are easily reduced by triturating them with sugar or a
hard gum; and some gum resins, as _assafœtida_ or _scammony_, by the
addition of a few drops of almond oil. Upon the same principle the
Pharmacopœia directs the trituration of aloes with clean white sand, in
the process for preparing _Vinum Aloes_, to facilitate the pulverization
and to prevent the particles of aloes, when moistened by the liquid,
from running together into masses; some dispensers very judiciously
adopt the same mechanical expedient in making a tincture of myrrh; so
again, in ordering a watery infusion of opium, it will be judicious to
advise the previous trituration of the opium with some hard and
insoluble substance, as directed in the _Pulvis Cornu Usti cum Opio_,
otherwise its particles will adhere with tenacity, and the water be
accordingly unable to exert a solvent operation upon its substance.[295]
It is equally evident that in the construction of compound medicinal
powders, the addition of an inert ingredient, which the mere chemist
might condemn and discard as useless, not unfrequently acts a very
important part in the combination, owing to its effects in dividing and
comminuting the mere active constituents: the _sulphate of potass_ in
Dover’s powder acts merely in dividing and mixing more intimately the
particles of opium and ipecacuan: the _phosphate of lime_ appears to act
in the same mechanical manner in the Antimonial Powder; so again, in the
_Pulvis Contrajervæ compositus_, the prepared oyster shells may be a
necessary ingredient: in the _Pulvis Jalapæ compositus_ of the Edinburgh
College, the cream of tartar greatly increases the activity of the
jalap, by breaking down its substance and dividing its particles; and
Van Swieten observes that the operation of this resinous purgative is
improved by bruising it with sugar, and adding some aromatic. The old
combination of _Pulvis Helvetii_ consisted of alum and dragon’s blood,
and there can be no doubt but that the effect of this latter ingredient,
which has been often ridiculed, was to retard the solution of alum in
the stomach, in consequence of which the preparation was likely to
produce less inconvenience, and could therefore be administered in
larger doses; the Edinburgh college has substituted gum Kino in their
_Pulvis Aluminis compositus_, which may have the same effect in
modifying the solubility of the alum.
In rubbing together different substances, it is necessary to remember
that there are many saline bodies, which in the dry state become moist
and even liquid, by triture with each other, and that, under such
circumstances, they are susceptible of mutual decomposition. This change
is effected by the action of water, derived from the following sources.
1. _From the water of crystallization._ This always operates when the
proportion contained in the original ingredients is greater than that
which the products can dispose of; that is to say, whenever the capacity
of the new compound for water is less than that of the original
ingredients. By previously driving off this water by heat, we shall of
course avoid such a source of solution, and no liquefaction can ensue.
Thus, if recently burnt quick-lime be triturated with calomel, the
resulting mixture will be white, shewing that no decomposition can have
arisen, but add a few drops of water, and it instantly assumes a dark
aspect. If _crystallized_ sulphate of copper be triturated with Acetate
of lead, the resulting mixture will assume a fine green colour, but if
the sulphate of copper be previously heated, and its water of
crystallization driven off, no change of colour will be produced; if,
for Acetate of lead, we substitute muriate of lime, and the sulphate of
copper be _crystallized_, we shall obtain a result of a yellow colour,
but if the sulphate of copper be _anhydrous_, the product will be
colourless, becoming however instantly yellow, like the former, on the
addition of a drop of water; and on a further addition of this fluid,
the yellow product in both instances will be rendered blue; which proves
that a chemical decomposition has taken place, and a muriate of copper
resulted; for this salt is rendered _yellow_ by a small, and _blue_ by a
larger proportion of water. The _Cuprum Ammoniatum_ presents another
illustration, for the ingredients, when rubbed together, become
extremely moist, and undergo a chemical decomposition. Certain resinous
bodies also, as _myrrh_, become liquid by triture with alkaline salts,
in which case the resin and alkali form a soluble compound, which the
water of crystallization, thus set at liberty, instantly dissolves.
2. _From aqueous vapour in the atmosphere._ The water of the atmosphere
does not act upon these occasions, unless it be first attracted and
absorbed by one of the triturated bodies; e. g. if Acetate of lead and
recently burnt alum be triturated together, no change will be produced;
but, if the burnt alum be previously exposed for a short time to the
atmosphere, these bodies will, in that case, become liquid.
The physician, without this chemical knowledge, will be often betrayed
into the most ridiculous blunders, an instance of which very lately came
to my knowledge in a prescription for the relief of cardialgia and
constipation, in the case of dyspepsia; it directed _sulphate of soda_
and _carbonate of potass_, in the form of a powder, but the _fiat_ of
the physician, upon this occasion, only served to excite the ridicule of
the dispenser, who soon discovered that the ingredients in his mortar
dissolved into liquid.
During the exhibition of powders containing insoluble matter, it is
always important to maintain a regularity in the alvine excretions, or
an accumulation may take place attended with very distressing symptoms.
Dr. Fothergill relates a case of this kind which succeeded the use of
powdered bark; and Mr. E. Brande has communicated a similar instance of
mechanical obstruction, produced by the habitual use of magnesia. I
could also add, if it were necessary, some striking facts of a similar
tendency, which occurred from eating bread that had been adulterated
with pulverized _felspar_. The precaution seems more particularly
necessary in the case of children, whose bowels are very impatient of
extraneous and insoluble contents.[296] The dose of a powder ought not
to exceed ʒj; and, when taken, should be diffused in water, wine, or any
other convenient liquid; resinous and metallic powders require a thick
and consistent vehicle, as syrup or honey, since they subside from those
which are more fluid.
PILULÆ. _Pills._
These are masses of a consistence sufficient to preserve the globular
form, and yet not so hard as to be of too difficult solution in the
stomach. The subject offers some extremely interesting points of
inquiry. The following general rules will enable the practitioner to
select those substances to which the form of pill is adapted, and to
reject those to which it is not suitable, as well as to direct,
_extemporaneously_, the most efficient mode of preparation.
I. THE SELECTION OF SUBSTANCES.
1. _Suitable Substances_ are, 1, All remedies which operate in small
doses, as _Metallic Salts_; and 2, Those which are designed to act
slowly and gradually, as certain _Alterative Medicines_, or 3, which are
too easily soluble when exhibited in other forms, as _Gamboge_, &c. 4,
Substances which are not intended to act until they reach the larger
intestines, as in pills for habitual costiveness; _see Aloes_. 5, Bodies
whose specific gravities are too considerable to allow their suspension
in aqueous vehicles. _Efflorescent_ salts may also be exhibited in this
form, but they ought to be first deprived of their water of
crystallization, or the pills composed of them will crumble into powder
as they dry.
2. _Unsuitable Substances_ are, 1, Those which operate only in large
doses. 2, Which deliquesce. 3, Whose consistence is such as to require a
very large proportion of dry powders to afford them a suitable tenacity,
as _oils, balsams_, &c. 4, Substances that are so extremely insoluble,
that when exhibited in a solid form they pass through the canal
unaltered, as certain _extracts_.
Many remedies which are incompatible with each other in solution, may be
combined in pills, unless indeed their medicinal powers are adverse or
inconsistent, or their divellent affinities sufficiently powerful to
overcome their state of aggregation.
II. THEIR FORMATION INTO MASSES.
This is a subject of far greater importance than is usually assigned to
it, as will be more fully explained in the sequel.
1. Many substances, as _vegetable extracts_, may be formed into pills
without any addition; others, as _gum resins_, become sufficiently soft
by being beaten, or by the addition of a drop or two of spirit, or
_liquor potassæ_. Some dry substances react upon each other, and
produce, without the addition of any foreign matter, soft and
appropriate masses. The _Pilulæ Ferri Compositæ_, of our Pharmacopœia
afford a very striking example of this peculiar change of consistence,
which the mutual reaction of the ingredients produces by simple triture.
The _Pilulæ Aloes Compositæ_ offer another instance; for the extract of
gentian, upon being triturated with aloes, produces a very soft mass, so
that the addition of a syrup, as directed by the Pharmacopœia, is quite
unnecessary. See _Form: 12_.
2. Many substances are, in themselves, so untractable, that the addition
of some matter foreign to the active ingredients, is absolutely
essential for imparting convenience of form. It is generally considered
that very little skill and judgment is required in the selection of such
a substance, provided it can fulfil the _mechanical_ intention just
alluded to—the fact however is, that _the medicinal power of the pill
may be materially controlled, modified, or even subverted, by the mode
in which it is formed into a mass_. Where the active element of a pill
is likely to be improved by minute division, a gummy or resinous
constituent may be usefully selected: under the history of Aloes, I have
alluded to a popular pill, known by the name of the _dinner-pill_, in
which case the _mastiche_ divides the particles of the aloes, and
modifies the solubility of the mass. The _Pilulæ Opii_ of the former
Pharmacopœia of London, consisted of equal proportions of opium and
extract of liquorice, and the mass was so insoluble that its effects
were extremely uncertain and precarious; in the present edition, soap
has been very judiciously substituted; but in certain cases where we
wish to protract the influence of opium, or that of any other active
body, so as not to obtain its full effects at once, we may very
advantageously modify its solubility by combining it with a gum resin or
some substance which will have the effect of retarding its solution in
the stomach. The _Pilulæ Styrace_ of the Dublin college, presents itself
as an efficient example of this species of pharmaceutical address; see
also _Form. 10, 11, 12_. I am well acquainted with many formulæ whose
utility has been sanctioned by experience, and I have no hesitation in
believing that their salutary mode of operation would receive a
plausible explanation from this simple law of combination. Dr. Young has
very justly stated in his Medical Literature,[297] that the _balsam of
copaiba_ envelopes metallic salts, so as to lessen their activity; he
says that the sub-carbonate of iron, made into pills with copaiba, was
given for some weeks without any apparent effect; and that a few hours
after the same quantity had been given, with gum only, the fæces were
perfectly black. I do not know a more striking and instructive proof of
the influence of a glutinous or viscid constituent, in wrapping up a
metallic salt, and defending the stomach from its action, than is
presented in the case published by the medical attendant Mr. Marshall,
in consequence of the attempt of Eliz. Fenning to poison the family of
Mr. Turner of Chancery-lane by arsenic, which she providentially
administered in a heavy yeast dumpling. _Soap_ is very frequently used
for the formation of pill-masses, and it is an excellent constituent for
substances likely to be injured by meeting with an acid in the _primæ
viæ_; many resinous bodies may also be reduced to a proper consistence
by soap, although in prescribing it, its levity should be attended to,
or otherwise the pills will be too bulky; in general it will combine
with an equal portion of any resinous powder, as _Rhubarb_, _Jalap_,
_&c._; it is of course ineligible where the substances are decomposed by
alkalies, as _Tartarized Antimony_; this last precaution will also apply
to _aromatic confection_ as a vehicle, on account of the carbonate of
lime contained in it. The _Conserve of Roses_ has the advantage of
retaining its consistency much longer than mucilage, but as it contains
an uncombined acid, it is frequently inadmissible; it could not for
instance be with propriety employed with the precipitated sulphuret of
antimony. Pills made with mucilage, are apt to crumble when they are
rolled out; this is the case with the _Pilulæ Hydrargyri submuriatis_;
some extract therefore would be a more convenient constituent; in this
particular case, however, the addition of a few drops of spirit would
supersede the necessity of _any_ constituent. Castor oil, in some cases,
especially with some of the harder purgative extracts, will impart an
eligible consistence.
_Crumb of bread_, furnishes a convenient vehicle for those salts which
are ponderous, active in very small doses, or which are liable to be
decomposed by other vehicles; but an objection is attached even to this,
for it is liable to become so dry and hard when kept, that pills made
with it will frequently pass undissolved. Swediaur mentions this fact
with reference to Plenck’s mercurial pill, as well as to one of
corrosive sublimate, and he proposes for this reason to substitute
_starch_; the addition however of a small portion of sugar will prevent
the bread from becoming thus indurated, and with such a precaution it
may be very safely employed. For the purpose of forming active vegetable
powders into pills, such as _Digitalis, Conium_, &c., I am informed by
Mr. Hume of Long Acre, that in his experience _melasses_ or _treacle_ is
the best constituent that can be selected, for it undergoes no
decomposition by time, but maintains a proper consistency, and preserves
the sensible qualities of the plant quite unimpaired for many years. I
have deposited in the cabinet of the College, specimens of such pills,
of _hemlock_ and _foxglove_, which retain the characteristic odour of
these vegetables, notwithstanding they have been now made for several
years. _Honey_ has likewise the property of preserving vegetable
substances; _seeds_ may be kept in it for any length of time, some of
which, on being taken out, washed, and planted, will even vegetate. It
has also been used for the preservation of animal matter; the bodies of
the Spartan kings, who fell at a distance in battle, were thus
preserved, in order that they might be carried home.[298]
_Water_ will on some occasions be found a convenient expedient; powdered
_Rhubarb_ or _Jalap_ may be thus made into masses without any increase
of bulk, but the pills will be apt, if kept, to become mouldy.
3. In the formation of pills the ingredients should be hastily rubbed
together, whenever they are liable to be injured by long exposure to the
air; thus in the formation of _Pilulæ Hydrargyri submuriatis compositæ_,
the compound is rendered less active by too long continued triture. See
_Pulveres_.
4. In dividing pill-masses, it is usual to add to them, and envelope
them in, magnesia; where calomel is present, I have satisfied myself by
experiment that a _muriate of magnesia_ is formed under such
circumstances, and it is owing to this partial decomposition, that the
surface of the pill exhibits a greenish hue; starch, powder of
liquorice,[299] or orrice root, might perhaps under such circumstances
be more judiciously preferred. In Germany, the powder of _Lycopodium_ is
generally used. Formerly, the pill was covered with gold leaf, which
protected it from the influence of the stomach, and frequently rendered
it unavailing.
It has been observed that many of the pill-masses directed in our
Pharmacopœias, are liable to become so hard[300] and dry by being kept,
that they are unfit for that division for which they were originally
intended; indeed Dr. Powel considers it doubtful whether the greater
number of articles had not better be kept in powder, and their
application to the formation of pills left to extemporaneous direction;
the necessity of this is farther apparent, when we learn that it is a
common practice for the dispenser to soften these masses by the
application of a hot spatula, or pestle, which sometimes carbonizes, and
frequently decomposes them.
III. THEIR FORM OF PRESCRIPTION.
In our extemporaneous directions, it is necessary to apportion with
accuracy the quantity of active materials which we may wish each pill to
contain, and since the proportion of the _constituent_ can rarely be
exactly defined, the equable division of the whole mass, into a given
number of pills, will be safer than defining the weight of each pill.
A pill, the bulk of whose ingredient is vegetable matter, ought not to
exceed five grains in weight, but where the substances which compose it
are metallic and ponderous, it may without inconvenience weigh six or
even eight grains.
TROCHISCI. _Troches_, or _Lozenges_.
As these are regarded as objects rather of confectionary than of
pharmacy, the London and Dublin Colleges have not condescended to notice
them; the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia, however, contains several formulæ for
their preparation; and as the form of lozenge offers a very commodious
and efficacious method of administering certain remedies, the theory of
its operation deserves some notice in the present work. It is
principally useful in cases where it is an object that the remedy should
pass _gradually_ into the stomach, in order to act as powerfully as
possible upon the pharynx and top of the trachea, as in certain
demulcents or astringents; for instance, _Nitre_, when intended to
operate in relaxed or inflamed states of the tonsils, is best applied in
this manner; so is _Sulphate of Zinc_ in chronic coughs, attended with
inordinate secretion. In order to retard as long as possible the
solution of the lozenge in the mouth, it ought to be composed of
_several_ demulcent substances, such as farinaceous matter, sugar, gum,
and isinglass; for such a mixture will be found to answer the purpose
better than any _one_ of these articles taken by itself; thus the
farinaceous matter will prevent the sugar and the gum from being too
soon dissolved; the viscidity of the sugar and gum will prevent the
farinaceous matter from being swallowed as soon as it would otherwise
be; and the isinglass will give a softness to the whole, and thus
prevent any sharp points from stimulating the membrane.
SUPPOSITORIA. _Suppositories._
This form of preparation is very ancient, and although it has of late
years fallen into disuse, it affords an efficacious mode of
administering many powerful remedies, and in some instances of producing
effects which the same medicine would not command if given in any other
form: besides which, it is found that after the stomach by long use has
lost its susceptibility to the action of medicine, such a substance will
operate with fresh and unabated force if applied to the rectum. There
are two great indications which _Suppositories_ are calculated to
fulfil, _viz._
1, _The alleviation of pain and irritation_, especially when it arises
from diseases of the bladder, prostate gland, uterus, and other parts in
the vicinity. Abortion may be thus frequently prevented. To fulfil these
intentions, a mixture of opium with two parts of soap, will be found
eligible. I can recommend such an application from a well grounded
experience in its efficacy.
2, _The production of Catharsis_. In cases of Apoplexy, from the
counter-irritation which these remedies are likely to occasion, much
advantage may arise; and in the failure of more common measures, they
may be applied with certain success in the cure of Ascarides; see
_Formula 146_. Where a very efficient Suppository is required, one or
two grains of _Elaterium_ rubbed up with eight grains of hard soap, will
present us with a combination of great utility.
ELECTUARIA. _Electuaries._
This is an ancient form of prescription; for although the term
“_Electarium_” is first used by Cælius Aurelianus, yet the ἐκλὶκτον of
Hippocrates, and the _Antidotus_, _Confectio_, _Mithridatium_,
_Diascordium_, _Opiatum_, _Orvietanum_, _Philonium_, _Theriaca_, and
_Requies_ of other authors, were all Electuaries. They differ from
_Conserves_ in this, that the sugar in the latter preparations is in a
greater proportion, and is intended to _preserve_ the ingredients;
whereas in the former, it is merely intended to impart convenience of
form; see _Confectiones_. Electuaries are in general, _extemporaneous_
preparations, composed of dry powders, formed into a proper consistence
by the addition of syrup, honey, or mucilage; when however the latter
substance is employed, the electuary very soon becomes dry and hard: and
when common syrup is used, the compound is apt to candy, and in a day or
two to grow too hard for use; this is owing to the crystallization of
the sugar; Deyeux therefore states, that the syrup should be previously
exposed to the heat of a stove so long as it forms any crystals, and
that the residual liquor, which from the presence of some vegetable acid
has no tendency to crystallize, may then be advantageously
applied;—_Melasses_ or Treacle may in some cases be employed, and from
experiments which I have repeated with some care, I am enabled to state
that the peculiar flavour of this liquid is entirely removed by a simple
operation, which consists in diluting it with an equal weight of water,
and then boiling it with about one eighth part of powdered charcoal for
half an hour, when the liquor is to be strained, and reduced by gentle
evaporation to a proper consistence;[301] and moreover it appears, that
active vegetable powders retain their characteristic qualities when
immersed in _treacle_, longer than in any other excipient.
In selecting and prescribing this form of exhibition, the following
general rules should be observed.
I. Those substances which are nauseous, deliquescent, which require to
be given in large doses, or which are incapable of forming an
intimate union with syrup, as _fixed oils_, _balsams_, &c. should
never be prescribed in the form of an electuary.
II. The quantity of syrup directed must be regulated by the nature and
specific gravities of the substances which enter into their
composition, viz.
1. _Dry Vegetable Powders_ require twice their weight of syrup, or
of honey.
2. _Gummy and Resinous Powders_ require an equal weight.
3. _Hard Mineral Substances_ should be formed into an electuary
with some conserve, as they are too ponderous to remain
suspended in syrup. It deserves also to be noticed, that in
consequence of the readiness with which metallic preparations
undergo change, it will be generally adviseable to keep the
active ingredients in the form of powder, and to add them to
the syrup only just before they are required; the Electuary of
the French Pharmacopœia, which is commonly called “_Opiata
Mesenterica_,” will furnish a good example, “_quantumvis molle
fuerit recens, progressu temporis, ob ferrum quod ipsi inest,
mirè indurescit_.”
LIQUID FORMS.
MISTURÆ. _Mixtures._
These preparations are generally _extemporaneous_, in which different
ingredients are mingled together in the liquid form, or, in which solid
substances are diffused through liquid, by the medium of mucilage or
syrup: for prescribing mixtures the following general rules may be laid
down.
I. Substances which are capable of entering into chemical combination,
or of decomposing each other, ought not to be mixed together,
unless it be with a view of obtaining the new products as a
remedy.
II. Transparency is not a necessary condition,[302] and hence
insoluble powders may be advantageously introduced into mixtures,
if the following precautions be observed.
1. They must be divisible and mechanically miscible in the liquid.
2. They must not possess too great a specific gravity.
3. They must not render the liquid too mucilaginous or thick;
_thus_, f℥j _should seldom contain more than_ ʒss _of a
vegetable powder_, ℈ij _of an electuary_, _and conserve_; _or_
grs. xv, _or_ ℈j _of an extract_.
III. The taste, the smell, and the general aspect of the mixture
should be rendered as pleasant as possible; _thus milk covers the
taste of bark, of the tinctures of guaiacum and valerian, and that
of lime water_; _and a light decoction of the liquorice root
disguises a bitter taste more effectually than sugar_.
The Physician may also produce occasional changes in the
appearance of his mixture, in order to reconcile a delicate taste
to its continuance; he never ought however to alter the essential
part of plans which he finds advantageous.
A DRAUGHT differs merely from a mixture in quantity; it is usually taken
at once, and should not exceed f℥iss; it should be always preferred
when,
1. _The remedy is to be taken in a precise dose._
2. _Whenever it is liable to spontaneous decomposition._
3. _Whenever the action of the atmosphere occasions change._
In apportioning the dose of mixtures, the following proportions are
admissible, although not perfectly accurate. A TABLE SPOON full
(_Cochleare Amplum_) f℥ss. DESSERT SPOON (_Cochleare Mediocre_) more
than fʒij. TEA SPOON (_Cochleare Minimum_) fʒj. A WINE GLASS (_Cyathus_)
although very variable, may be estimated as containing f℥iss. The custom
of measuring the dose of a liquid by dropping it from the mouth of a
phial is very erroneous;[303] it will therefore be proper to dilute an
active medicine that is to be so apportioned, with at least a triple
quantity of water, that its real dose may not be essentially altered by
any slight variation in the quantity.
The temperature at which a liquid medicine should be given may perhaps
merit a few observations. In general, the ordinary degree of heat is
that which will best answer the intention, but in cases of dyspepsia,
the sense of weight and uneasiness, which often follows a dose of
medicine, will be prevented by giving it in a tepid state. This remark
will apply to the administration of the _Decoction of Sarsaparilla_;
Refrigerants should of course be given as cool as possible; Camomile
Infusion, and other vegetable Ptisans, which are designed to promote the
operation of an emetic, will be more efficient when warm. In delicate
chlorotic females I have sometimes found chalybeate draughts not only
more efficacious, but less distressing to the stomach, when exhibited in
a tepid state.
ENEMATA. _Clysters._[304]
_“Lavamenta.”_
This form of applying a medicine furnishes the practitioner with many
valuable resources, although the remedy has not escaped its due share of
persecution. Paracelsus bestowed upon it the epithet “_turpissimum
medicamentum_,” and Van Helmont that of “_pudendum medicorum
subsidium_.”
It is calculated to fulfil the following indications, viz.
1. _To promote the tardy operation of a Cathartic, or to evacuate the
bowels, where, from delicacy of stomach, medicines cannot be
retained, or from debility of body they cannot be safely
administered._
In the administration of a remedy of this kind, there are two essential
circumstances, independent of the _strength_ of its ingredients, which
will modify its activity, viz. IMPULSE and QUANTITY, by which we obtain
the stimulus of distention; warm water without any adjunct may thus be
made the means of overcoming those unrelenting obstructions, which had
refused obedience to more common measures: Clysters, however, when most
forcibly urged, rarely reach beyond the sigmoid flexure of the colon,
and yet when the largest quantity of fluid which the bowels will admit
is introduced with considerable impulse, the local impression is so
powerful that it is at once extended by the medium of sympathy, through
the whole of the alimentary canal, and very thorough and copious
discharges result.
2. _To induce extreme relaxation:_
Which is best effected by an infusion of Tobacco. See _Tabaci Folia_.
3. _To produce Astringent and Anodyne, or Carminative effects._
Common starch, with the addition of Tincture of Opium, is the most
common and convenient form for this purpose. See also _Assafœtida_,
_Terebinthinæ Oleum_, and _Formulæ 8, 9, 29, 30_. In some cases the
injection of _cold water_ acts as a powerful astringent, and from its
impression upon the rectum, will frequently afford instantaneous relief
in the piles.
4. _To destroy Ascarides._ See _Form. 164_.
5. _To act as an emollient fomentation._
6. _To convey nutriment._
In the administration of Clysters, for the fulfilment of any of the last
five indications, it is obvious, that the stimulus of distention should
be avoided, as being incompatible with our object; the quantity, or bulk
of the solution, ought to be also carefully graduated; to prevent, for
example, the opiate clyster from being too soon returned, Dr. Cullen has
remarked that it seldom should be made of more bulk than that of three
or four ounces of liquid, and this also of a very mild kind. In
administering a bitter decoction for the cure of Ascarides, the same
precaution is necessary, or the gut will suddenly contract and expel the
clyster, which always acts with more certainty when allowed to remain
for some time. The proportions of fluid vehicle necessary for the
different stages of life, under ordinary circumstances, may be stated as
follows:—An infant at its birth, or soon after, requires about one
_fluid ounce_; a child between the age of one and five years, from three
to four _fluid ounces_; a youth of ten or fifteen, from six to eight
_fluid ounces_; and an adult may take twelve. With regard to the dose of
the active ingredient of a _Lavement_, it may be estimated as triple of
that taken by the mouth.
INJECTIONES.
Under this head may be comprehended the various medicinal preparations
which are employed as local applications;—to the urethra for the cure of
gonorrhæa, and to the vagina for that of the different discharges to
which females are liable.
With respect to the former of these it has been truly observed, that
“among the whole class of remedies employed for surgical purposes, there
is scarcely one which has occasioned a greater diversity of opinion;” to
enter however into an examination of this subject would be entirely
foreign to the intention of the present work; it is only necessary to
state, that for their preparation the same principles of combination,
and the same chemical precautions, apply, as have been already
investigated under the head _Misturæ_. In some cases the practitioner
will find it useful to insure the entire solution of his active
ingredient; while in others, the presence of a precipitate may enhance
the efficacy of the application, as illustrated by _Form. 62_.
In the preparation of injections for the cure of female discharges, it
must be remembered that, if they be of a vegetable nature, their
efficacy wholly depends upon the _Tannin_ which they contain, and the
prescriber must therefore take care not to invalidate the force of this
principle by any incompatible additions.
And it deserves to be remembered, that as _Tannin_ has the power of
coagulating animal mucus, and of forming with it an insoluble
precipitate, its administration, as an injection, is liable to occasion
the evacuation of whitish or ash-coloured flakes, which will come away
from time to time, and excite in the patient’s mind, says Mr. Clarke,
the apprehension that she is voiding portions of the internal parts of
the body, unless her mind be prepared for the occurrence by a previous
explanation, and which the judicious practitioner will not neglect to
afford. In some cases it will be necessary to correct the irritating
effect of the astringent by the addition of a demulcent, as exemplified
in _Form. 61_. In applying this form of remedy an ivory syringe should
be always preferred to one of pewter, whenever the solution is likely to
be affected by the contact of a metal.
INHALATIONES. _Inhalations._
Under this general title may be comprehended two distinct classes of
volatilized substances, _viz._
Dry Fumes (_Suffitus_), and Watery Vapours (_Halitus_).
Before we enter upon the consideration of this particular form of
remedy, it may be necessary to state, generally, that it appears to be
capable of affording a very expeditious and powerful mode of affecting
the body by certain medicines. If the power of a remedy be so greatly
modified by circumstances affecting its solubility, as we have already
proved, it cannot be a matter of surprise that the still farther
diminution of its cohesion should occasion a corresponding influence
upon its energies; indeed it would appear that some few substances are
entirely inert when applied under any other form, see _Hydrargyrum_, in
the after part of this work. We are, moreover enabled by these means, to
bring various bodies into immediate contact with organs, which are
inaccessible to such remedies in every other state of aggregation. This
observation applies more particularly to the lungs, and the subject has
lately occupied the attention of a worthy and skilful physician, whose
work[305] is well entitled to the serious consideration of the
profession.
The practice of causing patients to inhale various volatilized
substances appears to have been of very ancient date. It has been
already stated in this work (p. 39) that the fumes of Orpiment were
directed to be breathed by Galen, and that the practice has been adopted
by practitioners of later date.[306] Few attempts of this kind however
were made, until the time of our countryman Bennet, the author of
“_Theatrum Tabidorum_,” who arranges volatilized substances into the two
classes which have been announced at the head of the present section,
_viz._ _Suffitus_, and _Halitus_. The numerous trials which have been
since made with the different gases must be in the remembrance of every
reader, but unfortunately, the injudicious and empirical spirit with
which these inquiries have hitherto been conducted, has thrown such
discredit upon the subject, that the practitioner who should resume the
investigation, must be prepared to hear his understanding, or his
integrity, questioned.
SUFFITUS. _Fumes of Burning Substances._ The particular forms of
pulmonary disease in which Tar fumes appear to be most serviceable, are
of the chronic kind; where an inflammatory diathesis prevails, or any
tendency to hæmopthysis exists, the practice cannot be said to be free
from danger. In treatment of hooping cough the inhalation of tar fumes
have been also said to be beneficial. For the mode of applying this
remedy, see _Pix Liquida_.
The practice of smoking the roots of _Stramonium_, _Tobacco_, &c. might
with propriety be noticed under this head. With the respect to the
former of these remedies, much has been said and written, and asthmatic
patients have occasionally expressed a belief in its palliative powers;
in my own practice however, I have never met with any success that has
inspired my confidence. See _Stramonii Herba_.
HALITUS. _Aqueous Vapours._ In certain catarrhal affections, when
accompanied with painful and difficult expectoration, benefit may be
occasionally obtained from the inhalation of the steam of hot water, or
of vinegar and water, the acid in this case assisting the expectoration,
while the whole acts as an emollient and soothing application to the
tender and inflamed vessels of the internal surface of the bronchial
tubes. The same practice is also highly serviceable in Cynanche
Trachealis, and Tonsillaris.
In Pneumonia, after the violence of the arterial excitement has been
reduced by depletory measures, the inhalation of the steam of hot water,
or decoctions of emollient herbs, will often contribute to the support
of an easy expectoration.
It has been already stated under the history of Expectorants (_page
106_), that in certain dry states of the air, the evaporation of water
in an artificially warmed apartment, is frequently attended with
considerable relief to the pulmonary patient.
In Dyspnæa, attended with a spasmodic condition of the pulmonary organs,
vapours impregnated with sulphuric æther have been recommended for
inhalation. Dr. Pearson also states that the efficacy of such an
application is materially enhanced by dissolving in it a portion of the
extract of Conium. Dr. Bôotcher of Copenhagen, has lately announced the
utility of vapours of camphor, in complaints affecting the cavities of
the nose, throat, and chest. He states that in the worst case of
stoppage of the nose from catarrh, a piece of camphor need only be kept
for a few minutes before it, to obtain great relief; the same
application has been known to produce good in Cynanche Tonsillaris.
In order to apply such inhalations we may employ the inhaler invented by
Dr. Mudge, or if that instrument be not at hand, the spout of a tea pot,
or a common basin with an inverted funnel, will be found very convenient
substitutes.
REMEDIES OF EXTERNAL APPLICATION.
This class of medicinal agents formerly comprised a much wider range of
forms than it at present contains; such as numerous _Epithems_;
_Vapours_; _Aromatic Bags_; _Medicated Quilts_, _&c._
The external remedies of the present day may be divided into two orders,
viz.
1. Those whose effects are entirely _local_, as exemplified in the
application of certain _refrigerating_ embrocations, _stimulating_
cataplasms, and _astringent_ unguents.
2. Those which excite general effects, or produce an influence upon
parts remote from those to which the remedy is more immediately
addressed, as illustrated by the operation of mercurial liniments
and unguents, or by the general tonic effects of adhesive
plaisters.
With respect to the former of these divisions it is unnecessary to
multiply our remarks; the objects which they embrace belong more
particularly to the department of surgery, and from the investigation of
the different modes and forms of external application we shall hereafter
derive very ample and instructive illustrations. In considering the
objects of the latter division, a very interesting and important
question immediately suggests itself for our consideration—How far a
medicinal substance, when locally applied to the surface of the body,
may be capable of affecting the general system, or some of its more
remote parts?—the experienced practitioner will feel no hesitation in
admitting numerous proofs of the existence of such agency; and it would
seem probable that topical applications may produce general effects by
several distinct modes of operation, viz.
1. _By exciting an impression on the nervous system._
2. _By modifying the cuticular discharge._
3. _By being absorbed into the circulation._
In considering the different forms of external applications, it will
appear that, for their extemporaneous construction, preparation, and
application, the same scientific knowledge, practical skill, and
pathological acumen will be required, as we have already stated to be so
indispensably requisite to enable the physician to prescribe, and the
pharmaceutist to prepare the various remedies intended for internal
administration; although in regard to the former, it may be stated
generally that the prescriber will more frequently be called upon to
exercise that species of knowledge and address which enables the
practitioner to impart a convenient and efficient _consistency_ to his
remedy; for an external application is far more dependent upon this
circumstance for its efficacy, than one intended for internal use.
LOTIONES:
Remedies of a liquid nature, designed for external application.
Under this generic term, which strictly signifies a _wash_, may be
comprehended several species of medicines, calculated for the fulfilment
of different indications, as EMBROCATIONES, COLLYRIA, FOMENTA,
LINIMENTA, &c. In some instances these applications are entirely local
in their effects, as where a morbid action of the skin is changed by a
stimulating lotion, as exemplified in the cure of Psora by the
_decoction of Hellebore_, or the relaxed vessels of the tunica
conjunctiva of the eye, by an astringent collyrium; in other cases, they
operate upon parts not in contact with the remedy, through the medium of
sympathetic communication, as where cholic and disorders of the bowels
are abated by the application of warm fomentations to the surface of the
abdomen, or where paralytic affections are relieved by pumping cold
water on the part affected.
EMBROCATIONES. These, as the term[307] denotes, are compositions of
spirit, decoctions, infusions, or other liquids, applied by _sprinkling_
or rubbing them on an affected part.
LINIMENTA[308] are understood to differ from embrocations in
consistence, the former being of an oily, or mucilaginous density, which
increases their efficacy by imparting a certain emollient power, in
addition to their other virtues. In popular language, however, liniment
and embrocation are generally considered synonymous terms. They
constitute a valuable class of remedies, and the observations which Dr.
Percival has offered on their utility well merit the attention of the
medical practitioner. “Volatile and antispasmodic liniments are highly
useful remedies, and it is to be lamented that external applications of
this kind are not more frequently employed, for there is just reason to
apprehend that powerful effects might be expected from them in various
diseases.” In chronic affections of the viscera, such applications
appear highly serviceable, not only from the friction to which they give
origin, but from the influence of that species of sympathy which appears
to depend upon the mere proximity and continuity of parts, and which, as
Sir Gilbert Blane has observed, is particularly displayed “in the
containing on the contained parts, as that of the integuments on the
subjacent viscera.”
COLLYRIA[309].—Liquid applications to the eyes. The Pharmacopœia
Chirurgica contains several different formulæ for lotions of this kind,
some of which are simply astringent, while others combine also the
virtues of a stimulant.
CATAPLASMATA.[310] _Poultices_, or _Pultices_.
External applications of a pulpy, and somewhat coherent or tenacious
consistence.
They are generally extemporaneous preparations, and are calculated to
answer several different indications, viz.
1. As STIMULANTS, e. g. _Cataplasma Sinapis_, L. D. which generally
inflames the surface to which it is applied so much as to raise
blisters; common salt also, _muriate of soda_, constitutes the
active ingredient of a poultice which has lately been brought into
considerable repute for the reduction of indolent strumous
swellings and enlargements of the glands.[311]
2. ANTISEPTICS—_Cataplasma Fermenti_, L. (see p. 159.) A powerfully
antiseptic cataplasm may be also made by stirring finely powdered
charcoal into a common linseed meal poultice. A cataplasm of the
boiled carrot, beat into a pulp, has been likewise found very
effectual in sweetening foul ulcers.
3. SEDATIVES. The most efficient of these are composed of _Conium_,
_Digitalis_, or _Hyoscyamus_, and are eminently serviceable in
cancerous and scrophulous sores of a highly irritable and painful
nature, to diminish their sensibility and correct the acrid
discharges. See _Form. 18_.
4. REFRIGERANTS. In the formation of a cataplasm for this purpose we
must avoid the introduction of substances that are slow conductors
of caloric; suppose for example our object is to apply the
_sub-acetate of lead_ in this form, it will in such case be
judicious to mix the linseed meal, with oatmeal, or crumb of
bread; for if the former substance be used singly, it is liable,
from its tenacity, to become hard and dry, and in that state to
augment the temperature which it was designed to diminish.
5. EMOLLIENTS.—(The _modus operandi_ of these agents is explained at
p. 142.) For which purpose the common farinaceous poultice is the
most eligible, made by soaking slices of bread in milk, and
simmering them together over a gentle fire until they are reduced
to the proper consistence, which ought to be such as to prevent
its spreading farther than is designed, and yet not so hard as to
occasion any mechanical irritation; the whole is then to be beat
smooth with a spoon, and applied as warm as the patient’s feelings
will readily admit. Some practitioners have doubted the propriety
of milk as an ingredient in this composition, and have preferred
water as an excipient, not only because the former is very liable
to turn sour, but because it does not possess greater powers as an
emollient than water; the observations of the editor of the
Pharmacopœia Chirurgica upon this question are judicious, and
worthy our notice; “the objection,” he says, “will certainly hold
good whenever stale milk is made use of, or if the same poultice
be kept too long applied; but if the milk be fresh, and the
poultice renewed night and morning, we do not know any thing that
occasionally gives such ease and comfort to the patient as this
form of cataplasm. If water be substituted for milk, the poultice
is seldom of sufficient tenacity; it is true that this
inconvenience may be remedied by the addition of a little linseed
meal, but in some instances the meal appears to fret and irritate
the skin so much, that patients undergo considerable uneasiness
from this cause; an objection to which the cataplasm of bread and
milk is seldom subject, especially if it be not applied too hot.”
Every substance, whether liquid or solid, may become an ingredient in
this species of composition, and although judicious and
experienced surgeons have of late very considerably improved the
form of their cataplasms, yet the principles of medicinal
combination, which it has been the object of the present work to
investigate and expound, will suggest many important hints for the
farther extension of their utility; and although the direction of
them is more frequently left to the nurse than to the medical
practitioner, yet in adapting them to each particular occasion
some share of chemical address may be necessary; we have already
seen that attention must be paid to the selection of ingredients,
with respect to their powers of conducting heat, and it is evident
that care must be taken not to reduce into pulp, by decoction,
substances that contain volatile principles; while in the
preparation of active liquids to be subsequently mixed with
linseed meal, it is equally evident that we must be directed by
the chemical nature of their composition.
EMPLASTRA. L.E.D. _Plasters._
These are solid and tenacious compounds, adhesive at the ordinary heat
of the human body; they owe their consistence to different causes, viz.
1. _To a due admixture of wax or fatty matter_, _and resin_, e. g.
_Emplast: Ceræ_, &c.
They may be said to differ only in _consistence_ from liniments,
ointments, and cerates; Deyeux[312] accordingly proposes to distinguish
them by the appellation of _Solid Ointments_.
2. _To the chemical combination of the semivitreous oxide of lead with
oils or fat_, e. g. _Emplast: Plumbi_.
3. _To the chemical action of the component parts of the plaster on
each other_, as _Emplast: Ammoniaci_, &c.
Plasters are generally kept in rolls, wrapped in paper, and when to be
used they are melted and spread on leather; in performing this operation
the practitioner ought not to apply a heat above that of boiling water;
for if metallic oxides be present, the fatty matter will, at a higher
temperature, reduce them, in consequence of the powerful affinity of oil
for oxygen at an exalted temperature; and if aromatic substances enter
as ingredients they will thus suffer in their strength, besides which
the fat itself will undergo a very injurious change by a mismanaged
application of heat, and the plaster will be less adhesive.
They are employed as remedies to answer two general indications;
_mechanically_, to afford support to muscular parts and to prevent the
access of air; and _medicinally_, to operate as stimulants, discutients,
rubefacients, or anodyne applications. That by affording an artificial
support to the various parts of the body, by the application of
plasters, we are capable in certain diseases of effecting much benefit,
is a truth to be explained upon the principles of physiology, and is
daily confirmed by the results of practice; thus by giving support to
the muscles of the back, how frequently the stomach is steadied and
strengthened? Diseases of the kidneys are in the same way very
frequently relieved by tight bandages around the loins; the existence of
an intimate connexion between the external and internal parts is
strikingly exemplified by the distressing effects which are often
experienced in weak habits, such as sickness, giddiness, and other
uneasy sensations, from a want of any usual compression, as that of
stays, under-waistcoats, &c. The support afforded to persons who have
been tapped in Ascites is another instance. I have also lately met with
a case in which a morbidly relaxed state of the bowels had harassed the
patient for several years, and set at defiance every astringent
medicine; upon the application, however, of a tight bandage around the
abdomen, the healthy action of the intestines has been completely
restored. Sir Gilbert Blane has suggested the trial of mechanical
compression of the head in the cure of Hydrocephalus, and several cases,
apparently favourable, have been published. Dr. Thackrey of Cambridge
has related a very interesting history in support of the practice, and
judiciously recommends the substitution of straps of adhesive plaster
for the bandages of cloth originally proposed by Sir Gilbert. In
reasoning upon this treatment, it will be found strictly conformable
with the soundest principles of physiology, and with those views in
particular, for the illustration of which I have here directed the
reader’s attention to the subject. Where our object is simple support,
we should of course select a plaster which is the most adhesive and the
least irritating. Many plasters which have gained great celebrity for
their curative virtues will be found to owe all their powers to their
adhesiveness, such is the _Emplastrum Oxidi Ferri Rubri_ of the
Edinburgh Pharmacopœia, for it is impossible that the iron should
communicate any tonic effect. The same observation applies to many of
those empirical plasters which have at different times acquired so great
a share[313] of popular applause. In the cure of sore legs[314] the
importance of adhesive strapping is generally acknowledged, and on such
occasions nothing is superior to the _Emplastrum Resinæ_.
FORMULÆ
IN
ILLUSTRATION OF THE SUBJECT
OF
Medicinal Combination.
“_Longum est iter per Præcepta, breve et efficax per Exempla._” SENECA.
A COLLECTION OF FORMULÆ
INTENDED TO ILLUSTRATE THE FOREGOING PRECEPTS,
and to furnish the inexperienced Prescriber
WITH A SERIES OF
_USEFUL AND INSTRUCTIVE LESSONS_.
EXPLANATION OF THE KEY LETTERS.
The _Modus Operandi_ of the different elements of each formula is
designated by a KEY LETTER, or _Symbol_, which is printed in a different
type, (thus =B=) and placed in the margin opposite to each. This letter
refers to a corresponding one in the Synopsis, and thereby shews the
division containing an exposition of the principles upon which the
operation of the ingredient is supposed to depend.
Two or more KEY LETTERS denote that the element against which they are
so placed has several modes of operation, whilst the order in which the
letters succeed each other, serves to shew the relative importance of
them.
Where any one of the letters is _small_, _i. e._ not a capital, it
denotes that the operation which it is intended to express is only
_incidental_ to, or subordinate in, the general scheme of the
combination.
When any number of elements are included within a _vinculum_ or bracket,
it is intended to shew that they operate but as one substance, or, that
the virtues of each are not independent of the other; in this case the
KEY LETTER within the bracket expresses upon what principle this unity
depends, whilst that on the exterior shews the action of such a
combination upon the base, or the part which it performs in the general
scheme of the Formula.
Let us exemplify it by a reference to _Formula 78_ which presents us
with a Purgative, in conjunction with a Stimulant. The base is _Aloes_,
which is succeeded by _Scammony_, and _Extract of Rhubarb_; these
substances appear by the bracket, to act in unison, a concurrence which
the interior letter =B= shews to depend upon their being SIMILAR
REMEDIES; the letter also on the exterior shews that its operation upon
the base depends upon the same principle. We next come to powdered
_Capsicum_, and _Oil of Cloves_; these ingredients are also shewn by a
bracket to act in unity, and the letter =B= in the interior, denotes
that it is in consequence of their possessing a similar mode of action,
whilst the letter =G= on the exterior, announces that they act in the
general scheme for the purpose of fulfilling a second indication; at the
same time the smaller letter _e_ informs us that the combination
likewise acts as a _corrector_ of the base.[315]
A SYNOPSIS
OF THE
Principles of Combination,
AS INVESTIGATED IN THE PRECEDING PAGES,
ARRANGED IN A TABULAR FORM
SO AS TO AFFORD THE STUDENT AN EASY
REFERENCE TO THE KEY LETTERS.
_A Synopsis of the Principles of Medicinal Combination._
OBJECT I.
TO PROMOTE THE ACTION OF THE BASIS.
Key Letters.
=A= A.—_By combining the several different forms, or preparations
of the_ SAME SUBSTANCE.
=B= B.—_By combining the Basis with Substances which are of the_
SAME NATURE, _i. e, which are individually capable of
producing the same effects, but with less energy than when
in combination with each other_.
=C= C.—_By combining the Basis with Substances of a_ DIFFERENT
NATURE, _and which do not exert any Chemical influence upon
it, but are found by experience, or inferred by analogy,
to be capable of rendering the stomach, or system, more
susceptible of its action_.
OBJECT II.
TO CORRECT THE OPERATION OF THE BASIS, BY OBVIATING ANY UNPLEASANT
EFFECTS IT MIGHT BE LIKELY TO OCCASION, AND WHICH WOULD PERVERT ITS
INTENDED ACTION, AND DEFEAT THE OBJECT OF ITS EXHIBITION.
=D= A.—_By_ CHEMICALLY _neutralizing, or_ MECHANICALLY
_separating, the offending ingredient_.
=E= B.—_By adding some substance calculated to guard the stomach,
or system against its deleterious effects._
OBJECT III.
TO OBTAIN THE JOINT OPERATION OF TWO, OR MORE MEDICINES.
=F= A.—_By uniting those Medicines which are calculated to produce
the_ SAME ULTIMATE RESULTS, _but by modes of operation
totally different_.
=G= B.—_By combining Medicines which have entirely different
powers, and which are required to obviate different
symptoms, or to answer different indications._
OBJECT IV.
TO OBTAIN A NEW AND ACTIVE REMEDY, NOT AFFORDED BY ANY SINGLE SUBSTANCE.
=H= A.—_By combining Medicines which excite different actions in
the stomach and system, in consequence of which_ NEW, _or_
MODIFIED RESULTS _are produced_.
B.—_By combining substances which have the property of acting_
CHEMICALLY _upon each other; the results of which are_—
=I= a. _The Formation of New Compounds._
=K= b. _The Decomposition of the Original Ingredients, and the
developement of their more active elements._
C.—_By combining Substances, between which no other change is
induced than a diminution, or increase in the_ SOLUBILITY
_of the principles in which their Medicinal virtues reside_.
=L= a. _By the intervention of Substances that act_ CHEMICALLY.
=M= b. _By the addition of Ingredients whose operation is
entirely_ MECHANICAL.
OBJECT V.
TO AFFORD AN ELIGIBLE FORM.
=N= a. _By which the_ EFFICACY _of the Remedy is enhanced_.
=O= b. _By which its_ ASPECT _or_ FLAVOUR _is rendered more
agreeable, or its mode of administration more convenient_.
=P= c. _By which it is_ PRESERVED _from the spontaneous
decomposition to which it is liable_.
NARCOTICS.
1. ℞. Extract: Hyoscyami ℈j.
Camphoræ gr. viij =B.=
Spir: Rectificat: ♏︎ij =N.=
Camphoram primum cum Spiritu in pulverem tere, deinde simul contunde et
divide massam in Pilulas xij, quarum sumantur tres, omni nocte.
2. ℞. Extract: Conii ʒj
Folior: Conii exsiccat:
et in pulverem tritorum, q. s. =A.=
ut fiant Pilulæ; singulis grana duo
pendentibus.
Initio sumat æger pilulam unam pro dosi, mane et nocte; postea, binas,
et deinde tres vel quatuor; et denique augeatur dosis quantum possit.
_Stoerck._
3. ℞. Opii puri gr. iv
Extract: Hyoscyam: et =B. } B.=
Extract: Conii āā gr. xv. =}=
Simul contunde, et fiat massa in Pilulas sex dividenda, e quibus sumatur
una omni nocte.
4. ℞. Extract: Conii
et
Extract: Hyoscyam: (_in vacuo_ pp:) āā gr.
iij =B.=
Fiat Pil. bis quotidie sumenda.
5. ℞. Tinct: Opii ♏︎xv
Syrup: Papaveris fʒij =A.=
Spir: Cinnamom: fʒj =O.=
Aquæ puræ f℥jss =N.=
Fiat Haustus, invadente paroxysmo caloris in febribus intermittentibus
sumendus.
_Lind._
6. ℞ Opii puri, et
Camphor: āā ʒss =F.=
Emplast: Lithargyri ʒij =O.=
Sit scuto pectori.
_Bree._
7. ℞. Mist: Camphoræ f℥j
Spir: Ether: comp: fʒss =B.=
Tinct: Opii ♏︎x =F. } A.=
Syrup: Papav: fʒji =}=
Fiat Haustus hora decubitus sumendus.
8. ℞. Tinct: Opii fʒj
Infus: Lini f℥vj =G.N.=
Fiat Enema.
9. ℞. Opii puri gr. ij
Mucilag: Acaciæ f℥ss =M. } N.G.=
Lactis tepefacti f℥vj =}=
Misce pro Enemate.
_Hartman._
10. ℞. Opii puri gr. j.
Pil: Galb: comp: gr. v. =M.F.=c.
Fiat Pilula, h. s. sumenda.
11. ℞. Opii puri gr. j.
Pil: Aloes cum Myrrha gr. iv. =E.M.=
Fiat Pilula, h. s. sumenda.
12. ℞. Opii puri gr. ij.
Extract: Aloes Spicat: gr. x. =E.M.=
ut fiat Massa in Pil: iij dividend: e quibus sumatur una, h. s.
13. ℞. Opii puri gr. j.
Extract: Aloes Spicat gr. iij =E.=1.=M.=
Extract: Gent: gr. v. =E.=2.
Fiat Massa in Pil: duas dividend: et sint pro dosi.
14. ℞. Opii puri gr. ij.
Saponis duri Hispan: gr. iv =L.N.=
Simul contunde, donec corpus unum sit, et fiat Massa pro Suppositorio.
15. ℞. Opii puri gr. ij.
Confect: Aromat: ʒss =G.N.=
Fiat Massa in Pilulas viij dividenda, e quibus capiatur una, quarta
quaque hora.
_In Typhus._
16. ℞. Opii duri contriti gr. iv.
Aquæ bullientis f℥ijss =D.=
Infunde, prope ignem, per horam, et cola.
℞. Liquoris Colati f℥j
Acid: Nitric: dilut: ♏︎x =E.=1.
Træ Aloes comp: fʒj =E.=2.
Fiat Haustus.
17. ℞. Conii foliorum exsiccat: ℥j
Coque ex aquæ oiiss ad oij
et cola.
Panni lanei hocce decocto calido madefacti, deinde expressi, parti
affectæ imponantur, et sæpius renoventur.
_Collin._
_In Carcinomatous, Venereal, and sordid Ulcers._
18. ℞. Conii Folior: exsiccat: ℥ij.
Medullæ panis ℥vj =} N.O.=
Aquæ oiss =}=
Coquantur simul, ut fiat Cataplasma.
19. ℞. Extract: Conii
Extract: Hyoscyam: āā gr. v. =B.=
Mucilag: Acaciæ fʒij =N.=
Tere simul, donec quam optime misceantur, et
deinde adde,
Liquor: Ammon; Acetat: =} G.=
Aquæ puræ āā f℥ss =}=
Syrup: Rhæados fʒj =O.=
Fiat Haustus, quarta quaque hora sumendus.
_In Pulmonary irritation._
_J. A. P._
ANTISPASMODICS.
20. ℞. Tincturæ Castorei fʒj
Ætheris: Sulphurici ♏︎x =B.=
Tinct: Opii ♏︎vij =G.=
Aquæ Cinnamomi f℥iss =N.O.=
Fiat Haustus ter quotidie sumendus.
21. ℞. Moschi gr. xv
Camphoræ gr. v. =B.=
Spir: rectificat: ♏︎ij =L.=
Confect: Rosæ gall: q. s. =O.=
Camphoram primùm cum Spiritu tere, et deinde, secundum artem, fiat
bolus.
22. ℞. Moschi ℈j
Acaciæ gummi contriti ʒss =M.=
Tere optime simul, et adde paulatim,
Aquæ Rosæ f℥j =O.=
Ætheris Sulphuric: fʒj =B.=
Fiat Haustus, p. r. n, sumendus.
23. ℞. Assafœtidæ ʒj
Aquæ Menth: Pip. f℥jss =L.=
Tere assafœtidam cum Aquâ paulatim instillata, donec quam optime
misceantur, et deinde adde
Tinct: Valerian: Ammoniat: fʒij =}=
Tinct: Castorei fʒiij =B. } B.=
Ætheris Sulphuric: fʒj =}=
Fiat Mistura, de qua sumatur Cochleare unum amplum secundis horis.
Signetur.—_Anti-hysteric Mixture._
24. ℞. Mist: Camphoræ f℥j
Spir: Ammoniæ Fœtid: fʒss =B.=
Fiat Haustus, urgenti flatu, sumendus.
25. ℞. Valerianæ Radicis, in pulverem redact: ℈j
Tinct: Valerian: Ammoniat: =A.=
Tinct: Castorei āā fʒj =B. } B.=
Mist: Camphoræ fʒxij =}=
Fiat Haustus ter quotidie sumendus.
26. ℞. Tabaci Foliorum ℈j
Aquæ ferventis f℥viij
Macera per horam in vase leviter clauso, et cola. Fiat pro Enemate.
27. ℞. Massæ Pil: Galb: comp. gr. x.
Divide in Pilulas binas, et sint pro dosi.
28. ℞. Tinct: Opii ♏︎vj.
Vini Ipecacuanhæ fʒj =H.=
Aquæ puræ f℥j =N.=
Syrup: Simpl: fʒiij =O.=
Sodæ Sub-carbonat: gr. xxiv. =G.=
Sumat Infans sextam partem quartis vel sextis horis.
_In Tussi Convulsiva._
R. Pearson.
29. ℞. Assafœtidæ ʒij
Decoct: Avenæ f℥x =N.O.=
Misce pro enemate, secundum artem.
_In Flatulent Cholic._
_Bang._
30. ℞. Moschi gr. xij
Sacch: purificat: ℈ij =} M.=
Acaciæ Gummi contriti ℈j =}=
Simul tritis admisceantur Jusculi cujusvis tenuioris f℥iv, ut fiat
enema, alternis vel tertiis horis injiciendum.
_Wall._
31. ℞. Cinchonæ lancifoliæ Corticis contriti ℥j.
Valerianæ Radicis Pul: ʒiij =G.=
Syrup: Aurantiorum q.s. =O.=
Ut fiat electuarium, cujus devoret drachmam, mane ac vesperi.
_Mead._
32. ℞. Tinct: Digitalis ♏︎x—xv
Mist: Camphoræ fʒx =F. } G.O.=
Tinct: Calumbæ fʒi =}=
Fiat Haustus, bis quotidie sumendus.
_In Palpitation of the Heart, accompanied with great nervous
irritability._
TONICS.
33. ℞. Infus: Cascarillæ f℥iss
Tinct: Cascarillæ f℥ij =A.=
Tinct: Zingiberis fʒj =G.=
Fiat Haustus ter quotidie sumendus.
34. ℞. Ferri Tartarizati gr. x.
Pulv: Calumbæ gr. xv =F.=m.
Fiat Pulvis, quarta quaque hora sumendus.
35. ℞. Infusi Quassiæ fʒx
Tinct: Calumbæ fʒj =B.=
Tinct: Ferri muriat: ♏︎x =F.=
Fiat Haustus, quotidie, hora meridiana sumendus.
36. ℞. Ferri Ammoniati ʒj
Extract: Gentian: =F.M.=
et
Extract: Aloe āā ʒss =G.M.=
Contunde simul, et divide massam in Pil. xxx. quarum sumat binas ter
quotidie.
_Tonic and Purgative._
37. ℞. Cinchonæ lancifoliæ contritæ ℥ss
Magnesiæ Sulphatis ʒvj =G.=
Tere optime simul, et divide in quatuor partes, ex quibus sumatur una
alternis horis inter paroxysmos.
_In Intermittents._
_Cleghorn._
38. ℞. Ferri Sub-carbonatis gr. v—x.
Pulv: Valerian: ʒss =G.=
Syrup: Zingib: q. s. =E.O.=
Fiat Bolus.
39. ℞. Infusi Gentianæ comp: f℥j
Liquor: Potassæ Sub-carb: fʒss =O.L.G.=
Tinct: Cascarillæ fʒj =B.=
Fiat Haustus.
40. ℞. Cinchonæ lancifoliæ Cort: contus: ℥ss
Coque ex aquæ puræ f℥xvj
ad consumpt: dimid: adjectis sub finem coctionis,
Serpentāriæ radicis contus: ʒij =B.=
Stent per horam, et Colaturæ admisce,
Spir: Cinnamomi comp: f℥iss =E.=
Acid: Sulphuric: dilut: fʒiss =G.=
Sumantur f℥ij sexta quaque hora.
_Pringle._
41.[316] ℞. Decoct: Cinchonæ f℥iiss
Infus: Gentian: comp: f℥j =B. { B.=
Tinct: Cascarillæ fʒij ={=
Liquor: Potassæ Sub-carb: fʒij =G.1.=
Fiat Mistura, de qua sumr: Cochl: duo ampla bis de die.
42.[316] ℞. Decoct: Cinchonæ f℥vj
Tinct: Cinchonæ f℥ss =A.=
Confect: Aromat: ℈j =B. { G.E.=
Spir: Ammon: Aromat: fʒj ={=
Fiat Mistura.
43. ℞. Ferri Ammoniat: gr. v.
Rhei Rad: Contrit: gr. iij =G.=
Fiat Pulvis ex quolibet vehiculo idoneo quotidie sumendus.
44. ℞. Cinchonæ Pulv: subtiliss:
Potassæ Super-tart: āā ℥j =G.1.=
Caryophyll: contrit: No. xxx =G.2.=
Misce, et detur drachma cum semisse tertiis horis.
_Petrie._
AROMATIC STIMULANTS.
45. ℞. Sinapeos semin: contus:
Armoraciæ Radicis concisæ āā ℥ss =B.=
Aquæ ferventis oj =N.O.=
Macera per horam, et cola.
℞. Colaturæ f℥vii
Spir: Ammon: Aromat. fʒj =B. { B.=
Spir: Pimentæ f℥ss ={=
Fiat Mistura; de qua sumr: Cochl: duo ampla ter quotidie.
_In Paralysis._
46. ℞. Lactis Vaccini oj
Sinap: Semin: contus: ℥j
Coquantur simul, donec pars caseosa in coagulum abierit, deinde coletur
serum, et sumatur cyathus subinde.
_Disp: Fuld:_
47. ℞. Mist: Camphoræ f℥j
Spir: Ether: Sulphuric: fʒij =}=
Tinct: Cardamom: comp: f℥ss =}=
Spir: Anisi fʒvj =B. } B.=
Olei Carui ♏︎xij =}=
Syrup: Zingib: fʒij =}=
Aquæ Menthæ Pip: f℥vss =}=
Fiat Mistura, cujus sumantur Cochlearia duo ampla, urgenti flatu.
_In Flatulent Cholic._
48. ℞. Ammoniæ Sub-carb: ʒss
Aquæ Menth: Pip: f℥vij =N.B.=
Syrup: Aurant: f℥ss =O.=
Sumatur octava pars in languoribus.
49. ℞. Cantharid: in pulverem trit: gr. j
Ammoniæ Sub-carb: =B. } F.=
Confect: Aromat: āā gr. v. =}=
Syrup: q. s. =O.=
ut fiat bolus, quartis vel sextis horis sumendus, cum haustu Infusi
Armoraciæ compositi.
50. ℞. Olei Terebinthinæ fʒij
Mellis Despumat: ℥j =} O.=
Pulv: Rad: Glycyrrhizæ, q. s. =}=
ut fiat linctus: de quo sumatur cochl: parv: nocte, maneque, cum haustu
cujusvis potus tenuioris tepefacti.
ASTRINGENTS.
51. ℞. Quercus Cort: contus: ℥ss
Aquæ ferventis f℥xiij
Macera per horam, et cola.
℞. Hujus Colaturæ f℥iss =}=
Pulv: Gallarum gr x. =B. } B.=
Tinct: Catechu fʒss =}=
Tinct: Cardamom: comp: fʒss =G.E.O.=
Syrup: Cort: Aurant: fʒj =O.=
Fiat Haustus.
52. ℞. Misturæ Cretæ f℥iss
Tinct: Opii ♏︎xv. =F.1.=
Tinct: Catechu fʒj =F.2.=
Fiat Haustus, post singulas sedes liquidas sumendus.
_In Diarrhœa._
53. ℞. Aluminis Contriti gr. v.
Myristicæ Nucl: Contrit, gr. v. =E.=
Extract: Gentian: q. s, =F.O.=
ut fiat massa in Pil: ij dividend:
54. ℞. Lactis Vaccini bullient: oj.
Aluminis Contrit. ʒij.
Ebulliant simul ut fiat coagulum; coletur serum, et sumatur cyathus,
subinde.
55. ℞. Gallarum pulverisat: ʒj.
Adipis præparat: ʒj =O.=
Fiat Unguentum, parti affectæ applicand:
_In Hæmorrhoidibus._
_Cullen._
56. ℞. Infus: Ros: comp: f℥iiiss
Alum: contrit: gr. x. =B.=
Oxymel fʒiij =B.O.=
Sit pro Gargarismate.
57. ℞. Plumbi Acetat: gr. iij
Opii puri gr. i. =B. } B.=
Extract: Conii gr. x. =}=
Fiat Massa in Pilulas tres dividenda; quarum sumatur una bis quotidie,
superbibendo haustum ex acido acetico comp:
58. ℞. Infus: Cuspariæ f℥j
Minct: Catechu fʒj =B.=
Pulv: Ipecac: gr. x. =G.=
Fiat Haustus.
59. ℞. Zinc: Sulphat: gr. x.
Myrrhæ in pulv: trii: ʒiss =G.=
Confect: Ros: q. s, =N.O.=
ut fiant Pilulæ xx, e quibus sumantur binæ bis quotidie.
60. ℞. Tinct: Ferri Muriat: ♏︎x
Aquæ puræ f℥j. =N.=
Fiat Haustus, tertia quaque hora sumend:
_In Uterine Hemorrhage._
61. ℞. Cort: Quercus contus: ʒvj
Aquæ distillat: f℥x
Coque per sextam partem horæ, et cola.
62. ℞. Colaturæ et
Infus: Lini āā f℥iv =E.=
Sit pro injectione per vaginam.
_In Uterine Discharges attended with an irritable state of the vagina._
EMETICS.
63. ℞. Antimonii Tartarizati gr. i
Vini Ipecac: fʒij =B.=
Aquæ puræ f℥iss =N.=
Fiat Haustus.
64. ℞. Antimonii Tartarizati gr. ij
Aquæ distillatæ f℥iv =N.=
Solve—Hujus danda sunt cochlearia duo mediocria, singulis horæ
quadrantibus, donec vomitus excitatus sit.
65. ℞. Pulv: Ipecac: ʒss
Antimon: Tart: gr. i =B. } B.=
Tinct: Scillæ fʒi =}=
Aquæ distillat: f℥viiss =N.=
Fiat Mistura, cujus sumat quamprimum cochlearia majora quatuor; et
cochlearia duo, sexta quaque horæ parte, donec supervenerit vomitus.
66. ℞. Zinc: Sulph: ℈i
Confect: Ros: canin: q. s, =O.=
ut fiat bolus, ex pauxillo Infus: Anthemid: =O.=
hauriendus. Post quamlibet vomitionem superbibantur cyathi aliquot
infusi ejusdem tepidi.
67. ℞. Tabaci Foliorum ℥j
Aquæ fontis, q. s, =N.=
Simul contunde, ut fiat epithema, regioni epigastricæ admovend:
68. ℞. Cupri Sulphatis gr. x.—℈j.
Aquæ distillatæ f℥ij =N.=
Fiat pro haustu emetico.
CATHARTICS.
69. ℞. Magnesiæ Sulphatis =}=
et =B. }=
Sodæ Sulphatis āā ʒiij =}=
Aquæ Menthæ Viridis f℥vss =N.O.=
Vini Antimon: Tart: fʒj =O.=
Fiat Mistura, de qua sumr. Cochl: duo ampla ter quotidie.
70. ℞. Infusi Sennæ f℥j
Tinct: Sennæ =}=
et =B. } E.B.=
Tinct: Jalapæ āā fʒj =}=
Potassæ Tart: ʒj =F.E.=2.
Syrup: Sennæ fʒj =A.O.=
Fiat Haustus, summo mane sumendus.
71. ℞. Extract: Colocynth: comp: ʒj
Opii puri gr. iij =G.=
Olei nucis Moschat ♏︎iv =E.=
Fiat massa in pilulas xii dividend: e quibus capiat duas, omni hora,
donec bis dejecerit alvus.
72. ℞. Magnesiæ Sulphat: =}=
et =B. }=
Sodæ Sulphat: āā ℥ss =}=
Ferri Sulphat: gr. v. =G.=
Misturæ Camphoræ f℥viiss =L.O.=
Fiat mistura, de qua sumantur Cochl: duo ampla bis indies.
73. ℞. Jalapæ Radicis contrit: gr. xv.
Hydrarg: Sub-muriat: gr. v. =F.=
Confect: Ros: canin: q. s. =N.O.=
ut fiat bolus.
74. ℞. Confect: Sennæ ℥iss
Sulphur: Præcipitat: ℥ss =G.=
Syrup: Ros. q. s. =N.O.=
ut fiat Electuarium, de quo, ad nucis Moschatæ magnitudinem, capiatur,
ter vel quater quotidie, donec alvus commode purgetur.
_In Hæmorrhoids._
75. ℞. Olei Ricini f℥ss
Vitelli Ovi, q. s. =O.=
tere simul, et adde
Syrup: Papaveris fʒij =B. } G.=
Tinct: Opii ♏︎v =}=
Aquæ distillatæ f℥j =L.=
Fiat Haustus tertiis vel quartis horis sumendus.
_In Cholic from Lead._
76. ℞. Magnesiæ Sulphatis ʒvj
Infusi Sennæ f℥iss =F.L.=
Tinct: Jalap: fʒj =E.F.=
Tinct: Opii ♏︎x =F. } G.=
Tinct: Castorei fʒj =}=
Fiat Haustus, ut supra, dandus.
77. ℞. Infusi Sennæ f℥ij
Sodæ Tartariz: ʒvj =F.E.=
Aquæ Cinnamomi f℥ss =E.O.=
Fiat solutio, duabus vicibus, sumenda.
78. ℞. Aloës Spicat: ℈j
Scammoneæ gr. xij =B. } F.=
Extract: Rhei ℈ij =}=
Bacc: Capsici pulv: gr. vj =B. } G.=e.
Olei Caryophyll: ♏︎v =}=
Fiant Pilulæ xvj, e quibus sumantur binæ, hora decubitus, p. r. n.
79. ℞. Pil. Hydrarg:
et
Aloes Spicat: āā ℈j =G.=
Fiat Massa in Pil: vj dividend: e quibus sumantur binæ, h. s.
80. ℞. Pulv: Aloes comp: ʒj
Pulv: Antimon: gr. v. =C.=
Saponis duri gr. x. =L.N.O.=
Decoct: Aloes comp: q. s. =O.=a.
Fiat Massa in Pilulas xx dividend: e quibus capiantur binæ ad alvum
officii immemorem excitandam.
81. ℞. Extract: Colocynth: comp: gr. xxiv
Pil: Aloes cum Myrrha ʒj =F. } F.=
Hydrarg: Sub-muriat: gr. xv =}=
Fiat Massa in Pil: xx dividend: e quibus sumr una vel altera, p. r. n.
82. ℞. Sodæ Sub-carbonat: (_cryst:_) ʒiiss =}=
Potassæ Super-tart: ʒiij =K. } I.=
Aquæ puræ f℥viij =}=
Stent in lagena bene obturata per triduum, et deinde sit in promptu pro
potu cathartico.
_Young._
_Medical Literature, Edit. 2, p. 481._
83. ℞. Scammoneæ gr. v.
Pulv: Rhei gr. xv =F.=
Ammoniæ Sub-carbonat: gr. v =G.E.=
Fiat Pulvis, ex vehiculo aliquo idoneo sumendus.
84. ℞. Pulv: Jalap: gr. xv
Pulv: Ipecac: gr. v =C.=
Olei Cinnamom: ♏︎ij =E.=
Fiat Pulvis, ut supra, dandus.
85. ℞. Pulv: Rhei gr. xv.
Potassæ Super-sulphat: gr. x =B.O.=
Aquæ Cinnamomi f℥j =O.=e.
Fiat Haustus.
86. ℞. Sodæ Tartarizat: ʒij
Sodæ Carbonat: ℈j =}=
Aquæ puræ f℥iss =I.K. } O.=
Fiat Haustus, cum Cochl: uno amplo Succi
Limonum =}=
In impetu effervescentiæ sumendus. Quotidie mane.
87. ℞. Sodæ Carbonatis ʒij =}=
Ferri Sulphat: gr. iij =}=
Magnesiæ Sub-carb: ʒj =} I.K.=
Aquæ puræ oss =}=
Acidi Sulphurici dilut: fʒx =}=
Infundatur primum lagenæ aqua, deinde immittantur Salina, et denique
Acidum Sulphuricum; illico obturetur lagena, et in loco frigido
servetur.
NOTE.—_The decompositions which take place in this formula are described
in the Essay on the Art of Prescribing, p. 170. There is, however, a
precaution respecting the proportion of Sulphuric acid which it is
essential to remember, viz.—that it should never be added in excess; for
in that case the Sulphate of Iron would not undergo the necessary
decomposition._
88. ℞. Hydrarg: Sub-muriat: gr. x
Pil: Cambogiæ comp: =F. } F.=
et Extract: Colocynth: comp: āā gr. xv =}=
Syrup: Zingib, q. s. =E.=
ut fiant Pilulæ xij, e quibus sumantur binæ, hora decubitus, vel summo
mane, ad alvum officii immemorem excitandam.
89. ℞. Cambogiæ Contritæ gr. iij
Sacch: purificat: ℈j =M.O.E.=
Tere optime simul, ut fiat Pulvis, tertia quaque hora sumendus, donec
alvus commode purgetur.
90. ℞. Foliorum Sennæ ʒiij
Sodæ Sulphat: ℥j =F.=
Aquæ fervent: oj =L.N.O=
Infunde, et cola, ut fiat Enema.
91. ℞. Resinæ Terebinthinæ f℥ss
Vitelli ovi, q. s. =M.=
Infus: Lini f℥x =N.O.=
Tere Resinam cum vitello ovi, hisque, inter terendum Infusum Lini
paulatim adjice. _Fiat Enema._
92. ℞. Potassæ Super-tart: ℥ij
Ferri Tartarizat: ʒiij =G.=
Zingib: ℈j =E.=
Syrup: Simp: q. s. =O.=
dosis ʒij ter die.
93. ℞. Confect: Sennæ ℥ij
Ferri Tartarizat: ℈ij =G.=
Fiat Electuarium, ad nucis moschatæ magnitudinem sumendum.
EMMENAGOGUES.
94. ℞. Sabinæ Foliorum exsiccat:
Zingib: rad: contus: āā ℈ss =E.=
Potassæ Sulphatis ʒss =G.M.=
M. Fiat Pulvis bis die sumendus.
95. ℞. Myrrhæ pulv: ℈j
Ferri Ammoniati gr. vj =G.=
tere simul et adde
Syrup: Zingib: q. s. ut fiat Electuarium, de quo
sumatur ad myristicæ nuclei magnitudinem bis
quotidie.
96. ℞. Mist: Ferri comp: f℥ss
Aquæ Cinnamomi f℥j =O.=
Ft. Haustus bis de die sumendus.
97. ℞. Tinct: Ferri Muriatis
Tinct: Aloes comp: āā f℥ss =G.=1.
Tinct: Castorei fʒij =G.=2.
M. de qua sumatur cochl: unum minimum ex cyatho Infus: Anthemid: Flor:
ter quotidie.
_Emmenagogue and Antispasmodic._
98. ℞. Pil: Aloes cum Myrrha
et
Pil: Galbani comp: āā ʒj =B.=
Divide in Pil: xxiv, e quibus sumantur binæ bis quotidie.
99. ℞. Pill: Aloes cum Myrrha
et
Pil: Ferri comp: āā ʒj =G.=1.
Sodæ Sub-Carbonatis ℈j =G.=2._l._
Divide Massam in Pilulas xxx e quibus sumantur binæ bis quotidie.
DIURETICS.
100. ℞. Scillæ Radicis exsiccat: gr. iij
Pulveris Opii gr. ss =C.E.=
Cinnamomi Corticis gr. x =E.O.=
Fiat pulvis bis quotidie sumendus.
101. ℞. Potassæ Sub-Carbonatis gr. x
Infus: Gentian: comp: f℥iss =C.N.=
Spir: Etheris comp: fʒss =B } G.E.=
Træ Cinnamomi fʒi =}=
Fiat Haustus.
_Diuretic and Stimulant._
102. ℞. Scillæ Radicis exsiccat: gr. xij
Potassæ Nitratis ʒi =F.=
Sacchari purificat: =B } M.E.=
et Cinnamomi cort: contrit: =}=
āā ʒi. fiat pulvis in sex partes æquales dividend: Sumatur una bis
indies.
103.[317] ℞. Scillæ Rad: exsiccat: gr. iv
Digitalis Foliorum gr. x =B.=
Hydrargyri Sub-muriat: gr. vj =C.=
Myrrhæ Pulv: ℈i =}=
simul tere et adde =B. } G.=
Assafœtidæ ʒss =}=
Extract: Gentian. q. s. =C. O.=
Fiat massa in Pilulas xv dividend: e quibus sumatur una, nocte maneque.
104. ℞. Massæ Pil. Scillæ ʒi
Hydrarg: Sub-muriat: gr. v =C.=
Fiat massa in Pilulas xv dividenda, quarum sumantur duæ singulis
noctibus.
105. ℞. Sodæ Carbonat: exsiccat: ʒi
Saponis duri ℈iv =N.B.=
Olei Juniperi =F.E.=
Syrupi Zingiberis q. s. =E.N.=
Fiat massa in Pilulas xxx dividenda, e quibus capiat tres, indies,
contra calculos renum.
_Beddoes._
106. ℞. Scillæ Radicis exsiccat: gr. ij
Pilulæ Hydrargyri gr. v =G.C.=
Opii gr. ss =E.C.=
Fiat Pilula hora decubitus per tres vel quatuor noctes consequentes
capienda.
107. ℞. Potassæ Sub-carbonat: ℈i =}=
Succi Limonum: f℥ss, vel q. s. =I. } K.=
Aquæ Cinnamomi f℥i =}=
Aceti Scillæ fʒiss =B.=
Tinct: Opii ♏︎v =C.=
Syrupi Aurantii fʒss =O.=
Fiat Haustus bis indies sumendus.
108. ℞. Potassæ Acetatis ʒi
Oxymel; Colchici fʒij =B.=
tere simul cum aquæ puræ f℥i =N.=
Spir: Juniperi comp: f℥ss =B.O.=
Fiat Haustus, ut supra dandus.
109. ℞. Baccarum Juniperi contus: ʒij
Semin: Anisi contus: ʒij
Aquæ: ferventis oj
Macera per tres horas, dein cola.
℞. Colaturæ f℥xij =A. }=
Spir: Junip: comp: f℥ij =}=
Træ Scillæ fʒi =B.=
Potassæ Nitratis ℈ij =F.=
Fiat Mistura, de qua sumatur cyathus subinde.
110. ℞. Infus: Digitalis f℥iv =A. }=
Træ Digitalis fʒss =}=
Potassæ Acetat: ʒi =B.=
Tinct: Opii ♏︎v =C.E.=
Fiat Mistura, de qua sumatur coch: unum amplum bis terve indes.
111. ℞. Liquoris Ammoniæ Acetat: f℥ss
Potassæ Acetatis ʒi =B.=
Aquæ puræ f℥j =N.O.=
Fiat Haustus ter quotidie sumendus.
112. ℞. Potassæ Supertartratis ʒi
Pulveris Scillæ exsiccat: gr. iij =B.=
Pulveris Zingiberis gr. v =E.=
Fiat pulvis, sexta quaque hora capiendus.
113. ℞. Spartii cacum: concis: ℥i
Aquæ puræ oj
Decoque ad octarium dimidium, et cola.
℞. Colaturæ f℥i
Spir: Etheris Nitrici ♏︎x =B.E.=
Sumatur alternis horis.
114. ℞. Tinct: Ferri Muriat: ♏︎xv
Infus: Quassiæ f℥i =C.N.=
Fiat Haustus tertia quaque hora sumendus.
115. ℞. Potassæ Nitratis ʒi
Misturæ Ammoniaci f℥vj =N.=
Spir: Juniperi comp: f℥iss =B. } B.E.=
Aceti Scillæ fʒvi =}=
Fiat Mistura de qua capiat cochl: j amplum quartis horis.
116. ℞. Tincturæ Lyttæ ♏︎x
Spiritus Ætheris Nitrici fʒi =F.=
Misturæ Camphoræ fʒxij =E.N.=
Syrup: Zingiberis fʒi =E.O.=
Fiat Haustus ter in die sumendus.
_a highly stimulating diuretic._
DIAPHORETICS.
117. ℞. Misturæ Camphoræ fj℥ss
Liquor: Ammon: Acet: f℥ss =F.=
Liquor: Antimonii Tart: ♏︎xx =H. } B.=
Tinct: Opii ♏︎x =}=
Fiat Haustus.
118. ℞. Potassæ Sulphureti gr. xv
Saponis duri ʒj =E.L.=
Balsam: Peru: q. s. =O.=
Ut ft: Pilulæ xxx; sumat tres quarta quaqua hora ex cyatho Infusi calidi
Juniperi baccarum.
_In Cutaneous Affections._
119. ℞. Pulveris Antimon: ʒss =}=
Opii Pulv: ℈ss =H. }=
Hydrargyri Sub-muriat: gr. v =}=
Confect: Opii q. s. =O.B.=
Ut fiant Pilulæ decem, quarum capiat unam hora decubitus, et repetatur
p. r. n.
120. ℞. Pulveris Ipecacuanhæ comp: gr. xv.
Pulv: Trag: comp: ℈ij =N.=
Divide in partes quatuor æquales, quarum sumat unam omni hora.
121. ℞. Pulv: Ipecacuanhæ comp: gr. xv
Pulv: Antimon: gr. ij =B.=
Ft: pulvis, hora decubitus sumend: superbibendo Haustulum tepidum.
122. ℞. Guaiaci gum-resinæ gr. x
Pulv: Ipecacuanhæ comp: gr. v =F.=
Confect: Rosæ q. s =O.=
Ut fiat Bolus, h. s. sumendus.
123. ℞. Potassæ Carbonatis gr. x =}=
Mist: Camphoræ: f℥j =I.K. }=
Ft: Haust: cum Succi Limonum =}=
Cochleari uno amplo, in impetu ipso effervescentiæ sumendus.
124. ℞. Guaiaci gum-resinæ gr. x
Antimonii Tart: =}=
et =H. } B.=
Opii puri āā gr. j =}=
Syrupi q. s. =O.=
Fiat Bolus bis quotidie sumendus.
125. ℞. Camphoræ
et Pulveris Antimon: āā gr. iij =H. } F.=
Opii puri gr. j =}=
Confect: Aromat: q. s =N.=
Fiat Bolus, h. s. sumendus.
126. ℞. Liquor: Ammoniæ Acetat: fʒij
Decoct: Cinchonæ fʒx =A. } G.=
Tinct: Cinchonæ fʒij =}=
Confect: Aromat: ʒss =N.=
Ft. Haustus, tertia vel quarta quaque hora sumendus.
127. ℞. Guaiaci gum-resinæ ʒij
Acaciæ gummi ʒij =M.=
Simul bene tritis adde
Træ Opii fʒss =C.=
Pulv: Cinchonæ ʒj =}=
Træ Cinchonæ fʒij =A. } G.=
Decoct: Cinchonæ f℥viij =}=
Fiat Mistura cujus sumatur cyathus bis quotidie.
_Rheumatism._
128. ℞. Extracti Aconiti
Antimonii Sulphureti =}=
Præcipitati āā gr. j. =E. } B.=
Magnesiæ Carbonatis ℈ss =}=
Tere simul ut fiat pulvis.
129. ℞. Pulv: Antimon: gr. iij.
Potassæ Sub-carbonatis gr. v. =E.=
Anthemid. Flor. exsiccat: ℈j =N.=
M. Fiat Pulvis sexta quaque hora, per biduum vel triduum sumendus.
130. ℞. Pulveris Ipecacuanhæ gr. ij =H. }=
Pulveris Opii gr. i. =}=
Potassæ Nitratis gr. xvj. =M.F.=
Fiat Pulvis hora somni sumendus.
EXPECTORANTS.
131. ℞. Assafœtidæ ℈ij
trituratione solve in
Aquæ Menthæ vir: f℥iij. =N.=
addeque Syrup: Tolu: f℥j =G.=
Fiat Mistura, de qua sumatur cochl: unum amplum tertia quaque hora.
132. ℞. Myrrhæ gum-resin: ʒss
Sacchari purificati ℥ss. =M.=
Tere optime simul ut fiat Pulvis, partitis dosibus quotidie sumendus, in
vehiculo aliquo idoneo.
133. ℞. Myrrhæ gum-resin: ʒiss
Scillæ exsiccat: ʒss =B.=
Extract: Hyoscyami ℈ij =G.=
Aquæ q. s. ut fiant Pil. xxx. =N.O.=
E quibus sumantur binæ, nocte maneque.
134. ℞. Scillæ exsiccatæ gr. viij
Pulveris Ipecacuanhæ gr. v =C.=
Camphoræ ℈j =G.=
Pulv: Antimon: gr. vj =C.=
Sacch: purificat: ʒj =M.=
Tere in pulverem, in quatuor partes æquales dividendum. Pars una sumatur
bis quotidie, ex haustu decocti hordei.
135. ℞. Oxymel: Scillæ
Syrupi Altheæ =B. } F.=
Mucilag: Acaciæ =}=
āā f℥ss, misce, et fiat linctus, de quo lambat sæpe.
136. ℞. Misturæ Ammoniac:
et Aquæ Cinnamomi āā f℥iss =N.=
Syrupi Tolut: f℥ss =N.O.=
Tinct: Castorei fʒij =B. } G.=
Tinct: Opii ♏︎v =}=
Fiat Mistura, cujus sumatur Cochl: unum amplum subinde, ac repetatur
dosis p. r. n.
_Expectorant & Antispasmodic. Hooping Cough, &c._
137. ℞. Mist: Amygdal: f℥j
Vini Ipecacuanhæ ♏︎x =G.=
Potassæ Carbonatis gr. x. =I.K. } G.=
Sumatur cum Succi Limon: fʒiij =}=
In impetu ipso effervescentiæ.
138. ℞. Pulveris Myrrhæ gr. xij
Pulv: Ipecacuanhæ gr. vj =F.=
Pulv: Potassæ Nitrat: ʒss =E.=
Misce et divide in doses æquales quatuor, quarum sumat unam quartis
horis.
139. ℞. Tinct: Scillæ ♏︎x
Acid: Nitric: dilut: ♏︎vj =C.=
Extract: Hyoscyam: gr. iij =G.=
Aquæ puræ f℥iss =N.=
Fiat Haustus tertiis horis sumend:
_Bree._
140. ℞. Acid: Nitric: fʒj =}=
Aquæ puræ f℥iv misce =} H.=
dein tere cum =}=
Ammoniaci ʒj =}=
donec emulsio evadit
Dosis cochl: j medioc: ex liquore aliquo demulcenti.
SIALOGOGUES.
141. ℞. Hydrarg: Oxyd: rubri gr. j.
Opii tertiam grani partem =C.=
Caryophyll: olei ♏︎j =E.=
Fiat pilula, h. s, per hebdomadam sumenda.
_J. Hunter._
142. ℞. Hydrarg: oxy-muriat:
Ammoniæ muriat: āā gr. v =L.=
Aquæ distillat: fʒss =N.=
Glycyrrhizæ rad: contrit: ℈iv =B. } O.=
Mellis ʒss =}=
Cogantur in massam, quam divide in pil: xl, e quibus sumatur una ter
die.
143. ℞. Pyrethri rad: contrit
Mastiches āā ʒj =M.N.=
Fiant lege artis, ad ignem, masticatoria duo; teneat æger sœpius in ore,
et manducet hujusmodi medicamentum, exspuatque salivam.
_Hartman._
REFRIGERANTS.
144. ℞. Potassæ Nitratis gr. xv
Ft: Pulv: ex cyatho Aquæ perfrigidæ, illico post solutionem sumend:
145. ℞. Acidi Muriatici fʒj
Decoct: Hordei oj =N.=
Syrupi fʒij vel q. s, =O.=
ad acorem compescendum, et gustum conciliandum. Sumatur quotidie, instar
potus, et bibat quantum sitis exigat.
_In Typhus and other Fevers._
146. ℞. Ammoniæ Muriat: ʒij
Acidi Acetici dilut: f℥ij =B.=
Spir: Camphor: f℥ss =G.=
Misce ut fiat Lotio.
147. ℞. Liquor: Plumbi Sub-acetat: fʒj
Acidi Acetici dilut: f℥ij =L.=
Spir: tenuior f℥ss =G.=
Aquæ destillatæ f℥viij =N.=
Fiat lotio.
148. ℞. Liquor: Ammon: Acetat: f℥vj
Spir: Rosmarini f℥ij =G.=
Aquæ puræ oj =N.=
Sit pro Epithemate, capiti raso applicandum.
ANTACIDS AND ABSORBENTS.
149. ℞. Liquoris Potassæ fʒij
Liquoris Calcis f℥vj =F.N.=
M. Cujus capiat æger, acido infestante, cochleare amplum unum, vel
alterum, ex poculo jusculi bovini.
150. ℞. Magnesiæ ʒss
Aquæ Menthæ Pip: fʒiiss =}=
Spir: Lav: comp: fʒss =B. } G.=
Spir: Carui fʒiv =}=
Syrup: Zingib: fʒij =}=
Sumatur cochleare unum mediocre, p. r. n.
_Antacid and Carminative._
151. ℞. Pulv: Cretæ co: cum Opio ℈j
Pulv: Catechu Extract: gr. xv =G.=
Sit pulvis, post singulas sedes liquidas sumendus.
_In Diarrhœa depending upon Acidity._
152. ℞. Ammoniæ Sub-carb: gr. v.
Extract: Rhei gr. viij =G.N.=
Fiat massa in Pil: binas dividenda.
153. ℞. Magnesiæ Sub-carbonat: gr. v
Sodæ Sub-carb: gr. v =B.=
Zingib: rad: contrit: gr. iv =E.=
Glycyrrhizæ rad: contrit: gr. xv =M.O.=
M. et fiat pulvis, contra cardialgiam.
ANTILITHICS AND LITHONTHRYPTICS.
A. _In the Lithic Acid Diathesis._
154. ℞. Sodæ Sub-carb: gr. x
Infus: Quassiæ f℥j =G.C.=
Tinct: Calumbæ =E.=
Fiat Haustus bis quotidie sumendus.
155. ℞. Magnes: Sub-carbonat: ℈j
Infus: Calumbæ f℥j =A. } G.C.=
Tinct: Calumbæ fʒj =}=
Fiat Haustus.
156. ℞. Sodæ Sub-carbonat: gr. x
Mist: Amygdal: f℥j =N.O.=
Balsam: Copaib: (ope mucilag: mist:) fʒss =G.=1.
Tinct: Opii ♏︎v =G.=2.
Fiat Haustus, urgenti dolore sumendus.
157. ℞. Magnesiæ Sub-carbonat: gr. x
Pulv: Ipecac: gr. j =G.=
Sodæ Sub-carbonat: gr. v. =F.=
Fiat Pulvis, ex vehiculo aliquo idoneo sumendus; superbibendo cyathum
Infusi Anthemid: Flor:
B. _In the Phosphatic Diathesis._
158. ℞. Acid: Muriatic: ♏︎v
Decoct: Hordei comp: f℥iss =N.=
Fiat Haustus ter quotidie sumendus.
159. ℞. Infus: Ros: f℥iss
Magnes: Sulphat: ʒj =G.=
Tinct: Calumbæ fʒij =E.=
Fiat Haustus.
ANTHELMINTICS.
160. ℞. Stanni Limat: ℥iij
Confect: Rosæ Gall: ℥ss =B. } N.=
Syrupi q. s. ut fiat Elect: =}=
Capiat coch: amplum, quotidie mane, et repetatur dosis ad tres vices, et
deinde capiat æger Haustum aliquem purgantem.
161. ℞. Cambogiæ g. viij
Hydrarg: Sub-muriat: gr. v =F.=
Mucilag: Acaciæ q. s. ut fiat Bolus mane sumendus.
_Contra Tæniam._
162. ℞. Sodæ Muriatis ℥ij
Coccinell: ℈ij =M.O.=
Fiat Pulvis, et detur drachma dimidia pro dosi, tempore matutino.
163. ℞. Ferri Sub-carbonat: ℈j
Sumatur ex vehiculo aliquo crasso, singulis auroris.
164. ℞. Camphoræ (Alcohole solutæ) ʒj
Ol: Olivæ fʒij =L.N.=
Misce, Fiat Enema.
Injiciatur h. s. tertia quaque nocte, ad tres vices: dein repetatur
alternis noctibus, ad quartam usque vicem, si opus fuerit.
_Contra Ascarides._
165. ℞. Aloes Spicat: gr. x
Saponis Duri ʒj =L.N.=
Fiat Suppositorium post Alvum exoneratam applicand.
DEMULCENTS.
166. ℞. Olei Amygdal: f℥j
Acaciæ gummi ʒiij =M.N.=
tere simul, et dein gradatim adde
Aquæ destillatæ f℥vi =O.=
Syrup: Rhæados f℥ss =O.=
Fiat Mistura, de qua sumantur Cochlearia duo ampla ter, quaterve,
indies.
167. ℞. Olei Amygdal: fʒvj =I. }=
Liquoris Potassæ ♏︎L =}=
Aquæ Rosæ f℥viiss. =N.=
Fiat Mistura, ut supra capienda.
168. ℞. Mistur: Amygdal: f℥j =}=
Potassæ Carbonatis gr. x. =I.K. }=
Syrupi Rhæados fʒj =}=
Ft: haust: cum cochl: Succ: Limon: =}=
in impetu effervescentiæ sumend:
_Demulcent & Febrifuge._
169. ℞. Pulv: Cetacei
Pulv: Trag: comp: āā ℥ss =B.=
Syrupi Papaveris q. s. =N.O.=
Misceantur, et fiat Linctus. Dosis cochl: minimum subinde.
170. ℞. Cetacei ʒij
Pulv: Trag: comp: ʒj =}=
Syrup: Papaveris =B. } B.=
Syrup: Tolu: āā fʒij =}=
Confect: Ros: ʒvj =}=
Potassæ Nitratis ʒss =G.=
Fiat Electuarium, de quo capiat ad nucis moschatæ magnitudinem.
171. ℞. Cetacei ʒij
Vitelli ovi dimidium =}=
Syrupi f℥ss. =} B.=
Aquæ Cinnamomi f℥ij =}=
Aquæ destillatæ fʒiv =}=
Fiat Mistura, de qua capiat æger cochleare amplum frequenter.
172. ℞. Amyli ʒiij
Aquæ ferventis f℥iv. =L.=
Solve pro enemate, et adde,
si opus fuerit,
Tinct: Opii fʒss =G.=
173. ℞. Decoct: Lichenis oss
Sumatur quotidie, cochleatim,
instar potus communis.
SUPPLEMENTARY FORMULÆ
FOR CERTAIN REMEDIES
NOT INCLUDED IN THE PHARMACOPŒIA.
1. ℞. Acid: Hydro-cyanic: dilut: ♏︎v
Mist: Amygd: f℥iv =} O.=
Syrup: Tolutan: fʒj =}=
Fiat Mistura, de qua sumatur Cochleare unum amplum tertia quaque hora.
2. ℞. Acid: Hydro-cyanic: dilut: ♏︎xij
Tinct: Digitalis fʒss =F.=
Aquæ Cinnamom: f℥vss =O.=
Sumatur Cochl: unum amplum quartis horis.
3. ℞. Acid: Hydro-cyanic: dilut: fʒj
Aquæ Rosæ f℥iss
Sit pro lotione contra Impetigines utend:
4. ℞. Morphiæ Acetatis gr. xij
Aquæ destillat: f℥j =N.=
Acid: Acetic: dilut: ♏︎v =L.=
Spir: Rectificat: fʒj =P.=
Sumantur guttæ x–xx, ad dolorem leniendum, et somnum conciliandum.
5. ℞. Iodini ℈ij
Spir: Rectificat f℥j
Solve et fiat Tinctura.
℞. Tincturæ Iodini ♏︎v.
Aquæ destillat: f℥j =N.=
Sumr: guttæ x ter quotidie.
6. ℞. Quinæ Sulphat: gr. ij
Acid: Sulphuric: dilut: ♏︎ij =L.=
Aquæ destillat: f℥j
Fiat Haustus, bis terve de die sumend:
OF THE
MEDICINAL DYNAMETER.
This instrument is capable of showing, on mere inspection, the absolute
as well as relative strengths of the different Officinal Preparations of
the Pharmacopœia. The active Principles, or Medicinal Bases, are
distinguished by CAPITAL LETTERS, placed in coloured compartments, and
each Officinal preparation is marked by a line corresponding in colour
with that of its active ingredient. Where a preparation contains two
active ingredients it is distinguished by two coloured lines, as may be
seen in the _Pulvis Ipecacuanhæ comp_. By this expedient the eye, at
once, recognises the different classes of medicines; all those, for
instance, coloured _red_ are Opiates; those _blue_, Mercurials; _green_,
Acetic acid; &c. The introduction of colours, moreover, immediately
indicates the basis to which any preparation refers, and thus prevents
the possibility of doubt or confusion.
If we wish to learn the actual quantity of active matter contained in
any given proportion of a compound, we have only to turn the scale until
the name of such compound coincides with the number in question, when
the figure opposite to the basis solves the problem; thus—how much opium
is contained in 5 grains of the _Pulvis Ipecacuanhæ compositus_? By
having brought this preparation to 5, we shall see ½ opposite to Opium,
denoting that such a number of grains contains half a grain; for, unless
it be otherwise expressed, the figures denote _grains_ for the solids,
and _minims_ for the liquids. And, since the number opposite to the Base
denotes the absolute quantity of it contained in those several
proportions of its Officinal compounds, which are expressed by the
respective numbers opposite to each, it follows that these latter must
all be medicinally equivalent to each other; thus we have seen that 5
grains of _Pulvis Ipecacuanhæ compositus_ contains ½ grain of Opium, if
we turn our eyes to the other Opiate preparations we shall perceive that
each has a different number opposite to it, these figures show the
number of grains of each which contains ½ grain of opium, and
consequently those numbers must be all Equivalents; thus 2½ grains of
_Pil. Saponis comp:_ 5 grains of the _Pulv: Corn: ust: cum Opio_, 9½
minims of Tinctura Opii, 10 grains of _Pulv: Kino comp:_ 18 grains of
_Confectio Opii_, 20 grains of _Pulv: Cretæ comp: cum Opio_, and 120
minims, or two fluid-drachms of _Tinctura Camphor: comp:_ contain half a
grain of Opium, and are consequently all equivalent to each other. This
system of Equivalents will be found of much practical value to the
practitioner, by enabling him, at once, to substitute one preparation
for another, without the risk of altering the dose of its active
ingredients. Suppose, for example, a patient had been taking 8
fluid-drachms of _Mist: Ferri Comp._ and that we wish to give the same
quantity of Protoxide of Iron in the form of the _Pil: Ferri comp_. we
have only to bring the mixture in question to 8, and we shall see 13½
grs. are equivalent, both these quantities of the respective
preparations containing ⅔ds of a grain of protoxide, or a little more
than a grain of the Proto-carbonate. Suppose again, that we have an
acetic acid of sp. gr. 1.059, and that we wish to produce, by its
dilution, two fluid-drachms, or any other quantity, of acid having the
strength of distilled vinegar, the question is, what are the proportions
of water and strong acid to be employed. We have only to bring the
Acidum Aceticum of 1.059, to 120, i. e. to fʒij, and the number opposite
to the strong acid, _viz._ 16, is its equivalent, if therefore we take
16 minims of it, and dilute it with 104 minims of water, we obtain the
mixture required.
Those who are acquainted with the sliding rule of Gunter, or the
chymical scale of Dr. Wollaston, will immediately perceive that the
present circular scale is divided upon the same logometric principle,
and that the mechanical addition and subtraction of ratios here
performed by juxta-position, corresponds in effect to the multiplication
and division of the numbers by which the ratios are expressed in common
arithmetical notation. It is not necessary that I should trouble the
reader with the numerous difficulties and embarrassments which have
opposed themselves to the practical success of this instrument. They
have, after repeated failures, been at length overcome, except perhaps
with regard to a slight central error, which as it is found in the most
accurate brass instruments, could not be avoided where pasteboard alone
had been employed. The error, however, is not of the slightest practical
moment, not occasioning the difference of a hundredth part of a grain.
The proportions of active matter, in the several preparations of each
class, have been, in general, derived from the best authorities,
although in many cases they have been deduced from experiments expressly
instituted for the occasion.
PHARMACOLOGIA.
COMPREHENDING
THE MEDICINAL HISTORY AND CHEMICAL HABITUDES
OF THE
DIFFERENT ARTICLES THAT CONSTITUTE THE
MATERIA MEDICA.
“_Omnium Simplicium Pharmacorum vires nosse oportet cum qui aliquot
compositum est facturus._”
_Ætius._
PHARMACOLOGIA.
ABIETIS[318] RESINA. L. E. D. (Pinus Abies, _Resina concreta_.) _Resin
of the Spruce Fir._
Olim, _Thus—Frankincense_.[319]
QUALITIES. _Form_, tears or small brittle masses: _Odour_, very fragrant
when burning. It has all the chemical properties of a _Resin_, and is
used only for external purposes: see _Pix Arida_. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Empl: Aromatic:_ D. _Empl: Galban: comp:_ L. _Empl: Opii_
L. _Empl: Thuris._ D.
ABSINTHIUM. (Artemisia Absinthium) _Common Wormwood._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, strong and peculiar. _Taste_, intensely bitter,
slightly pungent, and very unpleasant, as its name[320] implies.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Extractive, a small portion of resin, and a green
essential oil; in the first of which its bitterness resides, in the
last, a narcotic principle; hence the watery extract is not possessed of
the nauseous flavour of the plant but retains its bitterness almost
entire; the narcotic principle is therefore dissipated by decoction, but
its tonic and anthelmintic properties are not impaired by that process.
MEDICAL USES. The whole plant is powerfully antiseptic; and its
bitterness renders it stomachic. Infused in ale it forms the beverage
known by the name of _Purl_. Its powers as a vermifuge has bestowed upon
it the name of _Wormwood._ DOSE, ℈j, ℈ij; and of the infusion, (made in
the proportion of ℥j of the plant to oj of water,) f℥i-f℥iss.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. Precipitates are produced in the decoction or
infusion by _Sulphate of Iron_, _Acetate of Lead_, and some other
metallic salts. Tartarized Antimony is not in the least affected by it.
OFF: PREP: _Extract: Absinth:_ D.
ACACIÆ GUMMI. L. (Acacia vera.) Mimosa. Nilotica. E. D. _Gum Arabic._
QUALITIES. It is dry, semi-transparent, brittle and insipid; by exposure
to the air it undergoes no other change than loss of colour. _Specific
Gravity_, 1·515. SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in water in every proportion,
forming a viscid solution, (_mucilage_). One part dissolved in water
affords a fluid of the consistence of syrup; and in two parts, a medium
well calculated for the union of dry powders. Gum is also soluble in
pure alkalies and lime water, as well as in vegetable acids, especially
vinegar, with which it forms a mucilage that may be used as a cement,
like the watery solution, and with the additional advantage of not being
susceptible of mouldiness.[321] It is insoluble in alcohol, as well as
in æther and oils. By strong sulphuric acid the gum is decomposed, and a
considerable proportion of carbon deposited.[322] For a farther history
of its habitudes see _Mucilago Acaciæ_. MEDICINAL USES. It is demulcent
and nutritious; although it appears in certain states of the body to
pass through the bowels without change. When triturated with gum-resins
it assists their mechanical division, as in _Form: 30_. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Mucilago Acaciæ._ L. E. D. _Emulsio Mimosæ Niloticæ._ E.
_Emulsio Arabica._ D. _Mist. Corn. ust._ L. D. (=O=) _Mist. Cretæ._ L.
D. (=O=) _Mist. Moschi._ L. (=O=) _Confect. Amygdal._ L. (=O=) _Pulv.
Cret. co._ L. (=O=) _Pulv. Tragacanth co._ L. (=B=) Trochisci _Carbonat.
Calcis_ E. (=O=) _Troch._ _Glycyrrh. Glab._ E. (=O=) _Troch. Glycyrrh.
cum Opio_ E. (=O=) _Troch. Gummos._ E. (=O=). ADULTERATIONS. Gum Senegal
is not unfrequently substituted for it, but this may be distinguished by
its clammy and tenacious nature; whereas genuine _gum arabic_ is dry and
brittle; the fraud is of no consequence in a medical point of view. It
is also occasionally mixed with the gum of plum and cherry trees; this
fraud however, is to be easily detected, for such gum has peculiar
properties by which it may be chemically distinguished; see _Mucilago
Tragacanth_.
ACETICA. L.E.D. _Preparations of Vinegar._
These preparations consist of vegetable principles dissolved in vinegar.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Acetum Aromaticum._ E. _Acidum Acetosum
camphoratum._ E. Medicated vinegars were formerly much extolled; the
first London Dispensatory contained no fewer than ten, at present the
number is reduced to two, viz. _Acetum Colchici._ L. _Acetum Scillæ._
L.E.D. _which see_.
ACETIS HYDRARGYRI. E. Acetas Hydrargyri. D. _Acetate of Mercury._
QUALITIES. _Form_, small flaky crystals; _Colour_, silvery white;
_Taste_, acrid. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Acetic Acid, and Oxyd of Mercury.
SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in hot, but very sparingly in cold water, and
quite insoluble in Alcohol. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It should be always
given in pills,[323] it is however seldom used. DOSE, gr. j. As an
external application, a solution of it, in the proportion of grs. j. to
f℥i of rose water, has been commended as a cosmetic.
ACETOSÆ FOLIA. L.E. Rumex Acetosa.
_Common Sorrel Leaves._
QUALITIES. _Taste_, grateful, austere and acidulous. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. All its qualities depend upon the presence of
_Super-oxalate of Potass_. In France the plant is commonly cultivated
for the use of the table.
ACETOSELLA. L. Oxalis Acetosella.
_Wood Sorrel._
The qualities of this plant, like those of the preceding, depend upon
_Super-oxalate of Potass_.
ACETUM. L. _Vinegar._
Acidum Acetosum, E. Acetum Vini. D.
QUALITIES. Too well known to require description.[324] CHYMICAL
COMPOSITION. Acetic acid largely diluted with water, vegetable gluten,
mucilage, sugar, extractive matter, and frequently malic and tartaric
acids, together with small proportions of sulphate of lime, sulphate of
potass, and alcohol. Its composition however varies according to the
fermented liquor from which it is obtained:[325] e. g. wine yields a
paler, purer, and stronger acid than fermented malt liquors or solutions
of sugar, hence the superiority of that prepared in France and Italy.
Vinegar is liable to spontaneous decomposition, or to become mouldy, and
consequently for the purposes of pharmacy it should be distilled; as
however the change depends upon the presence of gluten, it may if boiled
be kept for a much longer time, and if powdered _animal_[326] charcoal
be previously added, it will become quite colourless like distilled
vinegar, and that without being impaired in strength, whereas it always
becomes much weaker by distillation. It is a curious circumstance that
this is the only vegetable acid, except the _Prussic_, that rises in
distillation in combination with water.
ADULTERATIONS. Sulphuric acid, as it does not produce any turbid
appearance in vinegar, is generally the acid selected for sharpening it;
but it must be remembered, that the maker is allowed by law, to mix one
thousandth of its weight of Sulphuric acid[327] with it; so that the
_muriate of baryta_ when added to such vinegar may be expected to
produce 1⅕ grain of insoluble _sulphate_ in every fluid-ounce; if a more
considerable quantity of precipitate occurs, we may infer that an
excessive proportion of sulphuric acid is present; although some
allowance ought perhaps to be made for the presence of the sulphates of
potass and lime, which are always contained in vinegar. Of this vinegar
1000 grains should saturate 148 grains of crystallized sub-carbonate of
soda; a fluid-ounce of the same, 68–3/4 grains.[328] For the purpose of
making the vinegar appear stronger, acrid vegetables, as _grains of
Paradise_, _berries of Spurge Flax_, _Capsicum_, _Pellitory of Spain_,
&c. are sometimes infused in it, but by tasting it with attention, the
pungency of such substances may be easily detected. For the other
adulterations, see _Acidum Aceticum_.
The purest vinegar which I have ever examined is that manufactured from
malt, by Mr. Mackintosh of Glasgow. The strongest malt vinegar is termed
_proof vinegar_, and is called by the manufacturer No. 24; it is
estimated to contain 4·73 per cent. of real acetic acid.[329] Its
strength in relation to the other forms of acetic acid, will be seen by
referring to the MEDICINAL DYNAMETER, and to the table inserted under
the article ACIDUM ACETICUM FORTIUS. In the former Editions of this work
it was stated, that a Vinegar had of late years appeared in the market
produced from the distillation of wood, (_Pyroligneous Acid_.) This
article has now come into very general use; and the manufacturers have
at length succeeded in divesting it of that empyreumatic flavour which
had so long rendered it objectionable. See _Acidum Aceticum Fortius e
Ligno destillatum_.
ACETUM COLCHICI. L. _Vinegar of Meadow Saffron._
Vinegar appears to be a solvent of the acrid and medicinal principle
which resides in the bulb of this plant. DOSE fʒss to fʒij. in any bland
fluid. See _Colchici Radix_.
ACETUM SCILLÆ. L.E.D. _Vinegar of Squill._
This preparation is an acetic solution of the acrid matter of the
Squill, upon which its medicinal efficacy depends.[330] DOSE fʒss to
fʒij. in cinnamon or mint water. See _Scillæ Radix_. FORM. 107, 114.
Alkalies and their carbonates are chemically incompatible with these
_Vinegars_. This preparation, as well as the _Oxymel_, deposites when
long kept a precipitate consisting of _citrate of lime_ and _tannin_,
but its medicinal efficacy is not on that account impaired.
ACIDUM ACETICUM DILUTUM. L. Acidum Acetosum Distillatum. E. Acetum
Distillatum. D.
_Common Distilled Vinegar._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, fainter and less agreeable than common vinegar
(_Acetum_): _Taste_, less acid; _Colour_, none. SPECIFIC GRAVITY; Mr.
Phillips states, that when prepared according to the directions of the
Pharmacopœia, it varies from 1·007 to 1·009; and that 1000 grains of the
latter require for their saturation, 145 grains of crystallized
sub-carbonate of soda. I apprehend, however, that it will be found quite
impossible to obtain a dilute acetic acid equal in strength or specific
gravity, to that last mentioned, by the process of the London
College;[331] it may even be doubted whether it can be produced of the
specific gravity 1·007. The general run of distilled vinegar as found in
the shop of the druggist, varies from 1·005 to 1·006, and contains from
2·80 to 2·826 per cent. of real acid; when of the specific gravity of
1·009 it would contain about 4·73 per cent. Dr. Powell states
(_Translation of the Pharmacop: of London_, 1815) that “one fluid-ounce
ought to dissolve at least thirteen grains of _white marble_;” or, what
is equivalent to it, 39·67 grains of crystallized _Sub-carbonate of
Soda_; acid of this strength corresponds very nearly with six degrees of
the Revenue Acetometer, the proportions being as follow, 100 grains of
Pharmacopœia strength will saturate 8·68 grains of crystallized
_Sub-carbonate of Soda_; 100 grains of acid of 6° of the Acetometer will
saturate 8·70 grains of the salt. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Acetic Acid more
largely diluted than that in vinegar, with very minute portions of
uncombined mucilage and extractive. SOLVENT POWERS. It is capable of
dissolving all those vegetable principles which are soluble in water,
and in some cases, as in _Squill_, _Colchicum_, and in several
_Aromatics_ and _Narcotics_, its acid appears to extend its solvent
powers; at the same time it often modifies or diminishes the medicinal
virtues of the substances, as for instance those of _Narcotics_; this
circumstance considerably limits its pharmaceutical application; when
however it is employed, a portion of spirit should be always added, in
order to counteract the spontaneous decomposition to which it is liable,
and the acetic compound should be preserved in stopped bottles. Acetic
acid does not dissolve true resins, but it has some action on gum
resins. MEDICINAL USES. It is refrigerant, and may be advantageously
administered in hemorrhage; especially in cases where the acetate of
lead has been given, since the solubility of this latter substance is
increased by it. See Form. 57; externally, it may be a convenient
adjunct to lotions containing lead. _See Form. 147._ In consequence of
its chemical action upon osseous matter, it has been much employed at
the Gloucester Infirmary to hasten exfoliation of carious bone.
ADULTERATIONS. _Sulphuric Acid_ may be detected by a precipitate being
produced on the addition of acetate of baryta: this test however will
not answer for its detection in common vinegar, for the reason stated
under that article. See _Acetum_. _Sulphurous Acid_ may be recognised by
drawing a little of the vapour into the lungs. The presence of _Nitric
Acid_ may be discovered by saturating the suspected sample with pure
potass, evaporating to dryness, and then treating the product with a
highly concentrated alcohol, the acetate of potass will be thus
dissolved, but as it exerts no action on the _Nitrate_ it will be found
in the residuum, and may be recognised by its deflagration, when thrown
upon burning charcoal;[332] _Copper_ may be detected by the acid
assuming a blue colour, when supersaturated with ammonia; and _Lead_, by
a solution of sulphuretted hydrogen, producing a dark coloured
precipitate. _Tin_ however is the metal with which distilled vinegar is
more usually contaminated, for no vegetable acid will act upon lead
while any tin is present in the mixture, since the latter, being more
oxidable than the former, is exclusively dissolved.
ACIDUM ACETICUM FORTIUS. L.
(_Acidum Aceticum._)
(_e Ligno Destillatum._)
_vulgo, Pyroligneous Acid._
The acetic acid from wood has been very generally introduced to
supersede the use of distilled vinegar for the purposes of Medicine and
the Arts.[333] It is at length found to be capable of such complete
separation from all foreign matter as to afford a perfectly pure acetic
acid, invariable in its acidifying power, and immutable in its chemical
properties. In justice to the skill and industry of Messrs. Beaufoy and
Co. of South Lambeth, I beg to state that I have examined various
specimens of this acid from their manufactory, and that I find it free
from those impurities which have hitherto constituted an insuperable
objection to its introduction into the Materia Medica. The purified
_Pyroligneous_ acid, manufactured by this company, and sold under the
name of “_Improved Distilled Vinegar_,” is perfectly free from any
unpleasant taste, as well as colour and sediment; and it forms a limpid
and colourless solution with ammonia. The common distilled vinegar of
the shops varies essentially in strength as well as purity, differing in
acidifying power from 30 to 40 per cent. in value: it is sometimes 7
degrees, and at others less than 5, by the Revenue Acetometer;[334] and
hence has arisen the difficulty of procuring an uniform article for
medical application, a difficulty which the introduction of the
_pyroligneous_ acid seems calculated to overcome, as it may be procured
from the manufacturers of any degree of concentration,[335] from 6
degrees of the Acetometer, or 2·826 per cent. of real acetic acid to 130
degrees, or 61·49 per cent. of acid; and even of still higher strength
if required; their common, or _Proof_ acid is about equivalent in
strength to that of the best Malt Vinegar, of which 100 grains will
saturate 14½ grains of crystallized _Sub-carbonate of Soda_, and
consequently contains 4·73 per cent. of real acid, and will require at
least one half part of water to reduce it to the strength of the best
common distilled vinegar. It is found that acetic acid of 45 per cent.
real acid, or of 95° of acetometer strength, dissolves Camphor and the
Essential Oils very readily.
The “ACIDUM ACETICUM FORTIUS,” which is now introduced into the Materia
Medica of the London College, is directed to have a specific gravity of
1·046.[336] It is exactly six times the strength of Proof vinegar, or
the strong Malt vinegar manufactured, but it requires to be diluted with
nine times its weight of water to reduce it to the strength of the
ordinary samples of distilled vinegar. Mr. Phillips states, that he has
not met with acetic acid of greater specific gravity than 1·043,[337]
being five times the strength of vinegar of specific gravity 1·009.[338]
The strongest acid that can be procured is the _Glacial_ acid, which
exists in a crystallized state under 50° _Fah._ It contains 79 per cent.
of real acid, and is consequently of the strength of 167·5 of the
Acetometer. If this acid be kept perfectly still, it may be reduced
several degrees below its crystallizing point in a fluid state, when the
slightest agitation of the vessel instantly occasions it to solidify. It
will greatly facilitate our inquiries into the strength of different
samples of acetic acid to know, that the representative numbers of
acetic acid and pure white marble coincide on the scale of equivalents;
it therefore follows that the weight of marble dissolved by a hundred
grains of any acetic acid, will at once represent the percentage of real
acid in such a sample.
The Impure Pyroligneous acid, as it first comes over, contaminated with
Tar, has, it is said, been very successfully employed as a lotion in
Lepra, scrophulous ulcerations, chronic inflammation of the eyes, and
edges of the eye-lids, and for promoting digestion of irritative ulcers,
or those connected with carious bone. It has also been injected into
sinuses to produce healthy discharge and adhesive inflammation.[339] M.
Monge discovered that this acid has the property of preventing the
decomposition of animal substances; it is sufficient to plunge meat for
a few moments in this acid, even slightly empyreumatic, to preserve it
as long as you please. “Putrefaction,” it is said, “not only stops but
retrogrades.” To the empyreumatic oil a part of this effect has been
ascribed, and hence has been explained the agency of wood smoke in the
preservation of tongues, hams, herrings, &c.
ACIDUM ACETOSUM FORTE, E. Acidum Aceticum. D.
_Radical Vinegar._
The process for this preparation has not retained its place in the
London Pharmacopœia, as it is now universally superseded by the Acetic
acid distilled from wood. Since however it possesses peculiar chemical
habitudes, it claims some notice in this work. The concentrated acid
obtained from the decomposition of acetic salts, by the action of
sulphuric acid, is pungent, acrid, and volatile, and when heated with
free access of air, it takes fire very readily. Its solvent powers are
much greater than those of distilled vinegar; it is capable of
dissolving camphor, resins, and essential oils[340] copiously, but they
are precipitated by dilution; it combines with alcohol, and forms a
species of ether; with water it unites in any proportion, heat being
evolved by the mixture. Gold, platinum, glass, and earthenware, can
alone retain this acid without being corroded. It blisters the skin
immediately.
I shall conclude this article by the introduction of a Table, which I
have constructed with considerable care, for the use of the practical
Chemist. The accuracy of the results may be depended upon, since it has
been tested by several different modes of enquiry. The Medicinal
Dynameter will give the equivalents in any other denomination that may
be required.
A TABLE EXHIBITING THE ACETOMETER STRENGTHS, SPECIFIC GRAVITIES,
PERCENTAGE OF REAL ACID, EQUIVALENT VALUE, AND SATURATING POWER, OF THE
MORE IMPORTANT PREPARATIONS OF ACETIC ACID.
┌────────────────┬──────────┬────────┬──────────┬───────────┬─────────┐
│ ACIDS. │ │ │ │ │Grains of│
│ │ │ │ │ │ Sub- │
│ │ │ │ │ │carbonate│
│ │ │ │ │ │ of Soda │
│ │ │ │ │ │saturated│
│ │ │ │Percentage│ │ by 100 │
│ │Acetometer│Specific│ of real │Equivalents│grains of│
│ │strength. │Gravity.│ Acid. │in Minims. │ acid. │
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│Acetum │ │ │ │ │ │
│ Destillatum │ 5·9°│ 1·005│ 2·80│ 810│ 8·58│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│ D° │ 6°│ 1·006│ 2·826│ 803│ 8·66│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│ D° │ 7°│ 1·007│ 3·42│ 663│ 10·48│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│ D° │ 10°│ 1·009│ 4·73│ 480│ 14·5│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│Acetum (Proof) │ 10°│ 1·014│ 4·73│ 480│ 14·5│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│Acid Acetic: │ │ │ │ │ │
│ Fort. │ 50°│ 1·043│ 23·67│ 96│ 72·5│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│Acid Acet: Fort.│ │ │ │ │ │
│ P. L. │ 60°│ 1·048│ 28·43│ 80│ 87│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│Acid: Acet: │ │ │ │ │ │
│ Fort. │ 75°│ 1·059│ 35·475│ 64│ 108·75│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│Acid: Acetic, D.│ │ │ │ │ │
│ Acid: Acetos: │ │ │ │ │ │
│ Fort. E. │ 145°│ 1·070│ 68·5│ 33·1│ 210·25│
├────────────────┼──────────┼────────┼──────────┼───────────┼─────────┤
│Acid: Acetic: │ │ │ │ │ │
│ Fort. │ │ │ │ │ │
│ (_Glacial._) │ 167.5°│ 1·063│ 79│ 28·6│ 242·875│
└────────────────┴──────────┴────────┴──────────┴───────────┴─────────┘
The reader will observe an anomaly with regard to the specific gravity
of the acid of 145 of the acetometer, when compared with the _glacial_
acid. The fact is, that by diluting this latter preparation with a small
portion of water we augment its specific gravity, a circumstance
peculiar to this acid.
ACIDUM BENZOICUM. L.E.D.
_Benzoic Acid._ Vulgo, Flowers of Benzoin, or _Benjamin_.
QUALITIES. _Form_, small feathery crystals of a brilliant white colour,
which are not brittle, but possess a kind of ductility and elasticity,
and, on being rubbed in a mortar, assume the consistence of paste.
_Odour._ As generally met with, it possesses a peculiar aromatic smell,
but this depends upon the oily matter which adheres to it, for Mr. Guise
informs us, that on dissolving the benzoic acid in as little alcohol as
possible, filtering the solution, and precipitating by water, the acid
will be obtained pure, and void of smell, the odorous oil remaining
dissolved in the spirit. _Taste_, rather acrid and sour; _Specific
Gravity_, ·667. It is not altered by exposure to air. SOLUBILITY. Four
hundred parts of cold water dissolve but one, although the same quantity
of boiling water dissolves twenty parts, nineteen of which separate on
cooling; in alcohol it is soluble in a much greater proportion.
MEDICINAL USES. It is said to be stimulant and expectorant; in certain
cases of tracheal irritation, a pill, composed of two grains of Benzoic
acid, and three of Extract of Poppy, has been found serviceable.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Tinctura Camphoræ Composita_, L.D. _Tinct: Opii
Ammoniat:_ E. IMPURITIES. The crystals ought not to be discoloured; they
should dissolve without residuum in alcohol, and when subjected to heat,
ought to be entirely volatilized.
Although this acid is commonly procured from the resinous substance
called Benzoin, yet it exists extensively in other vegetable, and in
some animal substances. In the Tonca bean (_Dipterix odorata_) it is
frequently to be seen beautifully crystallized on its surface. It exists
also in vanello; cinnamon; cloves; ambergris; in the urine of children,
and sometimes in that of adults, and always in that of quadrupeds living
on grass and hay.
ACIDUM CITRICUM. (_Crystalli_) Citric Acid.
_Concrete Acid of Lemons._
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals which are right rhombic prisms, white,
semi-transparent, and persistent. _Taste_, extremely acid, almost
caustic. SOLUBILITY, f℥j of cold water dissolves ʒx, but of boiling,
℥ij. ʒx of the crystals dissolved in a pint of water, are about
equivalent to one pint of lemon juice, the solution however if kept is
liable to spontaneous decomposition. The following table of equivalents
may be found of practical use; the author is aware that they do not
exactly agree with the proportions of Dr. Haygarth, but they are the
results of careful and repeated experiments, and as such they are
submitted with confidence.
EQUIVALENT PROPORTIONS OF CONCRETE CITRIC ACID AND LEMON JUICE,
NECESSARY FOR THE NEUTRALIZATION OF ALKALINE SALTS.
┌──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┐
│ Citric Acid. │ Lemon Juice. │A Scruple of Alkalies. │
├──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┼───────────────────────┤
│ grs. x. │ fʒiij │ Carbonate of Potass. │
├──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┼───────────────────────┤
│ grs. xv. │ fʒiiij │ Sub-Carbonate of │
│ │ │ Potass. │
├──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┼───────────────────────┤
│ grs. xxv. │ fʒvij │ Sub-Carbonate of │
│ │ │ Ammonia. │
└──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┴───────────────────────┘
These alkaline citrates are decomposed by the _oxalic_, _tartaric_, and
the stronger _mineral acids_, and by the solutions of _lime_ and
_barytes_. _Form. 107, 123, 137, 168._
Citric acid decomposes the following salts, _viz._ _The Alkaline,
Earthy, and Metallic Carbonates_; _the Alkaline and Metallic Acetates_;
_the Sulphurets of Earths and Alkalies, and Alkaline Soaps_. It is also
incompatible with _Tartrate of Potass_, which it converts into citrate
and super-tartrate of potass. It curdles the milk of most animals, but
it does not produce that effect on human milk, whether applied hot or
cold. ADULTERATIONS. _Tartaric Acid_, with which it is sometimes mixed,
may be detected by adding to the solution an excess _of Potass_, which
will instantly form with it an insoluble super-tartrate, and precipitate
in granular crystals, or, if a little of the suspected acid be saturated
with potass, and then boiled with a dilute solution of muriate of
Platinum, if tartaric acid be present, a black protoxide of Platinum
will be precipitated. If we add the tartrate of potass for this purpose,
we may be deceived, for the citric acid, by neutralizing a portion of
its base, will convert the remainder into super-tartrate. See _Potassæ
Tartras_. _Sulphuric Acid_ is known by the acetate of lead producing a
precipitate, insoluble in nitric acid. _Muriatic Acid_ may be discovered
in the same manner, substituting only an acidulous solution of nitrate
of silver for the acetate of lead. The presence of _Oxalic Acid_ may be
inferred, if the solution, when added to that of sulphate of lime,
produce a precipitate. Malic acid has the power of precipitating silver,
mercury, and lead, from their solutions in nitric acid, but no doubt or
difficulty can arise from this circumstance, for the fact of its forming
a soluble salt with lime will prevent every chance of accidental
intrusion, and its price at once secures us against its fraudulent
introduction; it might moreover be easily detected by throwing the
suspected precipitate upon burning coals, when it would be decomposed.
Where the presence of _lime_ is suspected, it may be known by dissolving
some of the crystals in water, saturating the solution with ammonia, and
then treating it with the oxalate of that alkali, which, if lime be
present, will immediately separate it in a palpable form. The juices of
many other fruits besides the lemon and lime, will furnish the citric
acid in abundance, and may be obtained from them by a similar process;
e. g. VACCINIUM OXYCOCCUS, the _Cranberry_; PRUNUS PADUS, the _Bird’s
Cherry_; DULCAMARA SOLANUM, the berry of the _Nightshade_; CYNOSBATUS,
vel ROSA CANINA, the hep or fruit of the _Wild Briar_. There are many
plants whose juices contain combinations of the _Citric_ and _Malic_
acids in considerable abundance, such as FRAGARIA VESCA, the _Wood
Strawberry_, and the common _Raspberry_; RIBES RUBRUM the _Red
Gooseberry_; VACCINIUM MYRTILLUS, the _Bilberry_; CRATÆGUS ARIA, the
_Hawthorn_; PRUNUS CERASUS, the _Black Cherry_, &c. This fact is
interesting, since the juices of such fruits have been long known to
possess the property of dissolving the _tartareous_ incrustations on the
teeth.
ACIDUM HYDRO-CYANICUM.
_Hydro-cyanic Acid._ _Prussic Acid._
This peculiar acid exists in a great variety of native combinations in
the vegetable kingdom,[341] and imparts to them certain properties which
have been long known, and esteemed in medicine. It is, however, only
lately, that it has been administered in its simple but diluted form. As
few practitioners will choose to prepare the acid, it seems unnecessary
in the present work to dwell upon the merits of the different processes
which have been proposed for its preparation; for a full account of
them, as well as for other details of importance, the practitioner is
advised to consult a work by Dr. Granville, entitled “_An Historical and
Practical Treatise on the use of Prussic Acid. Second Edition. London,
1820._”
QUALITIES. A colourless transparent liquid, although it occasionally
exhibits a yellow tinge; _Odour_ like that of bitter almonds; _Taste_
bitterish and peculiar: these properties however are soon lost by
exposure to air and light, and the acid undergoes spontaneous
decomposition. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The true nature of _Prussic_ acid
was not ascertained until 1815, when Gay Lussac presented to the Royal
Institute of France, a memoir which at once developed its real chemical
constitution; and it is now admitted to consist of a peculiar gaseous
and highly inflammable compound of carbon and nitrogen, to which the
name _Cyanogene_ has been assigned, and of hydrogen; the latter body
acting as the acidifying principle, whence the term _Hydro-cyanic_ acid
is well contrived to express its composition. The medicinal, or
_diluted_ acid, however, contains but a small proportion of this
concentrated compound; according to M. Majendie, one part of the acid of
Gay Lussac and eight parts and a half of water, by weight, or one part
of acid with six times its volume of water, constitute the preparation
which should be used in medicine; and which, to avoid the possibility of
mistake, ought always to be prescribed as the Acidum Hydro-cyanicum
_dilutum_, and is, in fact, the _Prussic acid_ of Scheele. Dr. Ure, who
has lately taken considerable pains upon this subject, has constructed a
table exhibiting the relations between the specific gravities, and
quantities of real acid, in preparations of different strength; from
these experiments it would appear that an acid of specific gravity 0·996
or 0·997 is such as is usually prescribed in medicine.[342] MEDICAL
USES. In a sufficient dose, hydro-cyanic acid instantly destroys life by
extinguishing the nervous energy of the body;[343] but it has at the
same time been observed that animals submitted to its action would often
continue to breathe for several hours freely, and to circulate their
blood, although no trace of sensibility or muscular contractility could
be found after its application. This remarkable property of
extinguishing the general sensibility, without any ostensible injury to
respiration and circulation, naturally led to a belief that the
hydro-cyanic acid, or prussic acid, might be advantageously used in
cases of excessive sensibility and irritation, particularly when these
two morbid states are likely to affect either the respiratory organs or
the circulation generally. This kind of analogical reasoning, it is
said, induced Professor Brera, ten years ago, to administer it in cases
of high pulmonary and other inflammations, in doses of four drops twice
a day; when, as we are told, the violence of the disease was quickly
subdued. The remedy, however, does not appear to have excited much
attention, until after the first essay of Dr. Majendie, who deserves
whatever credit may belong to its introduction. Seven years of trial
have elapsed, and the general sense of the medical profession with
respect to its utility may now be collected. As a palliative in certain
spasmodic coughs, there is reason for supposing that it _may sometimes_
be useful, but in that species of pulmonary irritation for which it was
at first so greatly extolled, I will venture to assert that it is far
inferior in efficacy to well directed doses of _Conium_. But there is
another class of diseases in which its exhibition is said to prove
useful, in dyspeptic affections attended with heartburn; where it is
supposed to be capable of reducing the morbid irritability of the
stomach, and thereby of enabling the juices of that organ to be more
slowly secreted and of a more healthy character. Dr. Elliotson has
published the result of his treatment of stomach complaints with this
medicinal agent, and would appear to appropriate to himself the merit of
originating the practice, a claim which Mr. Thomson, in the third
edition of his Dispensatory, refuses to concede.[344] As a local remedy,
prussic acid has also received no small share of commendation, and it
has been said that it is the only application that can be depended upon
for allaying the cutaneous irritation so frequently attendant upon
certain impetiginous affections. It must, however, be confessed that
this medicine is rapidly declining in popularity.[345] Any prejudice
raised against it, upon the ground of its poisonous activity in large
doses, is too absurd to be believed; the knife and the caustic are
unquestionably powerful, and may therefore become dangerous instruments;
but who ever blames the surgeon for employing a sharp knife or an active
caustic, seeing that both are to be directed by his eye, and guided by
his hand? FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It may be conveniently administered in
any liquid vehicle, as distilled water, camphor mixture, or in some
vegetable infusion. See _Supplementary Formulæ_, 1, 2, 3. A question has
lately arisen whether the effects of the prussic acid might not be more
conveniently ensured by the administration of some vegetable[346] in
which it exists as a native ingredient; a company of associated
Physicians, Surgeons, and Naturalists at Florence, have accordingly
expressed their joint opinion, that the essential oil of the _Prunus
Lauro Cerasus_ is to be preferred in medical practice to all other
preparations which contain the hydro-cyanic acid; for, say they, unlike
the distilled water of the plant, and pure prussic acid, it contains the
same proportion of active matter, and of the same power, whether
recently prepared or not; whether made in one place or another; or
whether it has been exposed or not to the air, light, or heat. They are
also of opinion that olive oil forms the best vehicle for its exhibition
in the proportion of one ounce to twelve drops of the essential oil.
Other practitioners again prefer _Laurel Water_, made by distilling two
drachms of the fresh leaves chopped, with four ounces of water,
recommitting the distilled water twice afterwards on the same quantity
of fresh leaves, and making ultimately four ounces of the menstruum, of
which from ♏︎xxx to fʒj every six hours may be given until a sedative
effect is produced. See _Oleum Amygdalæ Amaræ_. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES.
Hydro-cyanic acid is decomposed by most of the _oxydes_ usually employed
in medicine, particularly by those of _Mercury_ and _Antimony_. The
alkalies do not appear to diminish its efficacy. _Nitrate of Silver_,
and the salts of iron occasion precipitates; nor ought the _sulphurets_,
the _mineral acids_, or _chlorine_ to enter with it into prescriptions.
DOSE. Of the medicinal, or _diluted_ hydro-cyanic acid, ♏︎ij,–viij.
There is however considerable difficulty with regard to the strength of
the dilute acid employed in medicine, since the density is a criterion
of greater nicety than can be conveniently used by the majority of
practitioners; in fact, as Dr. Ure has observed, the liquid at 0·996,
contains about double the quantity of real acid, which it does at 0·998.
Dr. Ure has accordingly proposed another test of the strength of this
powerful and dangerous medicine, which is not only easier in use, but
more delicate in its indications;[347] it is as follows. To 100 grains,
or any other convenient quantity of the prussic acid, contained in a
small phial, add in succession, small quantities of the peroxide of
mercury, (the common _red precipitate_ of the shops) in fine powder,
till it ceases to be dissolved on agitation. The weight of the red
precipitate taken up, being divided by four, gives a quotient
representing the quantity of real prussic acid present. By weighing out
before hand, on a piece of paper, or a watch glass, forty or fifty
grains of the peroxide, the residual weight of it shews at once the
quantity expended. The operation may always be completed in five
minutes, for the red precipitate dissolves as rapidly in the dilute
prussic acid, with the aid of slight agitation, as sugar dissolves in
water. ADULTERATIONS. If, says Dr. Ure, the presence of muriatic acid be
suspected, then the specific gravity of the liquid compared with the
gravity of the peroxide dissolved, will shew how far the suspicion is
well founded; thus if 100 grains of acid, specific gravity 0·996,
dissolve more than 12 grains of the red precipitate, we may be sure that
the liquid has been contaminated with muriatic acid. _Nitrate of
Silver_, in common cases, so valuable a reagent for muriatic acid, is
unfortunately of little use here, for it gives with prussic acid, a
flocculent white precipitate, soluble in water of ammonia, and insoluble
in nitric acid, which may easily be mistaken by common observers, for
the _chloride_ of that metal. But the difference in the volatility of
prussiate and muriate of ammonia may be had recourse to with advantage;
the former exhaling at a very gentle heat, the latter requiring a
subliming temperature of about 300° _Fah._ After adding ammonia in
slight excess to the prussic acid, if we evaporate to dryness at a heat
of 212°, we may infer from the residuary sal ammoniac, the quantity of
muriatic acid present.
ANTIDOTES. To counteract the poisonous effect of prussic acid, Orfila
recommends, after full vomiting has been excited, the exhibition of
three or four spoonsful of oil of turpentine, in the infusion of coffee,
at intervals of half an hour. M. Virey conceives that sulphate of iron
in solution is the best antidote, he having observed that the salt
restored a cow that was nearly killed by the essential oil of bitter
almonds. When an overdose has been taken, hot brandy and water, and the
ammoniated tincture of iron are recommended by Mr. Thomson; on the
former I should rely with much greater confidence than upon the latter
antidote, or, in other words, it is from vital agents, counteracting its
sedative influence, rather than from chemical substances, changing its
composition, that we can expect any benefit upon such an occasion. For
the chemical processes by which the presence of this acid may be
ascertained, the reader may consult my work on Medical Jurisprudence,
vol. 2, p. 408.
ACIDUM MURIATICUM. L.E.D.
_Muriatic Acid._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a liquid of the specific gravity 1·16, a fluid-ounce
of which weighs about 527 grains, and according to Dr. Powell ought,
when diluted, to dissolve 220 grains of limestone. _Odour_, strong and
pungent; if exposed to the air it emits white fumes. _Taste_, intensely
sour and caustic; it is however the weakest of the three mineral acids;
and no remarkable elevation of temperature is produced by dilution.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The liquid acid is a solution of muriatic acid gas
in water; when of the specific gravity 1·16, according to Davy, it
contains 32·32 per cent of the gas, which recent experiments have shewn
to be a compound of _Chlorine_ (_Oxy-muriatic acid)_ and hydrogen in
equal volumes. It has therefore received a name expressive of its
composition, and is called _Hydro-chloric[348] acid_. We accordingly
find that the former element is disengaged from muriatic acid by adding
any substance capable of uniting with its hydrogen. For the purpose of
obtaining _Chlorine_, we may take three parts of common salt, one of
black oxide of manganese, and rather less than three of strong sulphuric
acid.[349] Accounts have been received from Spain, that in the midst of
the dreadful contagion which reigned in that country, the inhabitants
always escaped in those houses where fumigations of chlorine had been
used. In our own country, the Penitentiary has lately undergone
fumigation by this gas, under the superintendance of Mr. Faraday.[350]
Muriatic acid gas has also been strongly recommended for the same
purpose; it may be easily evolved by pouring sulphuric acid on common
salt. If nitric and muriatic acids be mixed, a mutual decomposition
takes place, of which water, chlorine, and nitrous acid are the results;
this constitutes “nitro-muriatic acid,” the _Aqua regia_ of the older
chemists. A bath acidulated with an acid of this kind has been
recommended by Dr. Scott, as a powerful remedy for diseases of the liver
in particular, and as a substitute for mercury in general. On the
possible influence of this bath, I would beg to make one
observation,—that the extensive application of a dilute acid to the
surface of the body, is, under certain circumstances, capable of
affecting the bowels. I have witnessed such an effect from sponging with
vinegar and water. In this way the acidulated bath may occasionally
produce benefit, but it is extremely difficult to conceive how it can be
indebted for its utility to any other mode of operation. (See _Journal
of Science and the Arts_, No. 2.) FORMS OF EXHIBITION. Muriatic acid
should be administered in some bland fluid, as barley water, gruel, &c.
(_Formula 145._) I have uniformly exhibited it with success in the most
malignant cases of typhus and scarlatina, during several years extensive
practice in the Westminster Hospital. See _page 157_. We should be
careful not to apportion its dose in a leaden or pewter spoon. The
antiseptic properties of this acid have been long known; Sir Wm. Fordyce
relates that a “dry-salter” acquired a large fortune from possessing a
secret that had enabled him to send out provisions to India in a better
state of preservation than any others of the trade; his secret consisted
in adding a small quantity of muriatic acid to the contents of each
cask. After a copious evacuation of the bowels, it is in my experience
the most efficacious remedy for preventing the generation of worms; for
which purpose the infusion of quassia, stronger than that of the
Pharmacopœia, is the best vehicle. DOSE, ♏︎v-xx, frequently repeated. It
may be here observed that where the permanent influence of an acid is
required, a mineral one should be always preferred, as such bodies
appear to be beyond the control of the digestive process,[351] and are
incapable of being decomposed by it; see _Form. 158_, whereas on the
contrary it seems probable that the organs of assimilation have command
over those of a vegetable nature, and generally decompose them. Dr.
Marcet has very judiciously noticed this fact in his luminous work on
the treatment of calculi, and I have ventured to offer some farther
observations upon this subject, which may be of practical value, under
the consideration of _Lithonthryptics_, page 123. ADULTERATIONS.
_Sulphuric acid_ is detected by diluting the acid with six parts of
distilled water, and adding a few drops of the muriate of baryta, which
occasions a white precipitate if any be present. _Iron_, by saturating a
diluted portion with pure carbonate of soda, and adding prussiate of
potass, which will indicate its presence by a blue precipitate; or by a
solution of ammonia, which, when added slightly in excess, throws down
the peroxide of iron of a reddish yellow colour. _Copper_, by the
production of a blue colour when supersaturated with ammonia. The yellow
tinge of the acid usually met with in commerce, may depend either upon
the presence of iron, vegetable extractive, or a small portion of
chlorine. This latter body may be recognised by the odour, or by its
power of dissolving gold leaf.
ACIDUM NITRICUM. L.E.D. _Nitric Acid._
Aqua Fortis.
QUALITIES. A limpid liquid of the specific gravity 1·500, a fluid-ounce
of which is equal to about 11 drachms, 1 scruple by weight, and ought to
decompose of pure limestone an ounce; it emits white fumes of a
suffocating odour. _Taste_, extremely acid; it is highly corrosive, and
tinges the skin indelibly yellow; an effect which is considerably
heightened by the subsequent application of an alkali, so that these
agents afford the means of detecting minute portions of animal matter,
and were ingeniously employed for such an object by Mr. Hatchett.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. When of the specific gravity 1·500, it contains
74·895 per cent. of dry acid; (whose ultimate elements are one portion
of nitrogen and five of oxygen) the compliment 25·105 parts is water. It
is decomposed with violent action by all combustibles, and when mixed
with volatile oils, it causes their inflammation. It boils at 210°, and
when its specific gravity is below 1·4, it is strengthened, when
stronger than 1·45 it is weakened by ebullition. USES. It is principally
employed as a pharmaceutical agent; _viz._ for the preparation of
_Argenti Nitras_; _Liquor Ferri Alkalini_; _Hydrargyri Nitri-co-oxydum_;
_Spiritus Etheris Nitrici_; and _Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis_. As an
escharotic it has been frequently employed for the destruction of
tumours, and is certainly of value where an immediate destruction of
diseased parts is required. The method of using the strong nitric acid
in such cases is to smear all the sound parts in the immediate vicinity
of the ulcer with _Ung: Resin: Nig:_ and then to apply pledgets of lint
firmly upon the ulcer for a few seconds, by which the whole surface will
be deadened, and a deep slough remain, underneath which healthy
suppuration and granulations will ensue.[352] ADULTERATIONS. _Sulphuric
acid_ may be detected by a precipitate being produced on the addition of
nitrate of baryta; in the application however of this test, Mr. Hume has
shewn that unless this as well as the nitric acid be diluted, a
precipitate will occur, although sulphuric acid should not be present; a
circumstance which depends upon the barytic salt yielding its water of
solution to the acid under examination, and becoming insoluble.
_Muriatic acid_ is discovered by nitrate of silver, affording a
precipitate at first white, but becoming coloured by exposure to light;
the nitric acid ought to be perfectly colourless, but to preserve it in
such a state it must be closely stopped, and kept in a dark place, or it
will soon be converted into nitrous acid.
ACIDUM NITRICUM DILUTUM. L.
Acidum Nitrosum Dilutum. E.D.
_Dilute Nitric Acid._
It is much to be regretted that the proportion of water directed for the
dilution of the acid, varies considerably in the different
pharmacopœias; that prepared according to the Edinburgh and Dublin
formulæ, being in strength to that of the present Pharmacopœia of
London, as 4 to 1: _specific gravity_, 1·080; each fluid-drachm contains
nearly 8½ grains of the concentrated acid, and saturates 18 grains of
crystallized sub-carbonate of soda. DOSE ♏︎x to xl. The acid is a very
powerful anti-phlogistic remedy; it has been much extolled in diseases
of the liver, and in syphilis. Mr. Pearson however observes that we
ought not to rely upon it in any form of lues venerea, although it may
be often serviceable in restraining the progress of the disease when an
impaired constitution or other circumstances render the exhibition of
mercury improper; when sufficiently dilute, it forms an excellent lotion
for old indolent ulcers. It proves also expectorant, see _Form. 139,
140_; and it is occasionally used with success for the purpose of
counteracting the consecutive effects of opium. See _Form. 16_.
ACIDUM NITROSUM. E.D. _Nitrous Acid._
QUALITIES. A liquid emitting fumes of a flame-red colour, and of a very
pungent and remarkable odour. The acid is either blue, green,
straw-coloured, clear orange yellow, according to the proportion of
nitrous acid gas[353] with which it is charged. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
This acid is improperly denominated _Nitrous_, for it is nitric acid,
holding nitrous acid gas loosely combined; by dilution this last
constituent is disengaged, and the acid, after passing through a
succession of different colours, becomes pure nitric acid; the
application of a gentle heat effects the same changes.
ACIDUM SULPHURICUM. L.E.D. Sulphuric Acid.
_Oil of Vitriol, Vitriolic Acid._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a thick liquid of an oily consistence, specific
gravity 1·85; a fluid-ounce weighs a fraction of a grain more than
fourteen drachms. _Colour_, none, but it acquires a brown tinge from the
smallest portion of carbonaceous matter; mere exposure to the air is
sufficient for this purpose, in consequence of the acid disorganizing
and carbonating the vegetable and animal matter suspended in the
atmosphere; it is therefore evident that bottles in which it is
preserved ought not to have stoppers of cork, but those of glass.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Like the other mineral acids, it has never been
obtained in an insulated state without water; according to Davy, the
composition of the strongest acid may be thus expressed: sulphur 30,
oxygen 45, water 17. It has a very powerful affinity for water, and
produces when mixed with it a very considerable heat; exposed to the
atmosphere it imbibes at least seven times its own weight of water, and
so rapidly as to double its weight in a month; when of the specific
gravity 1·85, it rises in vapour at about 550°, and distils unaltered,
whereas weaker acids lose water by being boiled, and are brought to that
degree of concentration; when diluted with 12 or 13 per cent. of water,
an acid results of the specific gravity 1·780, and in this state of
dilution it boils at 435°, and freezes sooner than water; a knowledge of
this curious fact suggests to the prudent chemist an important
precaution; Mr. Parkes, in his Chemical Essays, vol. ii. relates the
occurrence of a terrible accident which happened in consequence of this
circumstance not having been attended to.—“Carboy after carboy burst by
the expansion of the acid in the act of freezing, and had not the packed
carboys that remained been immediately immersed in tepid water, not a
single one would have escaped the general wreck.”
ADULTERATIONS. The ordinary acid of the shops contains in general 3 or 4
per cent. of saline matter, which consists of about two-thirds of
sulphate of potass, and one-third of sulphate of lead. Dr. Ure observes,
that even more is occasionally found, in consequence of the employment
of nitre to remove the brown colour given to the acid by carbonaceous
matter; the amount of adulteration, he observes, may be readily
determined by evaporating a definite weight of the acid in a small
capsule of platinum; these impurities however in a medical point of view
are immaterial, since they are at once separated by dilution, but in a
commercial sense they deserve attention, as their presence considerably
increases the specific gravity of the acid. Dr. Ure is of opinion that
genuine commercial acid should never exceed 1·8485, and that any density
beyond this is the effect of saline combination. _Journal of Science and
the Arts, No. 7._
ACIDUM SULPHURICUM DILUTUM. L.E.D.
Dilute Sulphuric Acid.
By the dilution of this acid two objects are accomplished,—it is
purified, and its dose is more easily apportioned; but it is a
circumstance of regret that the strength of this preparation should so
materially vary in the different Pharmacopœias.
After the acid is diluted, the sediment ought to be carefully removed,
and the water employed for the purpose should be distilled, for although
it be in its purest natural state, it will nevertheless contain
impregnations capable of affecting the acid. USES. In addition to the
antiseptic and refrigerant virtues which it possesses in common with the
other mineral acids, it has astringent properties that render it a most
valuable medicine, especially in weakness and relaxation of the
digestive organs, in colliquative sweats, in internal hæmorrhagy; in
Epistaxis and Hemopthysis it was Sydenham’s favourite remedy; on the
same account, when sufficiently dilute, it has been successfully used as
a collyrium in the atonic stages of ophthalmia, and as an injection in
protracted gonorrhæa. Dose, ♏︎x to xl, the quantity of strong sulphuric
acid in any given quantity of the dilute may be found by the Dynameter.
To prevent it from injuring the enamel of the teeth it may be sucked
through a quill, and the mouth should be carefully washed after each
dose. The _Infusum Rosæ_ furnishes an elegant vehicle for its
administration. _See Form. 40_. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Acidum
Sulphuricum Aromaticum._[354] E. _Infusum Rosæ._ L.
ACIDUM TARTARICUM. L.
_Tartaric Acid._
QUALITIES. _Form_, Crystals of considerable size, whose primary form is
an oblique rhombic prism; they do not deliquesce when exposed to the
air, but melt at a heat a little exceeding 212°. _Taste_, very acid and
agreeable. SOLUBILITY. Water at 60° dissolves about one-fifth of its
weight, and when boiling, a much greater proportion. The solution,
which, if saturated, has the specific gravity 1·230, acquires, when
diluted, like that of most vegetable acids, a mouldy pellicle by
keeping. The saturating power of crystallized tartaric acid is almost
exactly equal to that of crystallized citric acid, the atomic weight of
the former being 76, and that of the latter 75. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
When uncombined with water, as it exists in tartrate of potass, it is
composed of 5 atoms of oxygen, 3 atoms of hydrogen, and 4 atoms of
carbon. The crystals consist of 1 atom of acid and 1 of water.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. Alkalies, Earths, and their carbonates; the
salts of lime and lead. The solutions of the salts of potass are
converted by it into bi-tartrate, or super-tartrate. MEDICINAL USES. It
is introduced into the Pharmacopœia as a cheap and efficient substitute
for the citric acid. It is also used in the preparation of _Sodaic
powders_, _Seidlitz powders_, &c. ADULTERATIONS. When carelessly
prepared it will contain sulphuric acid, to detect which, let a portion
be dissolved in distilled water, and a solution of acetate of lead be
added. A precipitate will appear which, if the acid be pure, will be
entirely redissolved by a few drops of acetic acid, or pure nitric acid.
If any portion remain undissolved, sulphuric acid is the cause. Muriate
of Baryta also, when sulphuric acid is present, but not otherwise, gives
a precipitate insoluble by an excess of muriatic acid.
ACONITI FOLIA. L.E.D. (_Aconitum Napellus._[355]) _Aconite._
_Woolfsbane, Monkshood._
QUALITIES. _Taste_, moderately bitter, and acrid, leaving in the mouth a
painful sensation of heat and roughness, followed by numbness in the
gums and lips which continues for two or three hours. _Odour_, faint and
narcotic; their peculiar properties are considerably deteriorated by
drying. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. M. Brandes has ascertained that the
narcotic principle of this plant is a peculiar alkali, to which he has
given the name _Aconita_.[356] SOLUBILITY, water and alcohol only
imperfectly extract their virtues. MEDICINAL USES. It is narcotic, and
occasions, in over-doses, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, hyper-catharsis,
cold sweats, convulsions, and death; effects which entirely depend upon
its action on the brain. It was first administered in 1702, by Stöerk,
of Vienna, in chronic rheumatism, gout, schirrus, and paralysis; more
lately it has been employed in scrofula, cancer, and intermittents, and
it is said with much effect. On account of the variable strength of the
leaves they can hardly be given with safety and effect; the extract
(_which see_,) presents the more eligible form of exhibition. The leaves
are, however, sometimes given in the form of powder, generally combined
with some mercurial alterative, or with antimonials, camphor, and other
diaphoretics. DOSE gr. i-x. OFFICINAL PREP: _Extractum Aconiti._ L.E.
ADEPS PRÆPARATA. L. ADEPS SUI SCROFÆ, _vulgo_ Axungia Porcina. E. ADEPS
SUILLUS PRÆPARATUS. D.
_Prepared Hog’s Lard. Fat. Axunge._[357]
QUALITIES. _Consistence_, soft or nearly semifluid. _Odour and Taste_,
none; at 97° it melts. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It consists of two distinct
bodies which appear to exist together in a state of mechanical mixture,
viz. _Stearin_, (from στεαρ tallow) which is white, brittle, and in
appearance somewhat resembling wax; and _Elain_ (from ελαὶον, oil) very
similar to vegetable oil in appearance, and is liquid at 59°. According
to the experiments of Braconnot, the proportion of _Elain_ is to that of
_Stearin_, in hog’s lard, as 62:38. SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble in water
and alcohol; with the alkalies it unites and forms soaps. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. _Extracts_, _Spirituous Preparations_, _Tinctures_, and
_Infusions_, are incapable of uniting perfectly with lard, without some
intermedium; the following substances on the contrary are capable of
contracting with it a most intimate union. 1. _All dry powders_, whether
of a vegetable or mineral nature. 2. _Fixed and Volatile Oils._ 3.
_Balsams._ 4. _Camphor._ 5. _Soaps._ It is principally employed in the
formation of ointments, plasters, and liniments.
ÆRUGO. L. D. (Sub-acetas Cupri _Impura._) SUB-ACETIS CUPRI. E.
_Verdigris._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a dry mass composed of minute crystals, not
deliquescent; _Colour_, bluish green. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Several
constituents enter into its composition, viz. Acetate and sub-acetate of
copper, carbonate of copper, and copper partly metallic and partly
oxidized; it contains also the stalks of grapes and other extraneous
substances. SOLUBILITY. Boiling water dissolves it in part, and produces
in it a chemical change, by transforming one portion of the
_sub_-acetate into the soluble acetate, and another into an oxyd of
copper, which is precipitated; with cold water this substance demeans
itself differently, the acetate is dissolved by it, whilst that portion
which is in the state of _sub_-salt remains suspended in the form of a
fine green powder. Vinegar converts all the _Ærugo_ into a soluble
acetate, this liquid therefore ought never to be employed for favouring
vomiting in cases where an overdose has been swallowed, for the reasons
stated in the first part of this work, p. 136. Sulphuric acid poured on
powdered _verdigris_ decomposes it with effervescence, and vapours of
acetic acid are disengaged. It appears from the experiments and
observations of Duval and Orfila, that sugar exercises a chemical action
on it, by which its solubility is diminished, and that on this account
it acts as a specific against its poisonous effects. USES. It is so
uncertain and violent in its operation that it is rarely employed,
except externally,[358] when it acts as a powerful detergent, and mild
escharotic; and in the form of ointment, is a valuable application for
many cutaneous affections, especially the aggravated kinds of Tetter.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Ærugo Præparata_, D. _Linimentum Æruginis._ L.
D. ADULTERATIONS. There is a spurious article sold under the name of
_English Verdigris_, which consists of sulphate of copper, triturated
with acetate of lead; and to make the fraud still more complete, the
soft mass is mixed with the stalks of Raisins.
ÆTHER SULPHURICUS RECTIFICATUS. L.
_Rectified Sulphuric Æther._
QUALITIES. A colourless liquid of specific gravity 739°. _Odour_,
pungent and fragrant; it is highly volatile, and when perfectly free
from alcohol it boils at 98°; it is extremely inflammable, a
circumstance which should be remembered when it is poured from one
vessel to another by candle light. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. When pure it
consists of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon; the rectified æther however
still contains some water and alcohol, for Lovitz obtained an æther of
632. SOLUBILITY. One part requires for its solution ten of water; with
alcohol and ammonia it unites in every proportion. SOLVENT POWERS. It is
one of the most powerful solvents known in vegetable chemistry, as it
dissolves balsams, resins, gum-resins, wax, camphor, extractive, &c.; it
takes up about a twentieth of its weight of sulphur, but it exerts no
solvent power upon the fixed alkalies. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In any
liquid vehicle, if in decoctions or infusions, they should be previously
cooled. _See Formulæ 20, 22, 23_. MEDICAL USES. It is highly valuable as
a diffusible stimulant, narcotic, and antispasmodic. DOSE, fʒss to fʒij,
which, in order to produce the full effect of the remedy, must be
repeated at short intervals. Æther, independent of such virtues, has
another valuable property consequent upon its rapid evaporation, that of
producing cold and dryness; it is therefore, when externally applied and
allowed to evaporate, a most powerful refrigerant, and has proved
valuable in scalds or burns, in facilitating the reduction of
strangulated hernia, and in diminishing excessive circulation in the
brain; if however it be so confined, that its rapid evaporation is
prevented, a very opposite effect is produced, and it proves stimulant,
rubefacient, and even vesicatory. With regard to the other property
incidental to it, that of producing dryness, I am not aware that it has
hitherto been applied to any pharmaceutical purpose; the fact may be
satisfactorily shewn by a very simple experiment,—by rincing a phial
with æther, to the interior of which drops of water obstinately adhere,
when by exposing it to a current of air, it will be completely dry in a
few minutes. It may be noticed in this place that a mixture of sulphuric
and muriatic æthers evaporates instantaneously, and produces a degree of
cold considerably below 0 of Fahrenheit. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Spiritus Æther: Sulph:_ L. _Spir: Æth: Sulph: comp:_ L. _Spir: Æth:
Aromat:_ L. ADULTERATIONS and IMPURITIES. Its specific gravity affords
the best indication of its purity; _Sulphuric Acid_ may be detected by a
precipitation on the addition of a solution of baryta, and by its
reddening the colour of litmus; _Alcohol_, by its forming with
phosphorus a milky instead of a limpid solution. M. Gay Lussac has
observed that when kept for a considerable time without disturbance, it
undergoes spontaneous decomposition, and that acetic acid, perhaps some
alcohol, and a particular oil, are produced from it.
ALCOHOL.[359] L.D. _Alcohol. Ardent Spirit._
QUALITIES. A transparent, and colourless liquid of the specific gravity
·815; it has not hitherto been rendered solid by any diminution of
temperature; it boils at 176°, and if water be added, its boiling point
is proportionably raised; hence, says Dr. Henry, the temperature at
which it boils is not a bad test of its strength; it is combustible, and
burns with a blue flame, leaving no residue. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
Alcohol, in a state of complete purity, consists of carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen, in proportions not hitherto determined with accuracy; this
preparation however contains 7 per cent. of water; Lovitz and Saussure
succeeded in obtaining it at a specific gravity of ·791, which may be
considered as nearly pure. Alcohol unites chemically with water; and
caloric is evolved during this union; the quantity of alcohol and water
in mixtures of different specific gravities, may be learned from Mr.
Gilpin’s tables, _Philosophical Transactions_, 1794, or _Nicholson’s
Journal_, _4to. vol._ 1. The Edinburgh Pharmacopœia has no process for
the preparation of alcohol, but it most incorrectly assigns the title to
that which is the “Rectified Spirit” of the other Colleges. SOLVENT
POWERS. Alcohol dissolves soap; vegetable extract; sugar; oxalic,
camphoric, tartaric, gallic, and benzoic acids; volatile oils; resins,
and balsams; it combines also with sulphur, and the pure fixed alkalies,
but not with their carbonates: for its other habitudes, and
applications, see _Spiritus Rectificatus_.
ALLII RADIX. L.E.D. Allium Sativum.
_Garlic._[360]
QUALITIES. This bulbous root has when recent a fœtid smell, and acrid
taste, which are extracted by watery infusion; by decoction they are
nearly lost; by expression, the root furnishes almost one-fourth of its
weight of a limpid juice, and by distillation, an odorous, acrid,
essential oil is procured, in which the existence of sulphur may be
detected. Garlic has a considerable analogy to squill and onion, and
like them, exerts a diuretic, diaphoretic, expectorant, and stimulant
operation; (see p. 103). It is a very common domestic remedy for the
expulsion of tænia, and it is undoubtedly of advantage in such cases; it
is usually administered in the form of a decoction, with milk, on an
empty stomach; it is however but rarely used in modern practice, as it
possesses no superiority over remedies less nauseous and objectionable;
the bruised root, externally applied, is highly stimulant, and
rubefacient. Sydenham speaks highly of the application of garlic to the
soles of the feet, as a powerful means of producing revulsion from the
head. OFFICINAL PREPARATION. _Syrupus Allii._ D.[361]
ALOES EXTRACTUM. _Aloes._
There are three species met with in the shops, viz.
1. ALÖE SPICATA, L. Socotorina, D. Socrotrine Aloes.
PERFOLIATA. E. Cape Aloes.
2. ALÖE VULGARIS.[362] L. Hepatica, E. D. Common or Barbadoes Aloes.
3. ALÖE CABALINA. Fetid, Cabaline, or Horse Employed only by Farriers.
Aloes.
QUALITIES. The above varieties of aloe differ in their purity, and
likewise in their sensible qualities; the _Socotrine_ is the purest, it
is in small pieces of a reddish brown colour; the _Barbadoes_ is in
large masses, of a lighter colour, and having an odour much stronger and
less pleasant; the _Cabaline_ is still more impure and less powerful.
All the kinds are characterized by an intensely bitter taste, which, in
the _Socotrine_, is accompanied by an aromatic flavour. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. In this there appears to be some obscurity; M. Braconnot
(_Ann. Chim. tom. 68._) conceives it to be a substance, _sui generis_,
which he terms “_bitter resin_,” while others regard it as composed of
resin, gum, and extractive, the proportions of which are supposed to
vary in the different species, but that their peculiar virtues reside in
the extractive part. SOLUBILITY. It is to the slowness with which aloe
undergoes solution in the _primæ viæ_, that it is indebted for the
medicinal properties which distinguish this substance; by boiling water
it is dissolved, but on cooling a precipitation ensues, and by long
decoction it becomes quite inert; weak acids dissolve it more abundantly
than water, but proof spirit is the most perfect solvent: its solubility
is increased by the addition of alkaline salts and soaps, but by such a
combination it undergoes a material change in its medicinal properties;
the bitterness is diminished, its purgative effects impaired, and it
ceases to operate specifically upon the large intestines, a fact so far
valuable, as it enables us in certain cases to obviate its irritating
action upon the rectum. MEDICINAL USE. Aloe is a bitter stimulating
purgative, emptying the large intestines, without making the stools
thin; it likewise warms the habit, quickens the circulation, and
promotes the uterine and hemorrhoidal fluxes. DOSE, gr. v.–xv. No
greater effect is produced by a large dose than from one comparatively
moderate; its tendency, however, to irritate the rectum renders it, in
many cases, an objectionable remedy;[363] and its sympathetic action on
the uterus may occasionally produce mischief, in irritable habits, while
in other states it may, for reasons equally obvious, prove beneficial.
FORMS OF EXHIBITION. The form of pill should be preferred on account of
its extreme bitterness, as well as being, for the reasons above
mentioned, the one most likely to fulfil the intention of its
exhibition; for in addition to what has been stated in a preceding part
of this work, on the important influence of solubility, it may be here
observed that since the aloe does not undergo solution in the stomach,
it is admirably adapted for the basis of remedies intended to obviate
constitutional costiveness, for in our endeavours to supply the
deficiencies of nature by the resources of art, we should at least
attempt to imitate the modes of her operation; the natural stimulus of
the intestines, the bile, is poured into them below the stomach, and
whenever it regurgitates into that organ it produces disease; so it
happens with our cathartic medicines, and unless we so modify their
solubility that their operation cannot commence until after their
passage through the stomach, we shall find that we only increase the
evil we are endeavouring to obviate, and that, in addition to the torpor
of the intestinal canal, we shall induce the stomach to participate in
the disease, or excite a morbid fretfulness of that organ which will be
attended with the most distressing symptoms.[364] _See Formulæ_ 12, 13,
79, 80, 81. Aloes in combination with assafœtida furnishes an eligible
purgative in the dyspepsia of old persons; it is also well calculated to
obviate the costiveness so generally produced by Opium, (_Form:_ 11, 12,
13.) See also p. 162. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Pulv: Aloes comp:_ L.
_Pil: Alöes cum Myrrha._ L.E.D. Pil: _Aloes comp: Pil: Alöes cum
Assafœtida._ E. _Pil: Aloes cum Colocynthide._ E. _Pil: Cambogiæ comp:_
(=B.M.=) L. _Pil: Rhei. comp:_ (=F=) E. _Pil. Scammon, cum Aloe._ D.
_Decoctum Aloes comp:_ L. _Extractum Aloes purificatum._ L.D. _Extractum
Colocynthidis comp:_ L.D. (=F=) _Tinct: Alöes_ L.E.D. _Tinct: Alöes
comp:_ L.E.D. Tinct: Alöes Ætherea, E. _Tinct: Benzoin: comp:_ (=G=)
L.E.D. _Tinct: Rhei et Aloes_ E. _Vinum Alöes._ L.E.D. ADULTERATIONS. It
is frequently adulterated with common resin, but the fraud more
generally committed is that of mixing with, or substituting the inferior
species for the Socotrine, but the _Barbadoes Aloes_ may, independent of
its want of aromatic flavour, be distinguished from the Socotrine by a
simple test, for the latter dissolves entirely in boiling water and
alcohol, whereas the former, when treated in a similar manner, leaves a
considerable residue; sometimes the _Horse Aloes_ is made to appear so
bright and pure, as not to be easily distinguished by the eye even from
the _Socotrine_, but its rank odour, of which no art can divest it, will
readily betray the fraud.
ALUMEN. (_Super-sulphas Aluminæ et Potassæ._) Sulphas Aluminæ. E.
Alumen. D. _Alum._
QUALITIES. _Form_, octohedral crystals, whose sides are equilateral
triangles; they are slightly efflorescent. _Taste_, sweet, rough, and
acidulous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a triple, or sometimes a
quadruple salt, with excess of acid, consisting of sulphuric acid and
alumina, with potass, or ammonia, or frequently both of them; the nature
of the alkali however does not in the least appear to affect the
properties of alum, although it produces a crystallographic
modification; for where potass is present the summit of the crystal will
exhibit a truncation. Dr. Ure has lately produced alum with soda, and
the combination differs from common alum only in its greater degree of
solubility, a property which at once recommends it to the attention of
the pharmaceutist and physician. SOLUBILITY. A fluid-ounce of cold water
dissolves 30 grains, but if boiling four drachms; it is insoluble in
alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Alkalies_ and _alkaline salts_, after
neutralizing the excess of acid, precipitate the alumine. It is also
decomposed by _carbonate_ and _muriate of ammonia_, _carbonate of
magnesia_, and _tartrate of potass_, by _lime-water_, _acetate of lead_,
and _the salts of mercury_, as well as by many vegetable and animal
substances, especially _galls_ and _kino_. It is on this account very
injudicious to combine alum with any vegetable astringent with a view to
encrease its virtues; thus the “_Pulvis Sulphatis Aluminæ compositus_”
of the Edinburgh college, is less powerful than any of the ingredients
of which it is composed; and the addition of alum to the decoction of
bark, undoubtedly diminishes its efficacy as an astringent injection.
MEDICINAL USES. Alum is internally a powerful astringent, in hæmorrhages
and inordinate fluxes, and is externally useful for repellent and
astringent lotions, gargles, and collyria. Dioscorides and Hippocrates
praised its effects as a lotion in various kinds of ulcers, and
particularly in sores of the mouth, and in spongy, swelled gums.
Van-Helmont was the first person who employed alum in uterine
hemorrhage, and the success of the practice very considerably enhanced
his reputation. _Boerhaave’s_ astringent powder for the ague consisted
of _Alum_ and _Nutmeg_ with the addition of _Armenian bole_. DOSE, gr.
x. In large doses it is liable to excite nausea, and to act upon the
bowels. Nutmeg or some aromatic should therefore be joined with it.
FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In solution, or in substance made into pills with
extract; (_Form: 53, 56_,) it is sometimes given with advantage in the
form of whey (_Alum-whey—Serum Aluminosum_) made by boiling ʒij with a
pint of milk, and then straining, the dose of which is a wine glass
full; (_Form; 54._) By briskly agitating a drachm of alum with the white
of an egg, a coagulum is formed, (_Alum curd of Riverius_; _Albumen.
Aluminosum_) which is serviceable in some species of ophthalmia, when
applied between two pieces of thin linen rag.[365] As alum is not
decomposed by sulphate of lime, hard water may be safely used for its
solution. It has the effect of retarding, and in some instances of
preventing, the acetous fermentation in vegetables; thus when added to
common _paste_ it prevents its becoming sour; animal substances, as
_glue_, are preserved by it in a similar manner. It has also the
property of clearing turbid water, wine, and spirituous liquors, for
which purpose it is extensively employed. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Liquor Alum: co._ L. _Pulv: Alum: co._ E.
ALUMEN EXSICCATUM, L. Ustum. D. _Dried Alum._ By the action of heat alum
undergoes watery fusion, yields its water of crystallization, and loses
more than one third of its weight; if the heat be too intense, or long
continued, it is deprived of a great part of its acid. It has been
recommended in doses of a scruple, in cholic, when it has been said to
operate gently upon the bowels, and to relieve the pain: I have myself
experienced this good effect when the cholic has been produced by the
action of lead: Dr. Grashuis, a Dutch Physician, first recommended its
use in Cholica Pictonum. The preparation however is principally used as
an external application, having a degree of escharotic power, which
renders it serviceable in venereal chancres, as well as in other ulcers
having weak and spongy granulations; it is also very frequently employed
to destroy fungous excrescencies, but it should be remembered that, as
it owes such power to an excess of acid, unless it be carefully
prepared, it must be inefficient. It ought to redden syrup of violets.
ALUMEN RUPEUM. _Roche_ or _Rock Alum_. This variety was originally
brought from Roccha, formerly called Edessa, in Syria, in fragments of
about the size of an almond, covered with an efflorescence of a pale
rose colour; that however which is now sold under this name is common
English alum, artificially coloured. It is unimportant.
ALUMEN ROMANUM. _Roman Alum_ is in irregular octohedral masses, powdery
on the surface; it is the purest kind, and contains no ammonia in its
composition.
AMMONIACUM. L.E.D. (_Heracleum Gummiferum._)
Ammoniac.
QUALITIES. _Form_, masses composed of fragments, of tears, yellow on the
surface, and white within; _Taste_, a nauseous sweet, followed by a
bitter flavour; _Odour_, faint but not unpleasant. _Specific gravity_,
1·200. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Gum-resin, gluten, and some volatile
matter. SOLUBILITY. It is partly soluble in water, vinegar, alcohol,
æther, and in the solutions of the alkalies; when triturated with water
a milky liquor is formed, which is a solution of gum holding the resin
in suspension, and if the yolk of an egg be employed the mixture is more
permanent; water appears to be its proper solvent. USES. Stimulant,
antispasmodic, and expectorant: in large doses gently purgative and
sometimes diuretic; after the exhibition of smart purgatives, in
combination with rhubarb, it proves valuable in mesenteric affections by
correcting the viscid secretion of the intestines; dissolved in nitric
acid, it is said to prove an excellent expectorant in cases where large
accumulations of purulent or viscid matter exist with feeble and
difficult expectoration. See _Form: 140_. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In
solution, see _Mist: Ammoniac:_ it may also be given when dissolved in
the _Liquor ammoniæ acetatis_; ʒij of the former may be dissolved in
℥iij of the latter; or it may be exhibited in pills with bitter
extracts, myrrh, and other gum-resins; if rubbed with camphor a mass is
at once produced very suitable for pills; vinegar renders it soft, and
adapts it for plasters. DOSE, grs. x to xxx. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Mist: Ammoniac:_ L.D. _Pil: Scillæ co:_ L.E. (=B=) _Emplast: Ammoniac:_
L. _Emplast: Gummos:_ E. _Emplast: Ammoniac: cum Hydrargyro_. L.
ADULTERATIONS. Two varieties are met with in the market, that in tears,
_guttæ ammoniaci_, ought to be white, clear, and dry; and that in lumps,
_lapis ammoniaci_, which sells for one-third the price of the former,
being very impure, is generally adulterated with common resin, for which
it may be purified by softening the mass in a bladder which is immersed
in boiling water, and straining it while fluid.
AMMONIÆ SUB-CARBONAS. L. Carbonas Ammoniæ. E.D.
_Sub-carbonate of Ammonia._
QUALITIES. _Form:_ white, semi-transparent masses, of a striated or
crystalline aspect, which, on exposure to air effloresce; _Odour_,
pungent and peculiar; _Taste_, acrid but cooling. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
It will be found to vary materially in its composition according to the
temperature employed for its preparation; the quantity of alkali varying
from 20 to 50 per cent. Mr. Phillips considers the _Sub_-carbonate of
ammonia to be a _Sesque_-carbonate, composed of 3 atoms of carbonic
acid, 2 atoms of ammonia, and 2 of water; or that it is a definite
compound of _Carbonate_ and _Bi-carbonate_, one atom of each, with two
atoms of water; one hundred parts, by experiment, consist, of 54·2
_carb: acid_, 29·3 _Ammonia_, and 16·5 _water_; if we consider it as a
_Sesque-carbonate_, its constitution, according to Dr. Wollaston’s
scale, will be 55·72 _Carbonic Acid_, 29 _Ammonia_, 15·28 _water_.
SOLUBILITY. According to Duncan it is soluble in twice its weight of
cold water; Mr. Phillips states four times; the mean of these will be
found nearly correct. Its solubility however is increased by increase of
temperature, but when dissolved in boiling water it effervesces, and
undergoes a partial decomposition; it is quite insoluble in alcohol, and
hence on the addition of spirit to a strong solution, a dense coagulum
is produced. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. It is decomposed by _acids_,
_fixed alkalies_, and their _sub-carbonates_, _lime_, _solution of
muriate of lime_, _magnesia_, _alum_, _super-tartrate of potass_, and
all the _acidulous salts_, _sulphate of magnesia_, _acetate_,
_sub-muriate_, and _oxy-muriate of mercury_, _acetate_, and _sub-acetate
of lead_, and the _sulphates of iron and zinc_. If it be added to
decoctions and infusions they must be previously cooled. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. Since by exposure to air its virtues are impaired, it ought
not to be kept in powdered mixtures; in the form of pill it is preserved
much longer, especially if it be combined with some vegetable extract.
USES. It is stimulant, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, powerfully antacid,
exceeding in this respect the fixed alkalies, and in large doses it is
emetic. It is highly useful as a stimulant in those gastric affections
which supervene habits of irregularity and debauchery; combined with
opium it affords a powerful resource in protracted diarrhœa attended
with debility of the alimentary canal: and in cases of muscular atony so
frequently witnessed, as the _sequela_ of chronic rheumatism, ammonia,
in large doses, offers the best remedy; I have moreover witnessed the
beneficial effects of this remedy in hoarseness depending upon relaxed
states of the throat. In typhus fever it has been particularly
recommended by Huxham, Pringle, and many other physicians, and some have
considered it superior to any other stimulant upon such occasions. It is
also useful in syncope and hysteria, in the form of smelling salts;[366]
with respect to its application for making saline draughts, see _Acid:
Citricum:_ DOSE, grs v to ℈j: to produce emesis ʒss. See _Form. 48, 49,
83, 152_. _Officinal Preparations._ _Liquor Ammoniæ sub-carbonatis_, L.
_Liquor Ammoniæ acetatis_ (=I=) L.E.D. _Liniment: Ammoniæ
Sub-carbonatis._ L. _Cuprum Ammoniatum_, (=I=) L.E.D. ADULTERATIONS.
This salt ought to be entirely volatilized by heat; if any thing remain
it may be considered impure; it ought also to be free from all fetor;
should this not be the case it may be corrected by subliming it in
conjunction with powdered charcoal; there is at present a large quantity
of this impure article in the market, which has been manufactured from
the residue sold by the gas light companies.[367] When long exposed to
the air, it becomes opaque and friable, and the excess of ammonia, upon
which its odour depends, escapes, carbonic acid is absorbed, and an
inodorous bi-carbonate remains, consisting of carbonic acid 55·70,
Ammonia 21·52, and water 22·76, or 2 atoms of carbonic acid, 1 atom of
ammonia, and 2 atoms of water.
AMMONIÆ MURIAS. L.E. Sal Ammoniacum. D.
vulgo _Sal Ammoniac_.
QUALITIES. _Form_, dense striated concavo-convex cakes which are
persistent in the air, or crystallized conical masses; in this latter
form it generally contains other salts, especially muriate of lime,
which render it deliquescent. _Taste_, bitter, acrid, and cool. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. In consequence of the present unsettled opinions respecting
the nature of muriatic acid and ammonia, and the changes which they
undergo by combination with each other, the composition of this salt is
involved in some obscurity. According to Dr. Thomson, it consists of
equal volumes of muriatic acid gas and ammoniacal gas, although he has
subsequently observed that from the peculiar properties of the
substance, it may be a compound of _Chlorine_ and _Ammonium_ (the
hypothetical base of ammonia.) Unlike all the other ammoniacal salts, it
does not undergo decomposition by heat. SOLUBILITY, f℥j of water at 66°
dissolves about two drachms and a half; at 212° it dissolves its own
weight; it is also soluble in 4½ parts of alcohol; its solution in water
is accompanied by considerable reduction of temperature. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. The sulphuric and nitric acids unite with the ammonia, and
disengage the muriatic acid, whilst ammonia is disengaged by the action
of potass and its carbonate, carbonate of soda, lime, magnesia, &c.
which combine with its muriatic acid; with oxy-muriate of mercury it
combines and increases its solubility, see _Hydrarg: Oxy-murias_. When
united with acetate of lead, it decomposes it, and a muriate of lead is
precipitated. It is obvious also that nitrate of silver, and all the
metallic salts whose bases form insoluble compounds with muriatic acid,
are incompatible with it. USES. Rarely employed as an internal remedy,
externally it is employed in lotions, either for the cold produced
during its solution, in which case it should be applied as soon as the
salt is dissolved, or for the stimulus of the salt, on which principle
it acts as a powerful discutient in indolent tumours (_Form. 146._) It
is also an ingredient in a very useful plaster, in which it undergoes
chemical decomposition; this plaster consists of _Soap_ ℥j, _lead
plaster_, ʒij, liquified together, to which, when nearly cold, are added
of _muriate of ammonia_ finely powdered ʒss. The alkali of the soap
enters into combination with the muriatic acid of the muriate of
ammonia, and forms thereby muriate of potass, or soda, and ammoniacal
gas (on which the virtue of the plaster depends) is slowly but
abundantly liberated, acting as a powerful stimulant and rubefacient: it
should be applied immediately after it is formed, and be renewed every
twenty-four hours, otherwise the intention is lost; (_Pharmacopœia
Chirurgica._) I have often applied this plaster with evident advantage
to the chest in pulmonary affections, and I wish to recommend it to the
attention of practitioners. It is very useful also in that rheumatic
affection of the muscles of the chest, which is so frequently met with
in persons in advanced life; during the last winter I was consulted in
two cases where the distress after exercise was so considerable as to
resemble angina pectoris. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Ammoniæ Sub-carbonas_
(=I=). L.E.D. _Liquor: Ammoniæ_ (=K=). L. _Aqua Ammoniæ._ E.D. _Hydrarg:
præcip: alb:_ (=I=). L. _Alcohol Ammoniatum_, (=I=). E.D. _Ferrum
Ammoniat:_ (=G=). L.E.D. ADULTERATIONS. This salt, if pure, may be
entirely volatilized by a low heat; the _sulphate of ammonia_ however,
as it is also volatile, cannot be discovered except by the muriate of
baryta, which will indicate its presence by a copious precipitate.
AMYGDALÆ DULCES. {Varieties of “Amygdalus Communis.”
AMYGDALÆ AMARÆ. {Sweet and Bitter Almonds.
QUALITIES. The _sweet almond_ is inodorous, and has a sweet, bland
taste; the _bitter almond_,[368] when triturated with water, has the
odour of the peach, and a pleasant bitter flavour. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
Boullay has lately confirmed the analogy which Proust had stated to
exist between the emulsion of sweet almonds and human milk, viz. the
former consists of sweet oil 54, albumen 24, sugar 6, gum 3, with traces
of acetic acid; the indigestible property of the almond depends upon its
albuminous matter. The _bitter almond_, in addition to those
constituents, contains hydro-cyanic acid, (Prussic acid,) in union with
a peculiar volatile oil, upon which its narcotic properties depend; but
this deleterious element is so modified by the natural state of
combination in which it exists with sweet oil and albumen, that they may
be eaten without inconvenience. The bitter almond has long been regarded
as an antidote to drunkenness; Plutarch states it as a fact on the
authority of his physician Claudius. Other bitters were however supposed
to possess similar powers in this respect, hence the _Poculum
Absinthiatum_ to which we have before alluded. See page 79. Both sorts
of almonds yield by expression a large quantity of fixed oil, which is
perfectly mild. See _Oleum Amygdal_. The water distilled from the bitter
almond, when strongly impregnated, has been found to exert a deleterious
action on the human body, and to prove fatal to many animals.
SOLUBILITY. By trituration with water a milky mixture is produced, (_an
emulsion_), for which purpose the sweet almonds should be previously
freed from their cuticle, (_blanched_), and this ought to be performed
by infusing them in tepid water; for when hot it separates a portion of
their oil, as is evident from their being thus rendered yellow, and the
emulsion is therefore more liable to ferment, and be decomposed. ℥ij of
almonds saturate about f℥vj of water; since however this extemporaneous
preparation is tedious and inconvenient, the London Pharmacopœia very
judiciously directs a confection to be ready prepared, ʒj of which, when
triturated with f℥j of water, immediately forms an elegant emulsion. See
_Mistura Amygdal_. Almonds form a useful intermedium for suspending in
water many substances which are of themselves not miscible with it, as
camphor, and several of the gum-resins; they also assist in the
pulverization of refractory substances, as Ipecacuan, &c. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Confectio Amygdalarum._ L. _Emulsio Camphoræ_ (=M.=) E.
_Emulsio Acaciæ Arab:_ E. D.
AMYGDALÆ PLACENTA. _Almond Cake_ is the substance left after the
expression of the oil, which when ground forms ALMOND POWDER, so
generally used for washing the hands.[369]
OIL OF BITTER ALMONDS. For obtaining this oil, the expressed cake is
submitted to distillation, when a highly volatile, pungent, oil passes
over. See _Oleum Amygdalæ Amaræ_.
AMYLUM. L.E.D. _Starch._ (Triticum Hybernum _Amylum._[370])
QUALITIES. _Form_, white columnar masses; _Odour_ and _Taste_, none.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Fecula is one of the proximate principles of
vegetable matter, and _Starch_ is the fecula of wheat.[371] SOLUBILITY.
It is soluble in boiling water, forming with it a semi-transparent,
insipid, inodorous, and gelatinous paste, very susceptible of
mouldiness, but which is retarded by the addition of alum; it is
insoluble, but falls to powder in cold water; nor is it dissolved by
alcohol or ether; although potass dissolves starch, yet the solution of
it is not disturbed by potass, carbonate of potass, nor ammonia, but an
alcoholic solution of potass produces a precipitate; acetate of lead,
and infusion of galls occasion also precipitates. Starch is susceptible
of several interesting and important changes; thus, if it be exposed to
heat until its colour becomes yellow, its properties are so far altered
that it is no longer insoluble in cold water; and according to the
experiments of Saussure, if it be mixed with water, a spontaneous
decomposition takes place, and a quantity of sugar is formed, amounting
in weight to one half of the starch employed, in addition to which a
peculiar gummy matter results, and a substance intermediate between gum
and starch, to which the name of _Amidine_ has been given. Starch
moreover is convertible into saccharine matter by the agency of
sulphuric acid. USES. Being demulcent it is generally employed as a
vehicle for the exhibition of opium in the form of enema. The ordinary
blue starch is coloured by a solution of smalt and alum, and is unfit
for medicinal use; formerly it was tinged yellow with saffron or
turmeric, but this went out of fashion on the execution of the famous
midwife Mrs. Collier, who was hanged in a ruff starched with that
colour. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Mucilago Amyli._ L.E.D. _Pulvis
Tragacanth: comp:_ (=B=) L. _Pil: Hydrargyri_ (=M=) E. _Troschisi
Gummos:_ E.
It has been lately observed that _Iodine_ is a delicate test of the
presence of starch; if a drop or two of a solution of this substance in
alcohol be added to an aqueous solution of starch, a blue compound is
formed which eventually precipitates. Iodine may therefore be employed
for ascertaining the goodness of starch, a test which is very important,
for much of what is sold under the name of starch, does not possess its
peculiar characters; it ought however to be stated, that the blue
indication is prevented from taking place by a variety of different
bodies, as _Arsenious acid_, _corrosive sublimate of mercury_, &c. &c.
ANETHI SEMINA. L. E.
(_Anethum Graveolens._ _Semina._) Dill Seed.
These seeds when dry have an aromatic sweetish odour, and a warm pungent
taste, qualities residing in an essential oil, which is extracted by
distillation with water and by digestion with alcohol; the bruised seeds
yield their flavour to boiling water by simple infusion. The seeds are
but rarely used. The distilled water is a valuable carminative for
children.
ANISI SEMINA. L. E. D.
(_Pimpinella Anisum._ _Semina._) Anise Seeds.
Like the dill seeds, warm and carminative; water extracts very little of
their flavour; rectified spirit the whole. It may be remarked in this
place that the value of aniseed, as well as all those seeds which yield
essential oil by distillation, may be estimated by their specific
gravity, the heaviest yielding the largest proportion of oil; a
chrondrometer employed by corn-chandlers might be very conveniently
applied to such a purpose.[372] The seeds imported from Spain, which are
smaller than the others, contain most oil, and are to be preferred.
ANTHEMIDIS FLORES. L. E.
(_Anthemis Nobilis._) _Chamomile Flowers._
QUALITIES. The _Odour_ of the flowers is strong and fragrant; _Taste_,
bitter and aromatic, with a slight degree of warmth. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. The active principles are essential oil, resin, and bitter
extractive. SOLUBILITY. Both water and alcohol take up the active parts
of the flowers; hot water, by infusion, dissolves nearly one-fourth of
their weight, but boiling dissipates the essential oil, on which account
they should never form an ingredient in a decoction. USES. The flowers
given in substance are said to have cured intermittents; they are
however but rarely used; externally they are applied in fomentations.
See _Infusum Anthemidis_. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Decoctum Anthemidis
nobilis._ E.D. _Infusum Anthemidis_. L.[373] There is a great variety in
the quality and price of chamomile flowers; those which are large and
whitish are to be preferred as the freshest; by keeping they become
invalid, and are deprived of their aromatic principle and essential oil.
They are always inferior in wet seasons. The double flowered varieties
are also less powerful than the single kind, since the qualities reside
in the disc florets.
ANTIMONII SULPHURETUM. L.
_Sulphuret of Antimony._
QUALITIES. This article appears in the market in conical loaves, which
are dark grey externally, but internally possess a bladed structure and
considerable brilliancy; the Edinburgh and Dublin colleges direct this
substance to be levigated with water, and kept in the state of powder;
it should however never be purchased in that form, as it is not
unfrequently adulterated with sulphuret of lead, whereas it cannot
contain such admixture when its form is characteristically crystalline
and bladed. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Antimony 100, Sulphur 35·572. From the
time of Basil Valentine to the present, this preparation has been known
in the market by the name of _Antimony_, a name which it is evident can
only with propriety be applied to the pure metal. SOLUBILITY. It is
insoluble in water and alcohol; since however it is slightly acted upon
by vegetable acids, cups were formerly made of it, which imparted to
wine that stood in them for some time, an emetic quality.[374] USES. It
is principally employed for the preparation of the other antimonial
combinations, for which purpose it is more eligible than the metal
itself, as being less contaminated with metallic impurities. Its
medicinal energies depend altogether upon the state of the stomach, and
must therefore be extremely uncertain; when it meets with any acid in
the stomach, it acts with extreme violence, a circumstance which
requires precaution. It was formerly much more employed as an Alterative
than at present. Stoll recommends its use in chronic rheumatism, and
advises its union with Myrrh. In the treatment of affections of the skin
it has been long used, both singly, and in union with other substances,
such as _Conium_, _Dulcamara_, _Guaiacum_, &c. In Scrophulous diseases,
connected with cutaneous eruptions, or ulcerations, it has been a
favourite remedy with many practitioners, and it forms the basis of
several foreign _Nostrums_. In times of remote antiquity it was used by
females as a black pigment for staining the eye-lashes, a custom which
continues to this day in the east.[375] It is at present given to horses
mixed with their food, to make their coats smooth, and very large doses
may be given to these animals without producing any deleterious effects.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. Dr. Black constructed a table representing a
view of all the preparations whose basis was antimony; many of these
however have fallen into disuse, and the nomenclature of all is changed.
The following arrangement of the medicines prepared from the sulphuret
of antimony,[376] is presented to us by Mr. Thomson, in his London
Dispensatory. 1. BY TRITURATION, _Sulphuretum Antimonii Præparatum_.
E.D. 2. BY THE ACTION OF HEAT WITH PHOSPHATE OF LIME, (oxidized) _Pulvis
Antimonialis_, L.D. _Oxidum Antimonii cum Phosphate Calcis._ E. 3. BY
THE ACTION OF ALKALIES, (oxidized), _Antimonii Sulphuretum
Præcipitatum._ L.E. _Sulphur Antimoniatum Fuscum_. D. 4. BY THE ACTION
OF ACIDS, (oxidized,) _Antimonii Oxydum_. L. _Oxydum Antimonii
Nitromuriaticum_. D. _Antimonium Tartarizatum_. L. _Tartris Antimonii_,
_olim Tartarus Emeticus_. E. _Tartarum Antimoniatum_, sive _Emeticum_,
D. _Vinum Antimonii Tartarizati_. L. _Vinum Tartaritis Antimonii_. E.
ADULTERATIONS. The importance of employing this article in a state of
great purity, for the preparation of so many active and valuable
medicines, is obvious. It ought to be entirely volatilized by a read
heat; _Lead_ is discovered by its imparting to the antimony a foliated
instead of a bladed texture, and from not being vaporizable; _Arsenic_,
by the garlic odour emitted when thrown upon live coals; or by the
numerous tests mentioned under the history of that article; _Manganese_
and _Iron_, from not being vaporizable, and from other tests: the most
usual adulteration is black oxide of iron, or the scoriæ of that metal,
“_Smithy dust_.”
ANTIMONII SULPHURETUM PRÆCIPITATUM. L. E.
Sulphur Antimoniatum Fuscum. D.
_Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a brilliant orange coloured powder; _Taste_, slightly
styptic, but inodorous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Very complicated
attractions are exerted during the preparation of this substance; the
result of which is an hydro-sulphuret of Oxide of Antimony, with excess
of sulphur. SOLUBILITY. It is quite insoluble in water. USES. According
to the dose, it is diaphoretic, cathartic, or emetic; it is, however,
less certain than many other preparations, and, unless in combination
with mercury, for cutaneous affections, is not very often employed.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. All acids and acidulous salts increase its
emetic properties; when therefore acid is suspected to prevail in the
primæ viæ, it should be combined with soap, magnesia, (_Form: 128_,) or
aromatic confection; on the contrary, the confection of roses, and
vehicles containing acids, should be carefully avoided. FORM OF
EXHIBITION. Pills. DOSE, grs. 1 to v. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Pilulæ
Hydrargyri Sub-Muriatis_ (=H=) L. ADULTERATIONS. It is often
sophisticated with chalk and other extraneous matter; it ought not to
effervesce with acids; it should be entirely vaporizable by heat, and
its colour should be that of bright orange. A spurious article is
vended, which consists of sulphur and sulphuret of antimony coloured
with Venetian red.
ANTIMONIUM TARTARIZATUM. L.
Tartris Antimonii. E. Tartarum Antimoniatum. D.
_Tartar Emetic._[377]
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals whose primitive form is the regular
tetrahedron, although it assumes a variety of secondary forms. _Colour_,
white. _Odour_, none. _Taste_, slightly styptic and metallic; on
exposure to the air, the crystals slightly effloresce and become opaque;
thrown upon burning coals, they become black and afford metallic
antimony. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. This is involved in much doubt and
obscurity; it is stated in the various dispensatories to be a triple
salt, consisting of tartaric acid, oxide of antimony,[378] and potass,
and which therefore, says Mr. Thomson, on the principles of the reformed
nomenclature, ought to be termed a _tartrate of antimony and potass_.
The truth of these views, however, is extremely questionable. I am
inclined to believe with Gay Lussac, that in the various metalline
compounds, of which super-tartrate of potass is an ingredient, this
latter substance acts the part of a simple acid; an opinion which
receives much support from the great solvent property of cream of
tartar, and from the striking fact that it is even capable of dissolving
various oxides which are insoluble in tartaric acid, of which the
protoxide of antimony is an example. According then to this view, tartar
emetic is a salt composed of bi-tartrate (_super-tartrate_) of potass,
which acts the part of an acid, and protoxide of antimony: from the
experiments of Mr. Phillips, it would appear that 100 parts of the
bi-tartrate will dissolve 70 of the protoxide. In this state of doubt it
must be admitted that no name can be more appropriate than _Antimonium
Tartarizatum_, and the London College have therefore properly
disregarded the suggestions which have been offered for changing its
name. SOLUBILITY. Much discrepancy of opinion exists upon this subject,
owing probably to the variations and incidental impurities to which the
salt is liable. Dr. Duncan, who selected very pure specimens for
examination, states that it is soluble in three times its weight of
water at 212°, and in fifteen at 60°. This solution, when the salt is
pure, is perfectly clear and transparent, but if long kept, unless a
portion of spirit be added, it undergoes decomposition; a precipitate
indeed sometimes takes place very rapidly, but this is generally
tartrate of lime, an incidental impurity, derived from the
super-tartrate of potass. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Mineral Acids,
Alkalies, and their Carbonates, most of the Metals, Soaps,
Hydro-Sulphurets, and many infusions and decoctions of bitter and
astringent Vegetables_, e. g. f℥j. of the decoction of yellow bark is
capable of completely decomposing ℈j of this salt, and of rendering it
inert.[379] Berthollet has accordingly recommended the immediate
exhibition of this decoction when an overdose of the salt has been
taken; and Orfila has given a very satisfactory case in which this
antidote succeeded. Infusion and tincture of galls throw down curdled
and inert precipitates of a dirty white colour, inclining to yellow.
Rhubarb is equally incompatible: the extract of this substance therefore
never ought to be employed in forming pills of tartar emetic: but it
deserves notice that this salt is not decomposed by the infusions of
gentian or wormwood. The _Alkaline Sulphates_, provided they be
perfectly neutral, produce no disturbance in solutions of _tartar
emetic_, and therefore cannot be considered incompatible with them; if
there be any excess of acid, as in _alum_, _bi-sulphate of potass_, &c.
then its decomposition is effected, and a white insoluble sulphate of
antimony is precipitated. It appears therefore that the famous
“Emeto-purgative” of the French school, consisting of sulphate of soda,
and tartarized antimony in solution, is by no means the unchemical
mixture which some have considered it to be, and that it really produces
its effects from the operation of its original ingredients, and not from
that of the compounds (_Sulphate of Antimony, Tartrate of Soda, and
Sulphate of Potass_) which have been erroneously supposed to result.
FORMS OF EXHIBITION. Solution is its best form, see _Liquor Antimonii
Tartarizati_. DOSE. It either vomits, purges, or sweats, according to
the quantity exhibited; thus gr. 1/4 will, if the skin be kept warm,
promote a diaphoresis; gr. ½ will procure some stools first, and
sweating afterwards; and gr. j will generally vomit and then purge, and
lastly sweat the patient; in very minute doses, as gr. 1/10 or 1/12
combined with squill and ammoniacum, it acts as an expectorant, see
_Formulæ 1, 2, 3, 8, 60_. It is decidedly the most manageable, and the
least uncertain of all the antimonial preparations, and the practitioner
would probably have but little to regret, were all the other
combinations of this metal discarded from our pharmacopœias. Some
authors have considered this substance as possessing sedative powers,
independent of its nauseating and diaphoretic effects. It undoubtedly
acts upon the heart, and controls the force of the circulation in
fevers, without occasioning any other sensible effect. Mr. Brodie, after
having given large doses of this salt to animals, found that the heart
beat very feebly, and although artificial respiration was kept up, it
soon ceased to act altogether. Lenthois of Montpellier advises small
doses of it in incipient phthisis, and it would on some occasions appear
to diminish the febrile excitement. The following is the form in which
Dr. Lenthois recommends it to be exhibited upon such occasions. He
directs a grain of Tartarized Antimony to be dissolved in eight table
spoonsful of distilled water, which are to be added to six or eight
pints of water, and to be taken as common drink. Tartar emetic, when
triturated with lard, in the proportion of ʒiss or ʒij to ℥j of the
latter, forms a very powerful rubefacient, occasioning a pustular
eruption on the skin, and proving very serviceable in deep-seated
inflammation; or the application may be made by dusting a piece of
adhesive plaster with tartarized antimony, taking care to leave a margin
untouched that it may more firmly adhere. Dr. Jenner, in a late Essay on
the influence of artificial eruptions on certain diseases, recommends
the following formula for such a purpose.—℞. _Antimonii Tartarizati_
(_in pulverem subtilem trit._) ʒij—_Unguenti Cetacei_ ʒix;—_Sacchari
albi_[380] ʒj;—_Hydrargyri Sulphureti Rubri_ gr. v. M. ut fiat
Unguentum. The Pustules which are produced by the inunction have been
generally compared to variolous pustules, they are, however, in general
much smaller, not so red at the base, nor so tense and white when fully
suppurated. They are very painful. In Hooping cough, frictions with this
ointment upon the region of the stomach have been greatly extolled. By
this application, says Dr. Jenner, we can not only create vesicles, but
we can do more,—we have at our command an application which will at the
same time both vesicate and produce diseased action on the skin itself,
by deeply deranging its structure beneath the surface. This is probably
one cause why the sympathetic affection excited by the use of
Cantharides, and those changes produced by Tartar Emetic are very
different. The eruption should be kept up for some time, either by the
re-application of small portions of the diluted tartaremetic ointment,
to the affected part, or by other gently stimulating ointments. Should
they become much irritated and very painful, a soft bread and milk
poultice will in general afford relief, without interfering with the
progress of the eruption. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. gr. j. is contained in
f℥ss of _Liquor Antimonii Tart:_ L. and _Vinum Tartratis Antimonii_.
E.[381] ADULTERATIONS. It should be always purchased in its crystalline
form; and a solution of it in distilled water ought to furnish a copious
gold coloured precipitate with sulphuret of ammonia; a precipitate
soluble in nitric acid, with acetate of lead; and a white and extremely
thick precipitate, dissolving with facility in pure nitric acid, with
lime water. If the crystals deliquesce, the presence of other salts may
be inferred. _M. Sexullas_, in a memoir of which there is a copious
extract in the _Journal de Pharmacie_ for 1821, has shewn that all the
antimonial preparations used in medicine, except carefully crystallized
_Tartar Emetic_, contain more or less arsenic, which metal was
originally combined with the antimony in the ore, and has continued
pertinaciously associated with it through all its modifications.
AQUA. _Water._
Water, from its extensive powers as a solvent, never occurs in a state
of absolute purity, although the nature and degree of its contamination
must necessarily vary according to circumstances and situation. It is
generally found holding earthy matter in a state of mechanical
suspension, or saline and other bodies in chemical solution. The usual
varieties of common water are classed and defined by Celsus; and modern
chemists have not found any reason to reject the arrangement. “_Aqua
levissima pluvialis est; deinde fontana, tum ex flumine, tum ex puteo;
posthæc ex nive, aut glacie; gravior his ex lacu; gravissima ex
palude._”
1. RAIN WATER. _Aqua Pluvialis_, when collected in the open fields, is
certainly the purest natural water, and consequently of the least
specific gravity; the bodies which it holds in solution are, carbonic
acid, a minute portion of carbonate of lime, with traces of muriate of
lime. DEW is said to be water saturated with air. Rain water ought,
however, to be boiled and strained whenever it is collected near large
towns; Hippocrates gives this advice, and M. Margraaf of Berlin has
shewn the wisdom of the precaution by a satisfactory series of
experiments.
2. SPRING WATER. _Aqua Fontana_, in addition to the substances detected
in rain water, generally contains a small portion of muriate of soda,
and frequently other salts; but the larger springs are purer than
smaller ones, and those which occur in primitive countries, and in
siliceous rocks, or beds of gravel, necessarily contain the least
impregnation. An important practical distinction has been founded upon
the fact, that the water of some springs dissolves soap, whilst that of
others decomposes, and curdles it; the former has been termed _soft_,
the latter _hard_ water; soft water is a more powerful solvent of all
vegetable matters, and is consequently to be preferred for domestic as
well as medicinal purposes; the brewer knows well from experience how
much more readily and copiously _soft_ water will dissolve the
extractive matter of his malt. Horses by an instinctive sagacity always
prefer soft water, and when by necessity or inattention they are
confined to that which is _hard_, their coats become rough and
ill-conditioned, and they are frequently attacked with the gripes.
Pigeons also refuse hard water when they have been accustomed to that
which is soft.[382]
3. RIVER WATER. _Aqua ex Flumine_, being derived from the conflux of
numerous springs and rain water, generally possesses considerable
purity; that the proportion of its saline ingredients should be small,
is easily explained by the precipitation which must necessarily take
place from the union of different solutions; it is, however, liable to
hold in suspension particles of earthy matter, which impair its
transparency, and sometimes its salubrity; this is particularly observed
of the Seine, the Ganges, and the Nile.[383]
4. WELL WATER. _Aqua ex Puteo_, is essentially the same as spring water,
being derived from the same source; it is, however, more liable to
impurity from its stagnation, or slow infiltration;[384] hence our old
wells furnish much purer water than those which are more recent, as the
soluble particles are gradually washed away. Mr. Dalton observes that
the more any spring is drawn from, the _softer_ the water becomes.
5. SNOW WATER. _Aqua ex Nive_, has been supposed[385] to be unwholesome,
and in particular to produce bronchocele, from the prevalence of that
disease in the Alps, but it does not appear upon what principle its
insalubrity can depend; the prejudice however is a very ancient one, for
Hippocrates observes that snow or ice water is unwholesome, in
consequence of its finer particles being evaporated and lost during its
solution: it appears to differ only from rain water in being destitute
of air, to which water is certainly indebted for its briskness, and
perhaps for many of its good effects upon animals and vegetables. The
same observations apply to _Ice Water_.
6. LAKE WATER. _Aqua ex Lacu_, is a collection of rain, spring, and
river waters, contaminated with various animal and vegetable bodies,
which from its stagnant nature have undergone putrefaction in it.
7. MARSH WATER. _Aqua ex Palude_ being the most stagnant is the most
impure of all water, and is generally loaded with decomposing vegetable
matter.
To what extent the impurities of water are capable of influencing its
salubrity, has been a subject of interesting inquiry from the age of
Hippocrates to the present day. To many of these natural contaminations,
too much importance has been certainly attached; it is an affected
refinement to suppose that the presence of minute portions of such
earthy and calcareous salts, as generally occur in solution, can impart
any noxious quality to water;[386] whilst on the contrary, animal and
vegetable impurities, or earthy bodies in a state of mechanical
suspension, cannot fail to prove injurious, and must be regarded as the
true “SCELERA AQUARUM.” Guided by false analogies many have supposed
that they recognised the origin of all calcareous diseases in the earthy
impurities of water; the researches however of chemistry have removed
this delusion, by demonstrating that the substances found in water never
enter into the composition of urinary calculi.[387] Metallic and other
accidental contaminations are necessarily highly injurious, and the
water in which their presence is suspected, should be submitted to the
most careful examination.
For the purification and preservation of water numerous methods have
been adopted; the mechanical impurities may be removed by filtration,
which is performed through porous stones, or alternate layers of sand or
charcoal; muddy water may be also cleared by adding a few grains of alum
to each pint,[388] and in that proportion, the water is not rendered in
the least disagreeable: when water has contracted a putrid smell, it may
be rendered sweet by agitating it with a small portion of magnesia, or
with black oxide of manganese, in the proportion of 1½ parts to 250
parts of water. Dr. Black observes that nitrate of silver, which is one
of the most antiseptic substances known, will preserve water from
putrefaction for ever, and that it may at any time be separated
therefrom in a few minutes by adding a small lump of common salt; this
fact in itself is curious, but the experiment is too hazardous to be
recommended. Dr. Alston prefers lime, as a preservative of the water,
and proposes to remove it by the addition of a carbonate of magnesia;
Dr. Henry has however found that it is more economically precipitated by
the introduction of a current of carbonic acid into the cask. As that
peculiar property of water which is termed _hardness_, generally depends
upon the presence of _sulphate of lime_, the addition of an alkaline
carbonate twenty-four hours previous to its being used, will be found to
restore it, or if it should depend upon _supercarbonate of lime_, long
ebullition without any addition will be found sufficient for its cure.
Water when kept for a long time in casks, especially on long voyages, is
partially decomposed, and a volume of carburetted hydrogen is
evolved,[389] imparting to such water the peculiar smell and taste which
characterise it; this decomposition may in a great degree be obviated by
charring the interior of the water casks; it is, however, prevented in
the Navy by substituting iron tanks for wooden vessels. In Pharmacy it
ought to be remembered that whenever common water is employed it should
not be _hard_; filtered rainwater maybe recommended as the most eligible
on such occasions.
AQUA DESTILLATA. L.E.D. Distilled Water.
QUALITIES. _Taste_, vapid from the absence of air, and slightly
empyreumatic in consequence probably of the presence of a small quantity
of extractive matter which has undergone partial decomposition; a
fluid-ounce weighs 454½ grains. MEDICINAL USE. In extemporaneous
prescriptions, distilled water should be always ordered whenever the
formula contains any of the following substances:—_Acidum Sulphuricum_;
_Acidum Citricum_; _Antimonium Tartarizatum_; _Argenti Nitras_; _Cuprum
Ammoniatum_; _Ferrum Tartarizatum_; _Hydrargyri Oxy-murias_; _Liquor
Ammoniæ_; _Liquor Plumbi Sub-Acetatis_; _Liquor Potassæ_; _Plumbi
Acetas_; _Solutio Muriatis Barytæ_; _Vinum Ferri_; _Zinci Sulphas_;
_Ferri Sulphas_. Distilled water ought also to be employed in
preparations where much water is evaporated, as in the formation of
extracts, since the residual matter of common water will remain mixed
with the product of the process, and uselessly add to its bulk, or even
in some cases produce in it chemical changes; unless however under such
circumstances, common water purified by filtration should be ordered, as
the air which it contains imparts to it a pleasant and sprightly
flavour. In making infusions or decoctions, it is very important that
the water should be free from those impurities which impart to it
_hardness_, and which render it a far less powerful solvent of vegetable
matter, nor indeed can resinous substances be mixed with such water,
even when assisted by a mucilaginous medium. On which account, in
prescribing emulsions, it may perhaps be prudent to direct the
employment of distilled water. TESTS OF ITS PURITY. Its transparency
ought not to be disturbed by the addition of nitrate of silver, or
muriate of baryta.
AQUA MARINA. Sea Water.
Until the late able researches of Dr. Murray, we possessed but an
imperfect knowledge of the composition of sea water; it is not therefore
surprising that the analysis performed by different chemists should be
found to be so materially at variance; the true cause of such
discordance is now easily understood, for it appears, that in the
examination of a mineral water or any compound saline solution, the
substances obtained from it are not necessarily the original
ingredients, but frequently the products of new combinations established
by the operation of analysis, and that consequently the nature of the
result obtained may vary according to the modes in which such analysis
has been conducted, or even according to the degree of dilution in which
the saline substances exist.[390] The elements of the salts contained in
a pint of sea water are _Lime_ 2·9, _Magnesia_ 14·8, _Soda_ 96·3,
_Sulphuric Acid_ 14·4, _Muriatic Acid_ 97·7, total 226·1 grains, and
supposing these elements to be combined in the modes which Dr. Murray’s
views appear to establish, the saline contents of a pint of sea water
may be expressed as follows, _Muriate of Soda_ 159·3, _Muriate of
Magnesia_ 35·5, _Muriate of Lime_ 5·7, _Sulphate of Soda_ 25·6 grains,
total 226·1 grains; besides such saline contents, it is contaminated
with various animal and vegetable bodies, in consequence of which it
becomes, when long kept, highly offensive; it ought also to be stated
that Dr. Wollaston has discovered the presence of a minute proportion of
potass in sea water; and Dr. Marcet has more lately detected ammonia in
combination with muriatic acid. MEDICINAL USE. As a cathartic, a pint is
the ordinary quantity, which should be taken in the morning, at two
doses, with an interval of half an hour between each; this quantity
contains half an ounce of purgative salt, of which about three-fourths
are muriate of soda, but it is much more active than a similar portion
of any artificial combination. In procuring sea water for medicinal
purposes, there is a precaution, the importance of which experience has
suggested to me, that it be not hastily drank on the beach, before the
particles of sand, with which under such circumstances it is generally
mixed, are allowed to subside; from the neglect of this precaution I
have witnessed serious consequences. The most important advantages of
sea water are derived from its external use as a bath.
AQUÆ DESTILLATÆ. L.D.
AQUÆ STILLATITIÆ. E. _Distilled Waters._
These are waters impregnated with the essential oils of vegetables, and
are principally designed as grateful vehicles for the exhibition of more
active remedies; ample directions for preparing them are given in the
several Pharmacopœias, and if they be rectified by redistillation they
may be kept for several years; the usual mode of preserving them is by
adding spirit, which has also the incidental advantage of preventing
them from being frozen during the winter season. Some recommend a film
of the essential oil to be diffused over the water’s surface. They may
be extemporaneously prepared by adding to water what have been called
_Essences_, which consist of essential oil and alcohol, or by rubbing
any essential oil with ten times its weight of sugar, or, what answers
still better, of magnesia: when however they are so prepared they never
retain their transparency. The college, in the present Pharmacopœia,
have directed the distillation off the essential oil, as well as off the
recent herb; this alteration is one of practical convenience. The
properties of each water may be learnt by referring to the vegetable
from which it is distilled.
AQUÆ MINERALES. Mineral Waters.
Although all waters that flow from the earth, are, as they contain
mineral bodies in solution, strictly speaking, _mineral_ waters, yet
this term is conventionally applied to such only as are distinguished
from spring, lake, river, or other water, by a peculiarity in colour,
taste, smell, or any obvious properties, or by the medicinal effects
which they produce, or are known to be capable of producing.
To the medical practitioner the history of these waters is most
interesting and instructive, involving highly important subjects of
chemical and physiological inquiry. These waters are without doubt
indebted for their medicinal virtues to the operation of the substances
which they hold dissolved, but this is so materially aided by the
peculiar state of dilution in which they exist, as well as by the mere
bulk and temperature of the water itself, as to render extremely
doubtful the success of every attempt to concentrate their powers by
evaporation. To what extent dilution may modify the chemical condition
of saline solutions has been satisfactorily demonstrated by the
researches of Dr. Murray (see _Aqua Marina_), and to what degree an
increase in the solubility of any remedy may influence its medicinal
properties has been considered at some length in the first part of this
work, (_page 172_.) It is certain that, in general, soluble salts are
capable of exerting a much more powerful effect upon the animal economy,
than those which are insoluble; on which account, the earthy muriates,
especially that of lime, are amongst the most active ingredients of
mineral waters. Although chemical analysis has frequently from its own
imperfection failed in ascertaining their presence, it seems probable
that _muriate of lime_ and _sulphate of soda_ exist in all those springs
that furnish, by the usual methods of examination, _sulphate of lime_
and _muriate of soda_; for the same reasons it is equally probable that
iron, which in certain waters has been supposed from the analysis to
exist as a _carbonate_, is in its native solution a true _muriate_; this
is undoubtedly the fact with respect to the Bath waters. Is it then
surprising, that medical practitioners should hitherto have failed in
their attempts to emulate, by artificial arrangements, the medical
efficacy of active and mineral springs? For the investigation of the
true composition of mineral waters the researches of Dr. Murray furnish
a simple and elegant formula. _Determine by precipitants the weight of
the acids and bases, suppose them united in such a manner that they
shall form the most soluble salts, and these salts will constitute the
true saline constituents of the water under examination._
Mineral Waters admit of being divided into four classes, viz.
1. ACIDULOUS; owing their properties chiefly to carbonic acid; they are
tonic and diuretic, and in large doses produce a transient exhilaration;
the most celebrated are _Pyrmont_, _Seltzer_, _Spa_, _Carlsbad_, and
_Scarborough_.
2. CHALYBEATE; containing iron in the form of _sulphate_, _carbonate_,
or _muriate_;[391] they have a styptic, inky taste: _Hartfell_ near
_Moffat_, _Peterhead_, _Tunbridge_, _Brighton_, _Cheltenham_, _Bath_,
_Lemington Priors_, _Castle Horneck_, near _Penzance_, &c.
3. SULPHUREOUS WATERS derive their character from sulphuretted hydrogen,
either uncombined, or united with lime, or an alkali: _Engien_, _Aix la
Chapelle_, _Harrowgate_, _Moffat_.
4. SALINE; mostly purgative, and are advantageously employed in those
hypochondriacal and visceral diseases that require continued, and
moderate relaxation of the bowels; _Cheltenham_, _Leamington_,
_Seidlitz_, and all brackish waters.
Some springs, as those of _Bath_, _Matlock_, and _Buxton_, owe their
virtues rather to temperature than to any other cause, and others, as
_Malvern_, to the diluent power of the water.
In the Codex Medicamentarius of Paris, formulæ are introduced for the
preparation of several of the more distinguished mineral waters, under
the head “_Aquæ Minerales Arte Factæ_.”[392]
ARGENTI NITRAS. L. Nitras Argenti. E.D.
_Fused Nitrate of Silver_, olim, _Lunar Caustic_.
QUALITIES. Fused nitrate of silver is in small cylinders of a dark grey
colour, and presenting, when broken across, a crystalline structure.
_Odour_, none; _Taste_, intensely bitter, austere and metallic; it
tinges the skin indelibly black; when perfectly free from copper, it is
not deliquescent. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION; oxide of silver 70, nitric acid
30, or one atom of oxide and one atom of acid. SOLUBILITY. In an equal
weight of water, at 60°; it is also soluble in alcohol. The solution
readily yields transparent colourless crystals, the primary form of
which is a _right rhombic prism_. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Fixed
alkalies_ and _alkaline earths_, the _muriatic_, _sulphuric_, and
_tartaric_ acids, and all the salts which contain them; _Soaps_,
_arsenic_, _hydro-sulphurets_, _astringent vegetable infusions_,
_undistilled waters_. The solutions of nitrate of silver are not
disturbed by ammonia, the _ammoniuret_ being very soluble; the carbonate
of ammonia, however, produces a precipitation. Nitrate of silver tinges
the skin and hair black, and has been frequently employed for the latter
purpose;[394] it likewise forms the basis of permanent ink.[395]
MEDICINAL USES. Tonic, antispasmodic, and escharotic; it is said to
prove efficacious in epilepsy, but during a trial for several years in
the Westminster hospital, I never could discover its virtues; many of
the cases in which it has been supposed to have been successful,
probably derived advantage from the purgative medicines which were
simultaneously administered. It possesses a bitter taste, and it has
been said to act like vegetable bitters upon the digestive organs, and
to offer a resource in dyspeptic complaints. It is principally useful as
an external application, and may be considered as the strongest and most
manageable caustic that we possess;[396] whilst in solution it acts as a
useful stimulant in indolent ulcers; and being possessed of the power of
coagulating animal matter, it does not spread to any extent, and is
therefore extremely convenient where a large eschar is to be avoided. A
weak solution of this metallic salt has lately been strongly recommended
by a French surgeon, as a remedy for piles of long standing; it also
forms an excellent lotion to excite the weak granulations of fungous
ulcers. It is, moreover, said to be highly useful as an injection in
cases of puriform discharges from the ear; before we direct however such
an application, it is highly necessary that we should ascertain the
tympanum to be entire, or the liquid may escape into the internal ear,
and occasion very alarming irritation; an event which unhappily
occurred, not long since, in the case of a noble duke of high military
renown. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. For internal use, in pills made with crumb
of bread, with the addition of some sugar, to prevent the mass from
being too hard. Dose, gr. 1/8, gradually increased to gr. j.
ADULTERATIONS. _Copper_ may be always suspected when it deliquesces, and
is to be immediately detected by its solution assuming a blue colour,
when supersaturated with ammonia. The sticks should be preserved in
closely stopped phials, and covered with soft and dry paper. ANTIDOTE.
When this substance has been taken in excess, muriate of soda is its
true antidote; indeed, so completely does it decompose, and separate it
from water, that if a saturated solution of nitrate of silver be
filtered through common salt, it may be afterwards drunk with impunity.
This circumstance alone, would of necessity render nitrate of silver a
very uncertain remedy; and yet it is evident that the basis of this salt
is occasionally absorbed, for there are several cases upon record, in
which the oxyd of silver has been deposited in the rete mucosum, and
given a purple hue of a very singular appearance to the patient; I have
lately witnessed an instance of this kind in a lady who had taken large
doses of the nitrate, for the purpose of curing a dyspeptic complaint;
and several other similar cases stand recorded in different works.
ARMORACIÆ RADIX. L.E. (_Cochlearia Armoracia_ )
Raphanus Rusticanus, D. _Horse[397] Radish Root._
QUALITIES. _Taste_, hot and acrid; _Odour_, pungent. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. All its virtues depend upon an essential oil. SOLUBILITY.
Both water and alcohol extract its active principles, but they are
dissipated by decoction. MEDICINAL USES. As a stimulant in paralysis it
is often useful; Sydenham found it successful in dropsies which were
consequent on intermittent fevers; Cullen recommends a syrup made with
the infusion of horse radish, to remove that species of hoarseness which
depends upon local relaxation; Dr. Withering extols an infusion of this
root in milk as a cosmetic both safe and effectual. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. Alkaline Carbonates; _Oxy-muriate of Mercury_; _Nitrate of
Silver_; the _Infusion of Galls_ and _of Yellow Cinchona Bark_, produce
precipitates with the infusion of this root. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In
substance, scraped or swallowed whole, or in infusion.[398] DOSE of the
substance ʒj, of an infusion f℥ij. See _Infus Armoraciæ comp_. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Infusum Armoraciæ comp:_ L. _Spiritus Armoraciæ comp:_
L.D.
ARSENICUM ALBUM. (Acidum Arseniosum.)
Oxydum Arsenici. E. Arsenicum. D. _White Arsenic_.
_Arsenious Acid._ vulgo _Arsenic_.
QUALITIES. _Form_, shining semivitreous lumps, breaking with a
conchoidal fracture, and when reduced to powder, bearing some
resemblance to white sugar; _Taste_, acrid and corrosive, but not in any
degree corresponding with its virulence, leaving an impression of
sweetness. _Specific gravity_ 3·7; it is volatilized at the temperature
of 383° _Fah:_ and by a strong heat is vitrified into a transparent
glass capable of crystallizing in tetrahedra with truncated angles, or
rather in octohedra. In the state of vapour it is quite inodorous,
although it is asserted in many chemical works of authority to yield a
smell like that of garlic; the fact is that the alliaceous or
garlic-like smell is wholly confined to _metallic_ arsenic in a state of
vapour, and whenever the arsenious acid seems to yield this odour, we
may infer that its decomposition has taken place; this happens when it
is projected upon ignited charcoal, or when heated in contact with those
metallic bodies which readily unite with oxygen, as _Antimony_ and
_Tin_. It is stated by Orfila and other chemists, that if it be
projected upon heated copper the alliaceous odour is evolved. This
assertion is undoubtedly true, but the fact requires to be explained
with more precision, or we may fall into an important error respecting
it. The phenomenon takes place only when the copper is in a state of
ignition, at which temperature its affinity for oxygen enables it to
reduce the arsenious acid; for I find by experiment that if a few grains
of this substance be heated on a plate of copper, by means of a spirit
lamp or blow-pipe, no odour is perceptible, for the whole of the acid is
dissipated before the copper can acquire a sufficiently exalted
temperature to deoxidize it. If the arsenious acid be heated on a plate
of zinc, the smell is not evolved until the metal is in the state of
fusion; if instead of these metals we employ in our experiments those of
gold, silver, or platinum, no alliaceous smell whatever is produced, at
any temperature. It however deserves particular notice, that the flame
of the spirit lamp is itself capable of decomposing the oxyd, in
consequence of the operation of its hydrogen: a fact which is very
likely to betray the chemist into the fallacious belief that the oxyd
does yield the odour in question.[399] It is probable that arsenical
vapours which yield this peculiar odour are less noxious than those
which are inodorous, but I am not aware that the knowledge of this fact
can be applied to any purpose of practical importance.[400] CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. This substance possesses many of the essential habitudes of
an acid, as for instance, that of combining with the pure alkalies to
saturation; it is therefore very properly denominated _Arsenious Acid_.
It may be farther acidified by distilling it with nitrous acid, and the
compound which results is a white concrete substance termed _Arsenic
Acid_; from experiments on the quantity of oxygen absorbed by metallic
arsenic, during its conversion into these two compounds, instituted by
Proust and Davy, it appears that the _arsenious_ acid consists of about
25 of oxygen and 75 of metal, and the _arsenic_ acid of 33 of oxygen and
67 of metal; or, the quantity of metal being the same, that the oxygen
in the latter compound is to that in the former nearly as three to two.
SOLUBILITY. We have but lately been set right upon this point; Klaproth
has shewn that it requires for its solution 400 parts of water at 60°
and only 13 at 212°, and moreover, that if 100 parts of water be boiled
on the arsenious acid, and suffered to cool, it will retain three grains
in solution, and deposit the remainder in tetrahedral crystals; this
fact shews the importance of employing boiling water in every chemical
examination of substances supposed to contain arsenic. It is soluble in
alcohol and oils, the former taking up two per cent.; with lime water it
produces a white precipitate of _arsenite of lime_, which is soluble in
an excess of arsenious acid; with magnesia it forms a soluble
_arsenite_, which proves very virulent. The poisonous effects of
arsenious acid are so amply detailed in medical works,[401] that it
would be superfluous to dwell upon them in this place; it may however be
interesting and useful to record an account of the pernicious influence
of arsenical fumes upon organized beings, as I have been enabled to
ascertain in the copper smelting works, and tin burning-houses of
Cornwall. This influence is very apparent in the condition both of the
animals and vegetables in the vicinity; horses and cows commonly lose
their hoofs, and the latter are often to be seen in the neighbouring
pastures crawling on their knees, and not unfrequently suffering from a
cancerous affection in their rumps, whilst the milch cows, in addition
to these miseries, are soon deprived of their milk; the men employed in
the works are more healthy than we could _a priori_ have supposed
possible; the antidote upon which they all rely with confidence,
whenever they are infested with more than an ordinary portion of
arsenical vapour, is _sweet oil_, and an annual sum is allowed by the
proprietors in order that it may be constantly supplied; this opinion is
not solitary, for Tachenius relates that the poisonous effects, such as
convulsions, gripes, and bloody stools, with which he was seized from
exposure to the fumes of arsenic, were relieved by milk and oil.
It deserves notice that the smelters are occasionally affected with a
cancerous disease in the scrotum, similar to that which infests
chimney-sweepers, and it is singular that Stahl in describing the
putrescent tendency in the bodies of those who die from this poison,
mentions in particular the gangrenous appearance of these parts. It is a
very extraordinary fact that previous to the establishment of the copper
works in Cornwall, the marshes in their vicinity were continually
exciting intermittent fever, whereas since that period a case of ague
has not occurred in the neighbourhood; I have heard it remarked by the
men in the works, that the smoke _kills_ all fevers. The fact is here
stated without any other comment than that the agricultural improvements
which have taken place in the district, are not sufficient to afford any
clue to the explanation of the circumstance. MEDICINAL USES. Much has
been said upon this subject, and the propriety and safety of its
exhibition has been often questioned; there can be no doubt but that the
greatest circumspection is required in the practitioner who administers
it, and it ought not, in my opinion, to be employed until other remedies
have failed; that it is capable of accumulating in the system is very
evident, and this, in certain habits, may predispose the patient to
serious diseases; the form in which it is most manageable and least
dangerous, is that of solution. See _Liquor Arsenicalis_. Some
practitioners have exhibited it in substance, made into pills, by
rubbing one grain with ten of sugar, and then beating the mixture with a
sufficient quantity of crumb of bread to form ten pills, one of which is
a dose. The Chinese and other oriental nations form the sulphuret of
arsenic (_realgar_) into medical cups, and use lemon juice, after it has
stood some hours in them, by way of cathartic. As an external
application, arsenic has long been extolled in the cure of cancers; the
caustic so extensively used under the sanction of the late Mr. Justamond
in cases of open cancer, consisted of two parts of Antimony, and one of
Arsenious acid, fluxed together in a crucible, and afterwards levigated,
and reduced to the requisite degree of mildness by the addition of
powdered Opium.[402] But it deserves notice in this place, that repeated
experiments have proved that arsenic kills[403] more rapidly when
applied externally to an abraded part, than when internally
administered. See page 132. _Lionardo di Capoa_ relates the case of a
child killed by the violent vomiting and purging arising from a slight
wound made in the head by a comb, wet with oil, in which Arsenic had
been infused for the purpose of killing vermin; and we have numerous
instances on record, where the application of arsenical cerates and
ointments has been followed by violent and dangerous symptoms. We also
learn from the different historians of the Plague of London, that the
arsenical amulets which were worn, as preservatives, on that occasion,
were sometimes attended with deleterious consequences; _Crato_ (Epist.
168.) observed an ulcer of the breast produced by them. _Vernascha_,
violent pains and syncope. Amongst the foreign authors who have related
cases of poisoning by the external application of Arsenic we may mention
_Desgranges_ (_Recueil Period: de la Société de Med: de Paris_, T. vi.
p. 22.) who records the history of a chambermaid, poisoned by having
rubbed her head with an arsenical ointment for the purpose of destroying
vermin; and _Roux_ (_Nouveaux Elemens de Med: Operat. par. J. P. Roux_,)
who confessed to have killed a young girl of eighteen by an application
of the “_Pate Arsenicale_” to a cancerous breast. To the Empirics of our
own times we are indebted for many fatal illustrations of the subject.
Since the last edition of this work, a Lady applied to a well known
Quack, distinguished for his impudent pretensions in the treatment of
cancer, and submitted to a caustic application to the breast. In a short
time paralysis ensued, and the application was discovered to contain a
large proportion of Arsenic, and that the disease, for the cure of which
it had been applied, was _not_ cancer. A somewhat analogous case
occurred under the care of a bold empiric in the neighbourhood of St.
George’s Fields, who undertook to remove the deformity of bow legs in a
dandy drawing-master! by _rasping the shin bones_, and applying arsenic
to the surface of the wound; in consequence of which, in addition to
extensive local mischief, the unhappy dupe became paralytic. It is also
necessary to inform the practitioner that Arsenious acid has been known
to produce poisonous effects when applied to the _unbroken_ skin; a case
of this nature is related by Desgranges, in the sixth volume of the
_Recueil Periodique de la Soc: de Med_: another may be found in the 22d
volume of the _Acta Germanica_ (1730); and Renault obtained similar
results in his experiments on animals. When the system is under the
influence of arsenic, the following symptoms will appear, viz.
thickness, redness, and stiffness of the palpebræ, soreness of the gums,
ptyalism, itching over the surface of the body, restlessness, cough,
pain in the stomach and bowels, head-ache, and I have also occasionally
noticed paucity of urine, and even stranguary, a fact of which I find no
mention in other authors. Strange as it may appear, _Arsenic_ has been
inhaled, together with the vapours of frankincense, myrrh, and those of
other gums during a paroxysm of asthma! This extraordinary practice
arose from the practitioner mistaking the gum juniper, or _Vernix_ of
the Arabians, which by their medical authors was prescribed in
fumigations under the name of _Sandarach_, for the Σανδαρακη of
Aristotle, which was a sulphured of arsenic.
ADULTERATIONS. It is frequently sophisticated with chalk, gypsum, or
sulphate of barytes; the fraud is instantly detected by its not being
entirely volatilized by heat, or by any insoluble residuum occurring in
preparing the _Liquor Arsenicalis_, according to the directions of the
pharmacopœia. To many the adulteration of so active a substance may seem
unimportant, but in consequence of its being thus rendered a medicine of
variable activity, it is one of the most dangerous frauds which can be
committed; a very unpleasant circumstance lately occurred from such a
cause in one of our public institutions: arsenic had been obtained from
the shop of a respectable chemist, who had not usually supplied the
establishment, for the purpose of preparing the arsenical solution: the
article happened to be less adulterated than that which had been
previously employed; the solution however was prepared in the usual way,
and the usual dose was continued, when the patients were soon seized
with violent pains in the bowels, and the cause was not detected until
by an examination of the bottle the usual sediment was not discovered.
ANTIDOTES. Late researches have shewn that _sulphuret of potass_, on
which physicians have placed so much reliance, merits no confidence. The
great indication to be fulfilled in all cases of poisoning is to excite
vomiting, and to administer liquids which are the least liable to act as
solvents of the acrid matter, on which account lime water presents
itself as a very appropriate fluid. The subject, however, is very fully
considered in the first part of this work, to which I am very desirous
of directing the attention of the medical practitioner; see _Antidotes_.
_Methods of detecting the presence of Arsenious Acid._
1. _By its reduction to a metallic state._ Mix a portion of the
suspected powder with three times its weight of _black flux_;[404] put
the mixture into a thin glass tube, hermetically closed[405] at one end,
about eight inches in length, and one-fourth of an inch in diameter;
should any of the powder adhere to the sides of the tube, it must be
carefully brushed off with a feather, so that the inner surface of its
upper part may be perfectly clean and dry; the closed end of the tube,
by way of security, may be thinly coated with a mixture of pipe-clay and
sand,[406] but this operation is not absolutely necessary; the open
extremity is to be loosely plugged with a piece of paper; the coated end
must be now heated on a chaffing dish of red hot coals, when the
arsenic, if present, will sublime, and be found lining with a brilliant
metallic crust the upper part of the tube; a portion of this reduced
metal, if it be arsenic, will, when laid on heated iron, exhale in dense
fumes, which are characterised by a strong smell of garlic. Mr. Phillips
has lately stated that the tube may be sufficiently heated, for the
purpose of metallization, by means of a spirit lamp.[407]
It merits particular notice, that in reducing by the above process the
arsenious acid to the state of metal, the presence of potass in the flux
is very essential, since it forms immediately an _arsenite of potass_,
and thereby fixes the arsenious acid, and prevents it from being
volatilized before the temperature is sufficiently high to enable the
charcoal to decompose it; an ignorance of this fact has not unfrequently
proved a source of disappointment and fallacy.
Another method of identifying _white arsenic_ by metallization, is to
form at the moment of its reduction, an alloy with copper, which is
easily effected in the following manner,—Mix the suspected powder with
black flux, as in the former experiment, and place the mixture between
two polished plates of copper, bind them tight together by iron wire,
and expose them to a low read heat; if the included substance contained
arsenic, a silvery white stain will be left on the surface of the
copper, which is an alloy of the two metals. If in this, as in the
former experiment, charcoal be employed without the addition of a fixed
alkali, the result may, for the same reason, prove unsatisfactory. But,
with whatever care this experiment is conducted, it is, to say the
least, a clumsy and unsatisfactory test, and ought never to be relied
upon.
2. _By the application of certain Reagents, or Tests, to its Solutions._
A great and important question has arisen in medical jurisprudence,
whether any chemical proof of the presence of _white arsenic_, short of
its actual reduction to the state of metal, can be depended upon, or
ought to be received as evidence in the courts of criminal law. After a
full experimental investigation of the subject, and an impartial review
of all the facts which bear upon the question, I feel no hesitation in
declaring it to be my conviction, that _white arsenic may be detected
without any fear of fallacy_, _by a proper application of certain
tests_, and that the contrary opinion is entirely founded in error, and
unsupported by experiment, as will more fully appear in the sequel.[408]
(A) _Fused Nitrate of Silver_, or _Lunar Caustic_—For this test we are
indebted to Mr. Hume of London, who first gave it to the public in the
Philosophical Magazine for May 1809, vol. xxxiii. His method of applying
it is as follows: into a clean Florence flask introduce two or three
grains of the suspected powder, to which add about eight ounces of rain
or distilled water, and heat the solution until it begins to boil, then
while it boils frequently shake the flask, and add to the hot solution a
grain or two of sub-carbonate of potass, agitating the whole to make the
mixture uniform. Pour into a wine glass about two table spoonsful of the
solution, and touch the surface of the fluid with a stick of lunar
caustic. If arsenic be present, a beautiful yellow precipitate will
instantly proceed from the point of contact, and settle towards the
bottom of the glass as a flocculent and copious precipitate.
By this test the 60th part of a grain may be satisfactorily recognised
in two ounces of water. The presence of some alkali is essential to the
success of the experiment, since arsenious acid is unable, by the
operation of simple affinity, to decompose the nitrate of silver.[409]
The validity of this test has been questioned on the following grounds,
which shall be fairly examined in order.
OBJECTION 1. _The alkaline phosphates are found to produce precipitates
with silver, analogous in colour and appearance to the arsenite of
silver._ This is undoubtedly the case when the experiment is performed
in the manner just stated, but there are other reagents which will
immediately distinguish these bodies, as will be seen under the history
of the _Ammoniuret of silver_; I have also shewn that there is a mode of
so modifying the application of the silver test itself, that no error or
doubt can arise in the use of it from the presence of phosphoric
salts.[410] My method consists in conducting the trial on writing paper,
instead of in glasses, thus—drop the suspected fluid on a piece of white
paper, making with it a broad line; along this line a stick of lunar
caustic is to be slowly drawn several times successively, when a streak
is produced of a colour resembling that known by the name of _Indian
Yellow_; and this is equally produced by the presence of arsenic and
that of an alkaline phosphate, but the one from arsenic is rough, curdy,
and flocculent, as if effected by a crayon, that from a phosphate
homogeneous and uniform, resembling a water-colour laid smoothly on with
a brush; but a most important and distinctive peculiarity soon succeeds,
for in less than two minutes the phosphoric yellow fades into a _sad
green_, and becomes gradually darker, and ultimately quite black; while,
on the other hand, the arsenical yellow remains permanent, or nearly so,
for some time, when it becomes brown. In performing this experiment the
sun-shine should be avoided, or the transitions of the colour will take
place too rapidly. It would be prudent also for the inexperienced
operator to perform a similar experiment on a fluid known to contain
arsenic, and on another with a phosphoric salt, as a standard of
comparison. In this way the nitrate of silver, without the intervention
of any other test, is fully capable of removing every ambiguity, and of
furnishing a distinguishing mark of difference between the chemical
action of arsenic and that of the phosphates. Mr. Hume states that he
has repeated this experiment to his entire satisfaction,[411] and that,
in a late unfortunate case of poisoning, he derived considerable
information by its application. The laborious author of the London
Dispensatory accepts it as an excellent test, but observes that it is
rendered more luminous by brushing the streak lightly over with liquid
ammonia immediately after the application of the caustic, when, if the
arsenic be present, a bright queen’s yellow is produced which remains
permanent for nearly an hour; but that when the lunar caustic produces a
white-yellow before the ammonia is applied, we may infer the presence of
some alkaline phosphate, rather than that of arsenic. One of the great
advantages of this test is the very small quantity that is required for
examination; it would be well therefore for the operator to perform the
experiment in both ways on a separate paper.
OBJECTION 2. _The Muriates produce precipitates with silver so copious
and flocculent as to overcome every indication which the presence of
arsenic would otherwise afford._ Dr. Marcet proposes to obviate this
difficulty, by adding to the fluid to be examined dilute nitric acid,
and then cautiously applying the nitrate of silver until the
precipitation ceases; in this way the muriatic acid will be entirely
removed, whilst the arsenic, if it be present, will remain in solution,
and may be rendered evident by the affusion of ammonia, which will
instantly produce the yellow precipitate in its characteristic form.
This mode however it must be confessed appears complicated, and requires
some chemical address for its accomplishment; it should be also known
that the yellow precipitate thus produced is not always permanent, for
it is soluble in the nitrate of ammonia formed during the process. Under
these circumstances, it is surely preferable to precipitate at once from
the suspected fluid all the substances which nitrate of silver can
effect, and then to expose the mixed and ambiguous precipitate so
obtained, to a low heat in a glass tube, when the arsenious acid will be
immediately separated by sublimation. In this way the presence of
muriates may even in certain cases be serviceable, especially if the
quantity of arsenic be minute; for by increasing the bulk of the
precipitate we shall decrease the difficulty of its examination. By this
process, also, I should propose to meet the embarrassments which arise
from the influence of various animal and vegetable substances, as milk,
broth, wine, &c. so frequently present in the suspected liquid, and
which are known to alter the character of the arsenical indications. In
this case, however, we must not rely upon any single precipitant; after
having thrown down all that is precipitable by the silver test, the
supernatant liquid should be decanted, slightly acidified by acetic
acid, and submitted to the action of Sulphuretted Hydrogen; when, should
any precipitate occur, it must be separated and added to the former. Dr.
Christison has demonstrated the importance of this proceeding by shewing
that the precipitates, occasioned by the Ammoniurets of silver and
copper, are soluble in certain vegetable infusions.[412] M. Orfila
proposes to remove the difficulties and embarrassments, occasioned by
the colouring matter of different media, by the application of
_Chlorine_, so as to change the colour to a shade that will not offer
any optical impediment to the characteristic indications of the
different tests. I am ready to admit that such a mode of proceeding may,
on certain occasions, assist the accomplished chemist in his analysis,
but in the hands of a person less accustomed to chemical manipulation, I
hesitate not to declare that it is subject to fatal fallacies;[413]
whereas, by precipitating the whole, and submitting the precipitate to
the process of sublimation, we shall avoid every source of error. Why
then should we attempt to pursue our game through the windings of a
labyrinth, when a direct road lies before us, by which we may at once
drive it into the open plain? Mr. Phillips has recently proposed the
addition of animal charcoal (_Ivory Black_) for the purpose of
destroying the colouring matter. He found that by mixing this substance
with the _Liquor Arsenicalis_, that the colouring matter was so
completely destroyed in a few minutes, that the test of nitrate of
silver, or any other might be readily applied. This experiment was
repeated with Port wine, gravy soup, and a strong infusion of onions,
and he succeeded in these cases in procuring a solution sufficiently
colourless for the application of the most delicate reagents. It might
be supposed, adds Mr. Phillips, that the Phosphoric acid which the
animal charcoal contains, might have some share in the production of the
yellow precipitate with silver; he found, however, that water, or wine,
which was merely digested on the animal charcoal, produced no effect
with the nitrate of silver, except a slight precipitate of chloride; and
this even, was prevented by lixiviation. I have, however, a serious
objection to offer to this proposal. Animal charcoal, by some mode of
operation not understood, possesses the property of removing certain
substances from their solution in water; I have already noticed this
effect with respect to Lime water, (see p. 247, _note_), and I have
lately found that it takes place with very dilute solutions of
Arsenic.[414] Hence charcoal, as we shall presently find, may be
employed for the purpose of detecting minute portions of arsenic.
OBJECTION 3. _Chromate of potass produces, with Nitrate of Silver, a
yellow precipitate which, when placed side by side with one produced by
Arsenious acid, cannot be distinguished by colour or appearance from
it_. This fact has lately been announced by Dr. Porter of the University
of South Carolina. (Silliman’s Journal, iii, 355.) But as the presence
of chromate of potass can never be suspected in any research after
arsenic, in cases of forensic interest, the fact is of no importance to
the physician.
Where the Arsenious acid is mixed with vegetable matter, and it becomes
difficult to separate it by filtration, the whole may be evaporated to
dryness, taking great care that the heat applied for such a purpose
never exceeds 250° _Fah:_ or we shall lose the arsenic by
volatilization. The residue thus obtained may then be submitted to a
higher temperature, in a subliming vessel, in order to procure the
arsenious acid in its pure state. Should the arsenious acid have, in the
first instance, been dissolved in oil, Dr. Ure proposes to boil the
solution in distilled water, and to separate the oil afterwards by the
capillary action of wick threads. If the arsenious acid be mixed with
resinous bodies, oil of turpentine may be employed as their solvent,
which will leave the arsenic untouched. Dr. Black directed the
application of alcohol for this purpose, but this is obviously improper,
since arsenious acid is soluble in that fluid.
It has been stated that, in consequence of the inability of arsenious
acid to decompose nitrate of silver by simple elective attraction, the
presence of an alkali becomes indispensable in the examination, for
which purpose Dr. Marcet has suggested the superior advantages which
will attend the use of ammonia, in cases where the arsenic has not been
previously combined with a fixed alkali, since it does not, when added
singly, decompose nitrate of silver; a circumstance which in using the
fixed alkalies is very liable to occasion fallacy. This led Mr. Hume to
improve his original plan, by forming at once a compound, which he calls
the _Ammoniaco-nitrate of silver_, but which may with more propriety be
designated as an _Ammoniuret_.[415] This is a triumph in the art of
analysis; for whilst it obviates the necessity of ascertaining the exact
proportion of alkali required in each experiment,[416] it possesses the
valuable property of not in the least disturbing the phosphate of soda.
(B.) _Sulphate of Copper._ Like the preceding test, this also requires,
for its success, that the arsenious acid should be combined with some
alkali, in which case, by the operation of double elective attraction,
an arsenite of copper is thrown down of a very striking and
characteristic colour, being that of the well-known pigment called
_Scheele’s green_; if arsenic be not present in the liquid so assayed,
and a fixed alkali has been employed, the result will be a delicate
_sky-blue_, instead of the _grass-green_ precipitate.
Mr. Hume avails himself also of the peculiar property of ammonia to form
a metallic salt, and has employed it with copper: he takes the sulphate
or acetate of that metal, and by the same process as that described for
the preparation of an ammoniuret of silver, forms another test. In using
this, however, care must be taken that it be not too highly
concentrated, for in that state it will not produce precipitation. Much
controversy has taken place on the subject of sulphate of copper as a
test for arsenic, and it has been stated, with more confidence than
truth, that a _decoction of onions_ has the property of imparting to the
copper precipitate, which is produced by a fixed alkali, a colour and
appearance analogous to that which is occasioned by arsenic. This
opinion was boldly advanced and supported on a most important[417] trial
at the Lent assizes for Cornwall in 1817. Since this event an
opportunity[418] has occurred which has enabled me to examine this
alleged fact, by a fair and appropriate series of experiments, the
result of which satisfactorily proved that the opinion was grounded on
an optical fallacy, arising from the _blue_ precipitate assuming a
_green_ colour, in consequence of having been viewed through a yellow
medium.[419] The phosphoric salts may also, under similar circumstances,
be mistaken for arsenic, for the intense blue colour of the phosphate of
copper will thus necessarily appear green. This instance of optical
fallacy is not solitary, for _corrosive sublimate_ has been said to
possess the character of an alkali, because it turns the syrup of
violets green, whereas this change is to be attributed solely to the
combination of the yellow hue of the sublimate with the blue colour of
the violet.
Whenever therefore such a source of fallacy can be suspected, the
operator would do well to repeat his experiment on white paper, in the
manner I have before proposed, and the results which are obtained in
glasses should always be examined by day-light, and viewed by reflected
and not by transmitted light. The presence of Peroxide of Iron in the
Cupreous salt will also impart a green colour to the precipitate
produced by an alkali. To obviate any fallacy which might arise from
this circumstance, Mr. Phillips proposes to add some pure Potass to the
sulphate of copper; if pure, a fine blue precipitate will be thus
obtained; to this may be then added the suspected solution, and if
Arsenious acid be present, it will then convert this blue precipitate to
a green one.
(C.) _Sulphuretted Hydrogen._ This is a very delicate test for arsenic,
producing with its solution a beautiful golden coloured liquor, which
after a short time lets fall a precipitate. Mr. Phillips,[420] in
reviewing the third edition of the present work, has stated, that no
such precipitate occurs, but I find that in close, as well as in vessels
exposed to the air, it takes place by repose. By this reagent, so small
a quantity as 1⁄000,000 may be detected in solution; and it may be also
stated in farther proof of the utility of this test, that it is less
affected than any other by the presence of animal or vegetable matter.
The method of preparing a solution of sulphuretted hydrogen gas is
extremely simple. Put into an oil flask about two ounces of undiluted
muriatic acid and an ounce and a half of powdered Sulphuret of Antimony;
fit a cork to the flask and pass through it the short leg of a small
glass tube twice bent at right angles; pass the longer leg of the tube
into a phial containing distilled water, and then by the heat of a
spirit lamp applied to the flask, sulphuretted hydrogen gas will be
abundantly liberated, and though much of it will escape, yet a
sufficient quantity will be dissolved by the water. The annexed sketch
represents the apparatus proposed by Mr. Phillips, and which will
require but little practical skill, either for its construction or use.
[Illustration]
But it is not always necessary to prepare a watery solution of
Sulphuretted Hydrogen, a stream of the gas, introduced into the
suspected liquor by means of the above apparatus, will act with equal
delicacy, and possesses, as Dr. Christison has observed, the advantage
of not diluting it. Before applying this test, it is necessary to add an
acid, if any alkali should exist along with the Arsenic, otherwise no
precipitate will take place.
(D.) _Alkaline Hydro-sulphurets._ These bodies do not affect the
arsenious solution, unless a few drops of acetic acid be added. To the
_Hydro-sulphuret_, or perhaps more properly, _Hydroguretted Sulphuret_,
of Ammonia there is an insuperable objection, since this fluid, when
diluted, possesses the colour which we expect to produce by the action
of Sulphuretted Hydrogen upon Arsenious Acid.
(E.) _Charcoal Powder._ This test was proposed by Mr. A. Thomson,
(London Dispensatory, 2nd edition, p. 53.) Into the suspected solution
stir a moderate quantity of charcoal powder, allow it to settle, then
pour off the supernatant liquor, and when the powder which remains is
dry, sprinkle some of it on a red hot poker, when, if the solution
should contain Arsenic, the odour of Garlic will be rendered sensible. I
have already offered some remarks upon the cause of this phenomenon
(_page 304_.)
There are several other tests by which arsenic may be identified. The
process described in the Dublin Pharmacopœia for the preparation of
_Arsenias Kali_, the arseniate, or rather super-arseniate of potass,
which has been long known under the name of “the arsenical salt of
Macquer,” has been strongly advised as a collateral proof; it consists
in decomposing the nitrate of potass[421] by the arsenious acid, but
since this problem requires that the suspected poison should be in a
solid and palpable form, it is impossible to examine its pretensions to
our confidence, without being reminded of the story so often told to us
in our infancy, of catching a bird by laying salt upon its tail.
It is necessary to observe in this place, that the _arseniate_, like the
_arsenite of potass_, or that of _ammonia_, is obedient to the silver
test, but that instead of the yellow precipitate which is produced by
the latter salt, we obtain, by the former, a red or brick-coloured one.
If arsenious acid and quick-lime be heated together in a glass tube, a
sudden ignition is occasioned at a certain temperature, when metallic
arsenic will sublime, and an arseniate of lime be formed. In this case
one portion of the arsenious acid is robbed of its oxygen to complete
the acidification of the remainder.
In taking an impartial review of all the evidence which the
investigation of this subject can furnish, it must appear to the most
fastidious, that the silver and copper test above described are capable,
under proper management, of furnishing striking and infallible
indications, and that in most cases they will be equally conclusive, and
in some even more satisfactory in their results, than the metallic
reproduction upon which such stress has been laid, and for this obvious
reason, that unless the quantity of metal be considerable,[422] its
metallic splendour and appearance is often very ambiguous and
questionable. It has to my knowledge happened to a medical person, by no
means deficient in chemical address, to ascribe to the presence of
arsenic that which was no other than a film of very finely divided
charcoal: in this state of doubt the last resource was to ascertain
whether it yielded, or not, upon being heated, an alliaceous odour.
Surely an unprejudiced judge would prefer the evidence of sight, as
furnished by the arsenical tests, to that of smell, as afforded in the
last experiment. No one will attempt to deny that it is the duty of the
medical practitioner who is called upon to decide so important a
question as the presence of arsenic, to prosecute by experiment every
point which admits the least doubt; he should also remember that in a
criminal case, he has not only to satisfy his own conscience, but that
he is bound, as far as he is able, to convince the public mind of the
accuracy and truth of his researches; and he fails in his duty if he
omits, through any false principle of humanity, to express the strong
conviction which the success of his experiments must necessarily have
produced in his mind. Let it however be remembered, that the application
of chemical reagents on solutions suspected to contain arsenic, so far
from throwing any obstacle in the way of the metallic reduction of that
body, are the very steps which should be adopted as preparatory to the
“_experimentum crucis_,” since the precipitates which are thus produced
may be collected, and easily decomposed, as before stated. Those who for
judicial purposes may require farther information upon these subjects
are referred to the second volume of our work on “_Medical
Jurisprudence_.” _Tit: Poisons._
ARSENICI OXYDUM SUBLIMATUM. L.
_Prepared Oxide of Arsenic._
The object of this process is to ensure a pure and uniform oxide; it has
been already stated that a more dangerous fraud can scarcely be
committed than the adulteration of arsenic; I am therefore not inclined
to coincide with Mr. Thomson, and to regard “the present process as
superfluous,” and the committee of the college entertained a similar
opinion.
ASARI FOLIA. L.E.D. _Asarum Europæum._
Asarabacca Leaves.
QUALITIES. The leaves, when recent, are nauseous, bitter, and
acrimonious, and prove violently purgative and emetic, properties which
are impaired by keeping. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, a peculiar acrid
principle, not well understood. SOLUBILITY, water by infusion extracts
their sensible properties, but they are lost by decoction. USES. As an
errhine, Dr. Cullen has remarked that they form the most useful species
of this genus of local stimulants. DOSE, gr. iij. to v. repeated every
night until the full effect is produced. OFFICINAL PREP. _Pulvis Asari
compositus._ E.D.
ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA.
_Pleurisy root. Radix._
[The root of this plant, which is very abundant in every part of the
United States, is the part used in medicine. It has a bitter taste, and
its most soluble portions are fecula and a bitter extractive matter. Its
best menstruum is boiling water. Its medicinal properties are
expectorant and diaphoretic. The diseases in which it has been found
useful are catarrh, bronchitis, the passive stage of pneumonia, and in
rheumatism. In substance it may be taken in doses from ℈j to ʒss. Of the
decoction, made by boiling half an ounce of the root in water, a tea cup
full may be taken frequently during the day.]
ASSAFŒTIDA.[423] L.E.D.
Ferula Assafœtida. _Gummi Resina._
QUALITIES. _Form_, small irregular masses, adhering together, of a
variegated texture, and containing many little shining tears of a
whitish, reddish, or violet hue. _Taste_, bitter and sub-acrid. _Odour_,
fœtid and alliaceous, but this latter property is very much impaired by
age. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Gum (or according to Brugnatelli,
_extractive_) 60, resin 30, and essential oil 10 parts. SOLUBILITY. It
yields all its virtues to alcohol and æther; if triturated with water it
forms a milky mixture, but which is not permanent, unless some intermede
be employed for the suspension of the gum-resin; for this purpose egg
may be added, in the proportion of one yolk to a drachm of assafœtida,
or a permanent mixture may be effected by carefully triturating the gum
resin with double its weight of mucilage. If ʒvj of assafœtida be
triturated with ʒss of camphor, a mass results of a proper consistence
for a plaster; if triturated with carbonate of ammonia, it is easily
reduced to powder, but undergoes no other change. FORMS OF EXHIBITION;
in mixture or in pills. The Indian physicians have an idea that on
account of its stimulating powers, it will, if administered to a
pregnant woman, produce abortion. DOSE, gr. v. to ℈j. _Form. 23, 29._
MEDICINAL USES, stimulant, antispasmodic, expectorant, and anthelmintic;
in coughs, attended with pulmonary weakness, and a tendency to spasm, it
is very beneficial; in cases of flatulent cholic, it has, in the form of
enema, acted like a charm; in habitual costiveness it often proves an
invigorating aperient, and may be advantageously combined with resinous
purgatives in torpor of the bowels connected with nervous symptoms.
OFFICINAL PREP. _Mist: Assafœtid:_ L.D. _Tinct: Assafœtid:_ L.E.D.
_Spir: Ammoniæ fœtid:_ (=B=) L.E.D. _Tinct: Castori, comp:_ (=B=) E.
_Pil: Aloes cum Assafœtid:_ (=G=) E. _Pil: Galbani: comp:_ (=B=) L.
_Enema Fœtid:_ D. IMPURITIES. Its characteristic odour should be
powerful, and when broken, its fracture ought to exhibit a bluish-red
appearance. It ought not to be brittle.
AURUM.
(Auri Murias.) _Muriate of Gold._
[Gold was early used as a medicine. It fell however into total disrepute
until its use was a few years since revived in France. Although it has
attracted some attention lately, it can hardly be said to have reclaimed
a permanent place in the materia medica. The most striking effects which
it produces on the system, are an increase of urine and perspiration. It
has been recommended in glandular swellings, gleets, schirrus of the
uterus, scrofula, and dropsy. It is however as an antisyphilitic remedy
that it has been principally celebrated. According to Dr. Chrestien of
Montpelier, it would appear that gold was not merely adequate to the
cure of syphilis in all its forms, but that it possesses very great
advantages over mercury—It does not affect the gums, nor does it in any
way disturb the general health of the patient. Notwithstanding this warm
recommendation of Dr. Chrestien, it is still doubtful whether gold is
adequate to the cure of syphilis. The best form in which the gold can be
given is that of the muriate, prepared according to the directions of
the Pharmacopœia of the United States; of this the dose is one fifteenth
to one fourth of a grain, in pills, given every six, eight, or twelve
hours.]
BALSAMUM PERUVIANUM. L.E.D.
(Myroxylon Peruiferum). _Peruvian Balsam._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a viscid liquid of a reddish brown colour. _Odour_,
fragrant and aromatic. _Taste_, hot and bitter. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
Resin, volatile oil, and benzoic acid; it is therefore a true _balsam:_
this term was formerly applied to every vegetable resin having a strong
scent and the fluidity of treacle, and which was supposed to possess
many medicinal virtues; it is now restricted to those resins which
contain the benzoic acid in their composition, of which there are only
three, viz. the Balsams of _Peru_, _Tolu_, and _Benzoin_. SOLUBILITY.
Water when boiled upon it dissolves only a portion of benzoic acid;
æther is its most complete solvent; alcohol dissolves it completely, but
the quantity of this menstruum must be considerable. PROPERTIES,
stimulant and tonic, on which account in certain chronic affections of
the lungs, it has been found a serviceable expectorant; Sydenham gave it
in Phthisis, but wherever any inflammatory action is to be apprehended
Dr. Fothergill wisely cautions us against its use. FORMS OF EXHIBITION.
Diffused in water by means of mucilage, or made into pills with any
vegetable powder. DOSE, gr. v to ʒj. ADULTERATIONS. A mixture of resin
and some volatile oil with benzoin, is often sold for Peruvian Balsam,
and the fraud is not easily detected, and is probably of but little
importance.
BALSAMUM TOLUTANUM. L.E.D.
(Toluifera Balsamum.) _Balsam of Tolu._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a thick tenacious liquid becoming concrete by age, in
which state it is usually found in the shops. _Taste_, warm and
sweetish. _Odour_, extremely fragrant, resembling that of lemons.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Volatile oil, resin, and benzoic acid. SOLUBILITY.
It is soluble in alcohol, forming a tincture which is rendered milky by
water, but no precipitate falls. When dissolved in the smallest quantity
of a solution of potass, its odour is changed into one that resembles
clove pink. MEDICINAL USES. It has been regarded as expectorant. In
turning to the classification of expectorants, p. 102, it will be found
to occupy a place in the second division of our first class, for it may
be considered as capable of stimulating the pulmonary exhalants; whence
its use in chronic coughs. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It may be suspended in
water by means of mucilage, or yolk of egg, but it is rarely employed
except on account of its agreeable flavour;[424] its virtues are similar
to those of the balsam of Peru. OFFICINAL PREP. _Tinct: Benzoin. comp:_
L.E.D. _Tinct: Toluiferi Balsam:_ E.D. _Syrup: Tolut:_ L.
BELLADONNÆ[425] FOLIA. L.E.D.
(Atropa Belladonna.) _Deadly Nightshade._
QUALITIES. The leaves are inodorous. _Taste_, slightly nauseous,
sweetish, and sub-acrid; their peculiar properties are not lost by
drying. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Vauquelin found that the leaves contained
a substance analogous to albumen, salts with a base of potass, and a
bitter principle on which its narcotic properties depended, and more
lately the presence of an alkaline element has been detected, which has
received the appellation of _Atropia_, the sulphate of which
crystallizes very beautifully. SOLUBILITY. Water is the most powerful
solvent of its active matter. USES. It is a powerful sedative and
narcotic, both as an internal medicine and as an external application;
in this latter form, it alleviates local pains very effectually, but is
liable to affect the nervous system. The recent leaves powdered, and
made into an ointment with an equal weight of lard will be found an
efficient form for many purposes; rubbed over the penis it prevents
priapism and relieves chordee more effectually than any application
which has been proposed. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. Every part of the plant is
poisonous, and the berries from their beautiful appearance have often
tempted the unwary; the leaves however furnish the most convenient and
powerful form of exhibition; externally, they may be used as a poultice,
internally, one grain of the dry leaves powdered, and gradually
increased to 10 or 12 grains, or the leaves may be infused in boiling
water in the proportion of four grains to two fluid-ounces, which may be
given as a dose. A little of this infusion dropped into the eye
permanently dilates the pupil, for which intention it has been
successfully applied previous to an operation for the cataract. The
extract of this plant, since its active principle is fixed, ought to
possess activity, but as it occurs in commerce it is found to be very
uncertain and variable, a circumstance which entirely depends upon the
manner in which it has been prepared.[426] See _Extractum Belladonnæ_.
An overdose of belladonna produces the most distressing and alarming
symptoms, and so paralyzing is its influence, that vomiting can be
hardly excited by the strongest doses of tartarized antimony; in such
cases vinegar will be found the best antidote, or the affusion of cold
water over the surface of the body, after the application of which,
emetics are more likely to perform their duty, for physiological reasons
explained in p. 85. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Extract: Belladonnæ_ L.
_Succus spissatus Atropæ Belladonnæ_. E.
BENZOINUM. L.E. Benzoe. D. (Styrax Benzoin)
vulgo, _Benjamin_.
QUALITIES. Form, brittle masses, composed of white and brownish, or
yellowish fragments; _Odour_, fragrant; _Taste_, scarcely perceptible.
When heated, it exhales benzoic acid in the form of crystals. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Resin, and a large proportion of benzoic acid. SOLUBILITY.
It is readily dissolved by alcohol and æther, and is again separated
from them by water; solutions of lime, and the fixed alkalies separate
the benzoic acid from it, which can afterwards be recovered from such
solutions by the addition of an acid. USES. It is considered
expectorant, and was formerly used in asthma, and other pulmonary
affections; it has however fallen into disuse, and is now principally
employed in perfumery, and odoriferous fumigations.[427] OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Acidum Benzoicum_ L.E.D. _Tinct: Benzoini comp:_[428]
L.E.D. IMPURITIES. It is found in the market in various degrees of
purity, the best is yellowish, studded with white spots: the worst is
full of dross, and very dark or black.
BISMUTHI SUB-NITRAS L.
QUALITIES. _Form_, a white, inodorous, tasteless powder. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Oxide of Bismuth in combination with some water and a
little nitric acid. SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble in water and dilute
acids, but is dissolved by the concentrated acids, and is again
precipitated by water. The alkalies, Potass and Soda, also dissolve it,
but sparingly; it is more soluble in ammonia. USES. It was formerly
employed as a cosmetic, under the name of _Magistery of Bismuth_, or
that of _Pearl White_;[429] since, however, it becomes black from the
operation of Sulphuretted Hydrogen and its compounds,[430] much
inconvenience attends its application. Its medicinal powers appear to
have been first noticed by Jacobi,[431] but the remedy attracted little
or no attention until the publication of a paper upon the subject by
Odier[432] of Geneva. The diseases in which its powers as a tonic have
been more particularly displayed, are Gastrodynia, Pyrosis, and
Dyspepsia attended with cholic. Dr. Marcet in a paper read in 1801
before the Medico-chirurgical Society of London, says, “I have had
frequent opportunities of trying the oxide of Bismuth in spasmodic
affections of the stomach in Guy’s Hospital, and those trials have fully
confirmed the opinion which I formerly gave of the utility of this
medicine.” The practitioner will receive a further confirmation of its
value by referring to Dr. Bradsley’s Medical Reports: and Dr. Yeats has
published in the Royal Institution Journal[433] a striking case
illustrative of its efficacy.[434] Dose, gr. v to xv, in the form of
pills.
BISTORTÆ RADIX. L.E.D.
(Polygonum Bistorta.) _Bistort Root._
QUALITIES. This root has no odour, but is highly astringent. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Its active principles are tannin and gallic acid. MED.
USES. It acts as an astringent, and is accordingly used in hemorrhages
and fluxes. DOSE of the root ℈j-ʒj; of a decoction f℥j-f℥ij. Combined
with _Calamus_ it has been successfully administered for the cure of
intermittent fevers. _See p. 167._
CALAMI RADIX. L. Acori Calami Radix. E.
Acorus. D. (Acorus Calamus). _Sweet Flag Root._
QUALITIES. This root is full of joints, crooked, and flattened on the
sides, internally of a white colour, and loose spongy texture. _Odour_,
fragrant and aromatic. _Taste_, bitter and pungent, qualities which are
improved by exsiccation. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The principles in which
its qualities reside appear to be essential oil, and bitter extractive;
the root likewise contains fecula, which is copiously precipitated from
its infusion by sub-acetate and acetate of lead. Watery infusion
extracts all its virtues, but decoction impairs them. Spirit is also an
appropriate solvent, and a resinous extract may be produced accordingly.
USES. It is not employed so frequently as it deserves;[435] it would be
a useful addition to many of the compound infusions of vegetable
stomachics. DOSE. A cupful of the infusion made by adding ʒvj of the
dried root to f℥xij of boiling water. It is so favourite a remedy with
the native practitioners of India, in the bowel complaints of children,
that there is a penalty incurred by any druggist who will not, in the
middle of the night, open his door and sell it, if demanded.
CALUMBÆ RADIX. L. (_Cocculus Palmatus._)
Colomba, Radix. E.D. _Calumba Root._
QUALITIES. _Form_, the dried root imported into this country is in
transverse sections; the bark is thick, and easily detached; the wood is
spongy and yellowish; the pieces are frequently perforated, evidently by
worms. _Odour_, slightly aromatic. _Taste_, bitter and somewhat acrid.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Cinchonia, bitter resin, volatile oil, and starch,
in addition to which M. Planche has found a peculiar animal-like
substance; it appears also to contain Malate and Sulphate of Lime.
SOLUBILITY. Boiling water takes up about one-third of its weight, but
proof spirit appears to be its most perfect menstruum. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. No change is occasioned in the infusion by the solutions of
nitrate of silver, sulphate of iron, muriate of mercury, or tartarized
antimony; but precipitates are produced by the _infusion of galls, and
yellow Cinchona bark_, by _sub-acetate and acetate of lead_,
_oxy-muriate of mercury_, and _lime-water_. The infusion very soon
spoils. DOSE of the powdered root gr. xv to ʒss; of the infusion f℥iss
to f℥ij. USES. It is one of the most valuable tonics and stomachics
which we possess. It seems to be superior to many others, from not
possessing astringent, and stimulant powers, on which account it is
singularly eligible in certain pulmonary and mesenteric affections; it
may be given in combination with chalybeates, aromatics, saline
purgatives, or with rhubarb, as circumstances may require. (_Form. 34,
155._) OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Infus: Calumbæ_. L. _Tinct: Calumbæ_.
L.E.D. It becomes worm-eaten by age, and, in that condition, should be
rejected. Those pieces which have the brightest colour, and the greatest
specific gravity, are the best. The root of _white briony_, tinged
yellow with the tincture of Calumba, has been fraudulently substituted
for this root.
CAMBOGIA. L. _Gamboge._ (_Stalagmitis Cambogioides._ ) Gambogia. E.D.
QUALITIES. _Form_, lumps of a solid consistence, breaking with a
vitreous fracture; _Odour_, none; _Colour_, deep yellow, bordering on
red, and becoming, when moistened, a brilliant light yellow. _Sp. Grav:_
1·221. _Taste_, slightly acrid, but which is not experienced unless it
be allowed to remain long in the mouth. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. One part
of gum, (_Cerasin_,) and four parts of a brittle resin; but this
knowledge throws no light on the nature of its cathartic property.
SOLUBILITY. When triturated with water two-thirds of its substance are
speedily dissolved, and a turbid solution results; alcohol dissolves
nine-tenths, and forms a yellow transparent tincture, which is rendered
turbid by the addition of water; sulphuric ether dissolves six-tenths of
the substance; it is also soluble in alkaline solutions, and the
resulting compound is not rendered turbid by water, but is instantly
decomposed by acids, and the precipitate so produced is of an extremely
brilliant yellow colour, and soluble in an excess of acid. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. No bodies appear to produce in gamboge such a chemical
change as to destroy the chemical properties which distinguish it, but
by a mechanical admixture, its solubility and consequently its
operation, may be materially modified. Dr. Cullen found that the
inconvenience arising from its too rapid solubility, and sudden
impression upon the stomach, might be obviated by diminishing the dose,
and repeating it at short intervals as directed in _Form: 89_. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. No form is more judicious than that of pill. Its alkaline
solution has been sometimes exhibited in dropsy, when it is said to
operate both on the bowels and kidneys. DOSE, gr. 2 to gr. 6. USES. It
is a powerful drastic cathartic, and hydragogue, very liable to excite
vomiting, and from this peculiar action upon the stomach it has been
frequently employed with success in the expulsion of teniæ (_Form:
161_.) and it accordingly enters as an ingredient into many of the
empirical compositions which are sold for the cure of tape worms.[436]
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Pil: Cambogiæ comp:_ L. There is considerable
difference in the degree of purity in which this substance occurs in the
market; it should be estimated by its clearness and brilliancy.
CAMPHORA. L.E.D. (_Laurus Camphora._[437])
Camphor.
QUALITIES. _Form_, a white brittle substance, unctuous to the touch, but
possessing at the same time a degree of ductility which prevents its
being easily pulverised, unless a few drops of spirit be previously
added. It is capable of affecting a crystalline form.[438] _Odour_,
peculiar, fragrant, and penetrating. _Taste_, bitter, pungent, and
aromatic. _Specific gravity_, ·9887, it therefore swims on water; it is
so volatile that during warm weather a considerable proportion will
evaporate, especially if at the same time the atmosphere be rather
moist, for the reason stated in page 175. It is readily ignited, and
burns with a brilliant flame and much smoke; it melts at 288°, and boils
at 400. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a proximate vegetable principle,
resembling the essential oils in many of its habitudes, and probably
differs from them in composition only in containing a larger proportion
of carbon. SOLUBILITY. Water may be said to dissolve about a nine
hundredth part of its weight, or f℥j rather more than gr. ½, but its
solvent power is considerably increased by the addition of carbonic acid
gas; camphor is also rendered more soluble by trituration with magnesia;
it is soluble in an equal weight of alcohol, but it is again separated
by the addition of water; it is also dissolved by oils, both fixed and
volatile,[439] especially if their temperature be a little raised, and
by sulphuric and other æthers, but strong acetic acid may be said to be
its most powerful solvent. By repeatedly distilling it with nitric acid
it is converted into _Camphoric acid_, an acid distinguished by peculiar
properties, and composing, with alkalies and earths, a class of salts
called _Camphorates_, but which do not possess any medicinal value. The
alkalies do not produce any effect upon camphor. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. It is not affected by any substance with which we can
combine it. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It is preferable in the form of
mixture, since it is very liable in the solid state to excite nausea,
and, from swimming on the contents of the stomach, to occasion pain at
its upper orifice. If a larger dose be required than that which water
can dissolve, an additional proportion may be suspended by means of
sugar, almonds, yelk of egg, or mucilage, for which purpose three times
its weight of gum arabic is required. If Camphor be first dissolved by
trituration in a very small portion of oil, it readily mixes with
mucilage of gum arabic, and may then be conveniently blended with
liquids. It has also the property of uniting with gum-resins, and of
converting them into permanently soft, and uniform masses; hence they
may sometimes be conveniently applied for diffusing it in water. It may
be formed into pill-masses by stiff mucilage, fœtid gums, or by a
confection. MEDICINAL USES. In moderate doses it exhilarates, without
raising the pulse, and gives a tendency to diaphoresis; and under
certain conditions of the body, when opium fails, it will frequently
promote sleep. As its effects are transient, its dose should be repeated
at short intervals. _Illustrative Formulæ_ 1, 6, 21, 125, 134, 164.
Camphor is said to correct the bad effects of opium, mezereon,
cantharides, and the drastic purgatives, and diuretics. DOSE, gr. ij to
℈j. In excessive doses it occasions anxiety, vomiting, syncope, and
delirium; these violent effects are best counteracted by opium.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Mistura Camphoræ._ L.D. _Emulsio Camphorata._
E. _Spiritus Camphoræ_, L.E.D. _Tinctura Camphoræ comp:_ L.E.D. _Acidum
Acetosum Camphoratum._ E.D. _Linimentum Camphoræ._ L.E.D. _Liniment:
Camphoræ comp:_ L. _Liniment: Saponis_. (=G=) L.E.D. ADULTERATIONS. It
has been stated that pure camphor may be known by placing it upon hot
bread, when it will turn moist, whereas an adulterated specimen becomes
dry—but with what can it be adulterated?
CANELLÆ CORTEX. L.E.D. Canella Bark, (_Canella Alba Cortex._)
_Wild Cinnamon._
QUALITIES. _Form_; it occurs in quilled and flat pieces; the former are
of a whitish-yellow colour, considerably thicker than cinnamon; the
latter, which are probably the bark of the larger branches, or of the
stem of the tree, are yellow on the outside, and pale brown within.
_Odour_, resembling that of cloves. _Taste_, warm, pungent, and slightly
bitter. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Its virtues depend upon an essential oil,
and a bitter resin. SOLUBILITY. Water extracts only the bitterness, but
proof spirits both the bitterness and aroma. MEDICINAL USES. As a warm
stimulant to the stomach, and as a corrigent to other medicines. In
America it is considered as a powerful antiscorbutic. DOSE of the
powdered bark gr. x to ʒss. Officinal Preparations. _Tinct. Gentian.
comp._ (=B. G.=) E. _Vinum Aloes_, (=G=) L.D. _Pulv. Aloes cum canella_,
(=G=) D.
CANTHARIDES.[440] (Cantharis Vesicatoria.)
_Blistering, or Spanish Flies._
This beautiful insect of the beetle tribe is exceedingly abundant in the
southern parts of Europe, and particularly in Spain. They are collected
from the leaves of the different trees on which they delight to dwell,
in June and July, and are afterwards destroyed, as recommended by
Dioscorides, by the fumes of strong vinegar, and dried in the sun. The
chemical history of Cantharides is still involved in some obscurity; the
blistering principle has been obtained by Robiquet in a separate state,
when it assumes the form of small crystalline plates, having a micaceous
lustre, not unlike spermaceti; Dr. Thomson has given to it the name of
_Cantharidin_;[441] when pure, it is insoluble in water and in cold
alcohol; boiling alcohol, however, dissolves it, but precipitates it
again on being cooled. Æther and the oils dissolve it readily. Although
not soluble in water it is rendered so by the presence of a yellow
matter which exists in native combination with it. A very minute portion
of this substance dissolved in sweet oil, and applied to the skin with a
piece of paper, produces vesication in five or six hours. In addition to
this active principle, Cantharides contain a green concrete oil; a
yellow fluid oil; a peculiar black substance soluble in water and proof
spirit, but not in pure alcohol; a saponaceous or yellow substance,
soluble both in water and alcohol; Uric acid; Acetic acid; Phosphate of
Magnesia, and a parenchymatous substance.[442] MEDICINAL USES.
Cantharides, when administered internally, are powerfully stimulant and
diuretic;[443] and whether applied as a vesicatory to the skin, or taken
into the stomach, they have a peculiar tendency to act upon the urinary
organs, and especially to irritate and inflame the neck of the bladder,
and occasion strangury. On this account they have been very successfully
employed both for the cure of incontinence of urine, and suppression of
this discharge, from torpor or paralysis of the bladder; they have also
been used in gleet and leucorrhæa, and in cases of seminal weakness and
impotence. In consulting the works of Dioscorides, Galen, and Pliny, we
shall find they entertained a notion, that the _virus_ existed only in
the body of the fly, and that the head, feet and wings, contained its
antidote! Hippocrates prescribed them internally in Dropsy, Jaundice,
and Amenorrhœa; and yet in the end of the sixteenth century, Dr.
Groenvelt was charged and sued[444] for giving them inwardly, in
substance, for the cure of the stone. DOSE, in substance, not exceeding
gr. i, combined with opium or hyoscyamus. See _Tinctura: Cantharid_. A
strong decoction of the Cantharides in Oil of Turpentine furnishes a
most powerful Epispastic, and may be easily applied by means of dossils
of lint. As the general belief, which exists with respect to the
aphrodisiac powers of this substance, may induce persons to try its
efficacy in large doses, either for goading the exertions of exhausted
nature, or for incensing the passions of females whose seduction is
meditated, it behoves the medical practitioner to become acquainted with
the symptoms which it may produce, and of which the following may be
considered as the most prominent;—violent retching; copious alvine
evacuations, frequently bloody; very severe colics; active inflammation
of the stomach and intestines; sometimes universal convulsions, attended
with a horror of liquids, resembling that which occurs in hydrophobia;
furious delirium, &c. But the affections of the urinary passages, and
organs of generation, may be regarded κατεξοχην, as the peculiar
symptoms of poisoning by Cantharides; such as heat in the bladder,
bloody micturition, horrible strangury, painful and obstinate priapism,
_satyriasis_, &c. The method of treatment to be pursued on such
occasions will consist in copious bleeding, warm bath, local
fomentations, mild and mucilaginous drinks; and opium, especially in the
form of clyster or suppository. OFFICINAL PREP. _Tinct: Cantharid:_ L.
_Emplast: Cantharid:_ L. _Ceratum Cantharid:_ L. _Unguent: Infusi
Cantharid: Vesicat:_ E. _Unguent: Cantharid:_ D. The flies do not lose
their virtues by being kept; it is, however, curious that even those
acrid insects are soon reduced to dust by others feeding upon them; but
since the inert parenchymatous portion is alone selected by them, the
residue is extremely active.[445]
CAPSICI BACCÆ. L.E.D. Berries of the Capsicum. (Capsicum Annum.)
QUALITIES. _Form_, pods, long, pointed, and pendulous; _Colour_, when
ripe, a bright orange red. _Odour_, aromatic and pungent. _Taste_,
extremely acrimonious and fiery. SOLUBILITY. Its qualities are partially
extracted by water, but more completely by æther and spirit. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Cinchonia, resin, mucilage, and an acrid principle said to
be alkaline.[446] INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. The infusions of capsicum are
disturbed by _Infusion of Galls_; _Nitrate of Silver_; _Oxy-muriate of
Mercury_; _Acetate of Lead_; _the Sulphates of Iron, Copper and Zinc_;
_Ammonia, Carbonate of Potass, and Alum_, but not by sulphuric, nitric,
or muriatic acid. MEDICINAL USES. It is a most powerful stimulant to the
stomach, and is unaccompanied with any narcotic effect; as a gargle in
cynanche maligna, and in relaxed states of the throat, it furnishes a
valuable remedy; combined with purgatives, it proves serviceable in
dyspepsia, (_Form: 78_,) it has lately been given with success in the
advanced stages of acute rheumatism; in various diseases attended with
cold feet, it has been recommended to wear socks dusted with Cayenne
Pepper. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It may be given, made into pills with crumb
of bread, or in the form of tincture, diluted with water; for the
purpose of a gargle, a simple infusion in the proportion of gr. j to f℥j
of boiling water, or fʒvi of the tincture to f℥viij of the _Infusum
Rosæ_, may be directed. DOSE, of the substance, gr. vj to x, of the
tincture fʒj to fʒij in an aqueous vehicle. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Tinct: Capsici:_ L.D.[447]
_Cayenne Pepper_ is an indiscriminate mixture of the powder of the dried
pods of several species of capsicum, but especially of the Capsicum
_baccatum_, (Bird pepper.)
ADULTERATIONS. Cayenne pepper is generally mixed with _muriate of soda_,
which disposes it to deliquesce. _Red Lead_ may be detected by digesting
it in acetic acid, and adding to the solution sulphuret of ammonia,
which will produce, if any lead be present, a dark coloured precipitate;
or the fraud may be discovered by boiling some of the suspected pepper
in vinegar, and after filtering the solution adding to it sulphate of
soda, when a white precipitate will be formed, which, after being dried
and exposed to heat, and mixed with a little charcoal, will yield a
metallic globule of lead.
CARBO LIGNI. L.E.D. _Charcoal._
QUALITIES. It is a black, inodorous, insipid, brittle substance; when
newly prepared it possesses the property of absorbing very considerable
quantities of the different gases; it is also capable of destroying the
smell and taste of a variety of vegetable and animal substances,
especially of mucilages, oils, and of matter in which _extractive_
abounds; and some medicines are said to be even deprived of their
characteristic odour by remaining in contact with it, as Valerian,
Galbanum, Balsam of Peru, and Musk. The use of charring the interior of
water casks, and of wrapping charcoal in cloths that have acquired a bad
smell, depends upon this property; for the same reason it furnishes a
very excellent tooth powder,[448] for which purpose, that which is
obtained from the shell of the cocoa nut is to be preferred. None of the
fluid menstrua with which we are acquainted have any action whatever as
solvents upon carbon.[449] MEDICINAL USES. It is antiseptic, and has
been administered internally, to correct the putrid eructations which
sometimes attend dyspepsia, but in order to produce this effect it
should be newly prepared, or such as has been preserved from the access
of air, for it operates by absorbing the putrid gas, as well as by
checking the decomposition of the undigested element.[450] DOSE, grs. x
to ʒj. It has been lately asserted to possess powers as an antidote to
arsenic; if this be true, its action can only be mechanical by absorbing
like a sponge the arsenical solution, and thereby defending the coats of
the stomach from its virulence.[451] Charcoal, when mixed with boiled
bread, forms a very valuable poultice for foul and gangrenous sores. In
a state of impalpable powder, it is said to be effectual as a styptic;
Dr. Odier informs us that the celebrated _powder of Faynard_, for
stopping hemorrhage, was nothing more than the charcoal of beech-wood
finely powdered.
Charcoal is prepared for the purposes of medicine and the arts, from a
variety of substances, viz.
BURNT SPONGE. _Spongia Usta._ L. Consists of charcoal with portions of
phosphate and carbonate of lime, and sub-carbonate of soda; it has been
highly commended in bronchocele and scrophulous complaints, in the form
of an electuary, or in that of a lozenge, and it has been lately
asserted that it owes its power to the presence of Iodine.
VEGETABLE ÆTHIOPS. _Pulvis Quercus marinæ._ From the _fucus
vesiculosus_, or bladder-wrack, used as the preceding.
IVORY BLACK. _Ebur Ustum._ From ivory shavings burned; used as a
dentifrice and a pigment, under the name of “_blue-black_,” for its hue
is bluish; but bone-black is usually sold for it.
LAMP BLACK. _Fuligo Lampadum._ By burning resinous bodies, as the refuse
of pitch, in furnaces of a peculiar construction.
WOOD SOOT. _Fuligo ligni_, collected from chimnies under which wood is
burnt. It contains sulphate of ammonia, which imparts to it its
characteristic bitterness. It has been considered antispasmodic, and a
tincture was formerly prepared of it.
CARDAMOMI SEMINA. L.D. ( Matonia[452] Cardamomum.)
Amomum Repens. E. _Cardamom Seeds._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, aromatic and agreeable; _Taste_, warm and pungent,
but unlike the peppers, they do not immoderately heat the stomach.
SOLUBILITY. Water, alcohol and æther extract their virtues; the two
latter most completely, and the result is transparent, whereas the
watery infusion is turbid and mucilaginous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
Fecula, mucilage, and essential oil. MEDICINAL USES. They are
carminative and stomachic, and prove grateful adjuncts to bitter
infusions; they are principally employed to give warmth to other
remedies. DOSE of the powder, gr. vj to ℈j. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Extract: Colocynth: comp:_ (=E=) L.D. _Tinct. Cardamomi_, L.E.D.
_Tinct. Cardamom: comp:_ L.D. _Tinct: Cinnamomi, co._ (=B=) L.E. _Tinct.
Gentian, co._ (=G=) L. _Tinct. Rhei_, (=E=) L.E.D. _Tinct. Rhei cum
Aloe_, (=G=) E. _Tinct. Sennæ_, (=E=) L.D. _Spir. Ether. Aromat._ (=B=)
L. _Vinum Aloes Socot._ (=G=) E. _Confect. Aromat._ (=B=) L. _Pulv.
Cinnamom. co._ (=B=) L.E.D. _Pil. Scilliticæ_, (=E=) E. _Infus. Sennæ._
D. (=E=.)
Cardamom seeds should be kept within their husks, or their virtues will
soon be considerably impaired; they are frequently mixed with _grains of
paradise_, which are much hotter and more spicy, but less aromatic in
their flavour.
CARICÆ FRUCTUS, L.D. Fici Caricæ Fructus, E.
_The preserved Fruit of the Fig._
QUALITIES of the dried fig are too well known to require description.
The fig consists almost entirely of mucilage and sugar. USES. It has
been already stated that the most ancient cataplasm on record was made
of figs, (2 Kings, chap. xx. 7.) they are employed medicinally in many
demulcent decoctions, as _Decoctum Hordei comp:_ L.D. They are gently
aperient; it is curious to learn that they constituted the chief part of
the food of the ancient Athletæ.
CARYOPHYLLI. L.
(Eugenia Caryophyllata. _The unopened flowers dried._)
Caryophilli Aromatici Germen, E.
Caryophilli aromat. Calyx, D. _Cloves._
Cloves are the unexpanded flowers, or flower-buds, of the clove tree,
which are first obtained when the tree is six years old; they are
gathered in October and November before they open, and when they are
still green; and are dried in the sun, after having been exposed to
smoke at a heat of 120°, till they assume a brown hue. It is a curious
fact that the flowers when fully developed are quite inodorous, and that
the real fruit is not in the least aromatic. QUALITIES. _Form_, that of
a nail, consisting of a globular head, formed of the four petals of the
corolla, and four leaves of the calyx not yet expanded; and a germen
situated below nearly cylindrical, and scarcely an inch in length.
_Odour_, strong, fragrant, and aromatic. _Taste_, acrid, aromatic and
permanent. Benzoic acid has lately been discovered in them.
SOLUBILITY. Water extracts their odour, but little of their taste;
alcohol and ether take up both completely. MEDICINAL USES. They are more
stimulant than any of the other aromatics; they are sometimes given
alone, but more generally as a corrigent to other medicines. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Infusum Caryophyllorum._ L. _Spir. Lavand. co._ D. (=B=)
FRAUDS. The Dutch frequently mix the best cloves with those from which
the oil has been drawn.
CARYOPHYLLORUM OLEUM. This essential oil, in consequence of the resinous
matter which it holds in solution, has a specific gravity of 1·020, and
consequently sinks in water. When the oil has a hot fiery taste, and a
great depth of colour, it is adulterated. It is imported from the spice
islands. On account of its stimulant properties, it is added to griping
extracts, or used as a local application in the tooth-ache. Vauquelin
obtained from the leaves of the _Agathophyllum ravensara_ an essential
oil, in every respect similar to that of cloves; and I am informed by
Dr. Davy that an oil exactly resembling in smell the oil of Cloves is
procured in Ceylon from the leaf of the Cinnamon tree; but very little,
if any, has ever been exported.
CASCARILLÆ CORTEX. L.D. Croton Eleutheria. E. (Croton Cascarilla.)
_Cascarilla Bark._
QUALITIES. _Form_, curled pieces, or rolled up into short quills; its
fracture is smooth and close, of a dark brown colour; _Odour_, light and
agreeable; when burning, it emits a smell resembling that of musk, which
at once distinguishes it from all other barks. _Taste_, moderately
bitter, with some aromatic warmth. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Mucilage,
bitter extractive, resin, volatile oil, and a large proportion of woody
fibre; neither _Cinchonia_ nor _Quina_ has hitherto been discovered in
it. SOLUBILITY. Its active constituents are partially extracted by
alcohol and water, and completely by proof spirit. MEDICINAL USES.
Carminative and tonic; it is an excellent adjunct to cinchona, rendering
it by its aromatic qualities more agreeable to the stomach, and
increasing its powers. It is valuable in dyspepsia and flatulent cholic,
in dysentery and diarrhœa, and in the gangrenous thrush peculiar to
children. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It is most efficacious in substance; it
may however be given in the form of infusion, or tincture. Decoction
dissipates its aromatic principle; the extract therefore merely acts as
a simple bitter. See _Infus. Cascarillæ_. DOSE of the powder, grs. xij
to ʒss. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Infus. Cascarill._ L. _Tinct.
Cascarill._ L.D. _Extract. Cascarill._ D.
CASSIÆ PULPA. L.E.D. Cassia Pulp. (Cassia Fistula, _Lomentorum Pulpa._)
The fruit is a cylindrical pod scarcely an inch in diameter, but a foot
or more in length; the exterior is a hard brown bark; the interior is
divided into numerous transverse cells, each of which contains an oval
seed imbedded in a soft black pulp. QUALITIES. _Odour_, faint and rather
sickly. _Taste_, sweet and mucilaginous. SOLUBILITY. Nearly the whole of
the pulp is dissolved by water, partially by alcohol and sulphuric
ether. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Sugar, gelatine, glutine, gum, and a small
portion of resin, extractive, and some colouring matter. USES. It is
gently laxative, and is adapted for children and very delicate women,
but it should be always given in combination with manna or some other
laxative, or it is apt to induce nausea, flatulence and griping.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Confectio Cassiæ._ L.E.D. _Confectio Sennæ_
(=B.O.=) L.E.D.[453] There are two kinds of this drug in the market;
that from the West Indies, the pods of which are generally large, rough,
thick rinded, and contain a nauseous pulp; and that from the East
Indies, which is to be preferred, and which is distinguished by smaller
and smoother pods, and by their containing a much blacker pulp. The pulp
ought not to have a harsh flavour, which arises from the fruit having
been gathered before it was ripe, nor ought it to be sour, which it is
very apt to become by keeping. The heaviest pods, and those in which the
seeds do not rattle, are to be preferred.
CASTOREUM. L.E.D. _Castor._ (Castor Fiber. (_Rossicus._) _Concretum sui
generis._)
This substance is secreted by the beaver, in bags near the rectum.[454]
QUALITIES. _Odour_, strong and aromatic. _Taste_, bitter, sub-acrid, and
nauseous. _Colour_, reddish brown. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Volatile oil,
resin, mucilage, extractive, iron, and small portions of the carbonate
of potass, lime and ammonia. It contains also, according to the analysis
of Laugier, a small quantity of Benzoic acid. The Canadian variety is
also stated by Laugier to contain benzoic acid both free and combined.
SOLUBILITY. Its active matter is dissolved by alcohol, proof spirit, and
partially by water; the tincture made with alcohol is the least
nauseous, and the most efficacious; the spirit of ammonia is also an
excellent menstruum, and in many cases improves its virtues. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. It may be given in substance, as a bolus, or in the form of
tincture, but its exhibition in the form of extract or decoction is
chemically incorrect. DOSE, grs. x to ℈j, and, in clysters, to ʒj.
MEDICINAL USES. It is antispasmodic, and seems to act more particularly
on the uterine system. It certainly proves beneficial as an adjunct to
antihysteric combinations; it was highly esteemed by Van Swieten, De
Haen, and many other German practitioners. Baglivi states that it
counteracts the narcotic powers of opium, but this is not the case.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Tinct. Castorei_.[455] L.E.D. ADULTER: It is
sometimes counterfeited by a mixture of dried blood, gum ammoniacum, and
a little real castor, stuffed into the scrotum of a goat; the fraud is
detected by comparing the smell and taste with those of real castor; and
by the deficiency of the subaceous follicles, which are always attached
to genuine specimens. There are two kinds in the market, the Russian and
Canadian, the former however, which is the best, has become extremely
scarce; it may be distinguished from the latter, by being larger,
rounder, heavier, and less corrugated on the outside.
CATECHU EXTRACTUM, L.E.D.
(Acacia Catechu, _Extractum_.)
_Catechu_; olim _Terra Japonica_.[456] _Japan Earth._
QUALITIES. There are two varieties of catechu in the market, the one of
a light yellowish, the other of a chocolate colour; they differ only in
the latter having a more austere and bitter taste. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
Tannin, a peculiar extractive matter, mucilage, and earthy impurities.
SOLUBILITY. It is almost totally dissolved both by water and spirit.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. Its astringency is destroyed by alkaline salts;
and precipitates are produced by metallic salts, especially by those of
iron; and with gelatine it forms an insoluble compound. MEDICINAL USES.
It is a most valuable astringent. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In infusion,
tincture, or powder. (_Form. 51, 52, 58, 151._) In the form of a
lozenge, from its gradual solution, it may be very advantageously
applied in relaxed states of the uvula and fauces; I have found this
remedy successful in cases where the _sulphate of zinc_ was inefficient.
From its great astringency it also forms an excellent dentifrice,
especially when the gums are spongy; for this purpose I have employed
equal parts of powdered catechu, and Peruvian bark, with one-fourth the
quantity of the powder of myrrh. DOSE, grs. x to ℈i. OFFICINAL PREP.
_Infus. Catechu_, _Tinct. Catechu_, L.E.D. _Electuarium Mimosæ Catechu_,
E.D.
CENTAURII CACUMINA. L.E.D.
(Chironia Centaurium[457] _Cacumina._)
_The flowering tops of the common Centaury._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, none; _Taste_, intensely bitter. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Mucilage, resin, and bitter matter. SOLUBILITY. Alcohol and
water dissolve all its active matter. MEDICINAL USES. All its value
depends upon its bitterness. It entered into the composition of the once
celebrated _Portland Powder_ for the gout, for an account of which see
page 32. DOSE, of an infusion, made in the proportion of ℥j to oj of
boiling water, f℥ij; of the dry powder ʒi.
CERA. L.E.D. _Wax._
It is admitted into the list of the Materia Medica under two forms, viz.
1. CERA FLAVA. _Yellow or Unbleached Wax._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, faintly honey-like; it is brittle yet soft; when
chewed, it does not, if pure, adhere to the teeth; it melts at 142°, and
burns entirely away. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is the honey-comb of the
bee melted with boiling water, pressed through cloth bags, and
ultimately cast into round cakes for the market. Whether it be an animal
product, or a vegetable substance merely collected by the bee, has been
a question of dispute; the former opinion is probably correct, although
wax is certainly produced as a secretion by many plants. The yellow wax
contains a portion of pollen which imparts its colour to it, and
increases its fusibility. SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble in water, and in
cold alcohol or ether, but it is soluble in boiling alcohol and ether,
in fixed oils, and in alkalies. USES. It is chiefly employed in the
composition of external applications. ADULTERATIONS. _Earth_ or
_peas-meal_ may be suspected when the cake is very brittle, and the
colour inclines to grey; _Resin_ is detected by putting it in cold
alcohol, which will dissolve the resinous part without acting on the
wax. _Tallow_ is discovered by the greater softness and unctuosity of
the cake, and by its suffocating smell when melted; when this latter
substance is employed, turmeric is added to disguise its paleness.
2. CERA ALBA. _White, Bleached, or Virgin’s Wax._
QUALITIES. This substance differs only from the former, in being
colourless, harder, heavier, and less fusible. USES. It is said to be
demulcent, and very useful in dysentery, but it is rarely used. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. It may be formed into a mixture by melting it with one-third
of its weight of soap, and then gradually adding to it any mucilaginous
liquid. ADULTERATIONS. _White Lead_ may be detected by melting the wax
in water, when the oxide will fall to the bottom of the vessel; _tallow_
may be suspected when the cake wants its usual translucency.
CERATA. L.E. Cerates.
These compositions are characterized by a degree of consistence,
intermediate between that of plasters, and that of ointments. As this
consistence is obtained from the wax which they contain, they very
properly derive from that substance the generic appellation of
_Cerates_.
CERATUM CALAMINÆ. L. (_Ceratum lapidis Calaminaris._ P.L. 1787. _Ceratum
epuloticum. P.L._ 1745). Ceratum Carbonatis Zinci Impuri. E. Unguentum
Calaminare. D.—These preparations have been long known under the name of
_Turner’s Cerate_; they form the basis of many extemporaneous cerates,
in some of which nitric oxide of mercury, in the proportion of ʒj of the
oxide to ℥j of cerate, and in others, the liquor of sub-acetate of lead,
are introduced. By the former combination we obtain a very useful
application to indolent and ill-conditioned ulcers, a valuable stimulant
for inducing an action conducive to the regeneration of parts. By the
latter combination we derive a remedy highly extolled by our most
experienced surgeons, in the cure of burns and scalds.
CERATUM CANTHARIDIS. L. The basis of this preparation is spermaceti
cerate _six parts_, to which is added, of powdered flies _one part:_ as
it is intended to promote a purulent discharge from a blistered surface,
it may be reduced in strength according to circumstances.
CERATUM CETACEI. L. (_Ceratum Spermatis ceti. P.L._ 1787. Ceratum Album,
P.L. 1745). Ceratum Simplex. E. It furnishes a soft and cooling
dressing, and constitutes a convenient basis for more active
combinations, as in the following instance.
CERATUM PLUMBI ACETATIS. L. (_Unguentum Cerussæ Acetatæ, P.L._ 1787.)
This is cooling for burns, excoriations, and inflamed surfaces.
CERATUM PLUMBI COMPOSITUM. L. (_Cerat: Lithargyri acetati compositum.
P.L._ 1787.) This is “_Goulard’s Cerate_” and is applicable to the same
cases as the former cerate; the camphor which enters into its
composition imparts a gently stimulating power to it; it proves
extremely serviceable in chronic opthalmia of the tarsus, and for the
increased secretion of tears, which so frequently affects the eyes of
persons advanced in years.
CERATUM RESINÆ. L. (_Ceratum resinæ flavæ, P.L._ 1787. _Ceratum
citrinum._ 1745. _Yellow Basilicon_). Unguent: Resinosum, E. Unguent:
Resinæ albæ. D. It is stimulant, digestive, and cleansing, and affords a
very excellent application for foul and indolent ulcers.
CERATUM SABINÆ. L. _Savine Cerate._ It is intended to keep up a purulent
discharge from a blistered surface; in practice however it is often
found to fail from the difficulty of obtaining it good, since the acrid
principle of the plant is injured by long boiling, and by being
previously dried; the ointment also loses its virtue by exposure to the
air.
CERATUM SAPONIS. L. This preparation was much used and recommended by
the late Mr. Pott; in preparing it the greatest possible caution is
required; the fire should never be too rapidly applied, the stirring
should be uniform and incessant, and the heat should only be sufficient
to keep the two compositions liquid at the time when they are united.
The original intention of the cerate was to afford, when spread upon
linen, a mechanical support to fractured limbs, and to keep the points
of the bone in due apposition, while in consequence of the _acetate of
lead_ which is formed in the first stage of the process for its
preparation, it possesses the virtues of a saturnine dressing. As a
mechanical agent it may prove at once effectual and dangerous, for if it
be applied before all inflammation and swelling have entirely
disappeared, the inflamed vessels may be completely strangulated by its
unrelenting pressure, and high erysipelatous inflammation, and a rapid
state of gangrene may be the result.
CERATUM SIMPLEX. A useful application to excoriations and sores.
Besides the above cerates, there are many magistral[458] preparations,
of great practical value, and I must refer the surgical student for an
account of them to that very useful little manual, entitled
“_Pharmacopœia Chirurgica_.”
CETACEUM. L.
(Physeter Macrocephalus, _Concretum sui generis_.)
Spermaceti. E.D.
QUALITIES. _Form_, flakes, which are unctuous, friable, and white.
_Odour_ and _taste_, scarcely perceptible. _Sp. Grav._ 9·433. It melts
at 112°. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a peculiar modification of fatty
matter. SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble in water and cold alcohol, but
soluble in hot alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine, but it concretes
again as the fluids cool; in the fixed oils it is completely soluble.
The alkaline carbonates do not affect it, but it is partially dissolved
in the pure alkalies, and with hot ammonia it forms an emulsion which is
not decomposed on cooling. USES. It is demulcent and emollient, but it
possesses no advantages over the bland oils. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It may
be suspended in water by means of mucilage or yolk of egg. (_Formulæ 76,
78, 79._) OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Ceratum Simplex_. E. _Ceratum
Cetacei_. L. _Unguent. Cetacei_. L.D. From exposure to hot air, it
becomes rancid; but it may be again purified, by being washed in a warm
solution of potass.
CINCHONA. L.E.D. _Bark._ _Peruvian Bark._
_Jesuit’s Bark._
Notwithstanding the labours of the Spanish botanists, the history of
this important genus is still involved in considerable perplexity, and
owing to the mixture of the barks of several species,[459] and their
importation into Europe under one common name, it is extremely difficult
to reconcile the contradictory opinions which exist upon the subject,
nor indeed would such an investigation be consistent with the plan and
objects of this work. Under the trivial name _officinalis_, Linnæus
confounded no less than four distinct species of cinchona, and under the
same denomination the British Pharmacopœias, for a long period, placed
as varieties the three barks known in the shops; this error indeed is
still maintained in the Dublin Pharmacopœias, but the London and
Edinburgh colleges have at length adopted the arrangement of Mutis, a
celebrated botanist, who has resided in South America, and held the
official situation of Director of the exportation of bark for nearly
forty years.
CINCHONÆ CORDIFOLIÆ CORTEX. L.E. Cortex Peruvianus. D. Heart-leaved
Cinchona Bark, commonly called _Yellow_ Bark.
CINCHONÆ LANCIFOLIÆ CORTEX. L.E. Cortex Peruvianus. D. Lance-leaved
Cinchona Bark, common _Quilled_ bark—_Pale_ bark.
CINCHONÆ OBLONGIFOLIÆ CORTEX. L.E. Cortex Peruvianus. D. Oblong-leaved
Cinchona Bark, called _Red_ bark.
QUALITIES. The _odour_ and _taste_ of these three species are
essentially the same, although they differ in intensity. They are all
bitter, sub-astringent and aromatic, but the flavour of the _Yellow_
bark is incomparably the most bitter, although less austere and
astringent, whilst the red bark has a taste much less bitter, but more
austere and nauseous than either of the other species. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Few vegetable substances have been more frequently, or more
ably submitted to chemical analysis than the Peruvian bark, and yet but
few results of any great practical utility had been obtained previous to
the recent experiments of Pelletier and Caventou, communicated to the
Academy of Sciences at Paris, since the publication of the fourth
edition of the present work.
Dr. Maton[460] had several years ago observed, that an infusion of
nutgalls produced a precipitate with the decoctions of Bark; a fact
which necessarily produced considerable speculation. Seguin was induced
to regard it as arising from the presence of _gelatine_, (_see p. 56_,)
an opinion which Dr. Duncan proved to be erroneous, and shewed that it
depended upon a new proximate principle, to which M. Gomez of Lisbon had
previously assigned the name of _Cinchonine_. Besides which, bark was
considered as containing resin, extractive, gluten, tannin, a small
portion of volatile oil, and some salts with a base of lime; one of
which however had been only found in _Yellow_ bark, and had been
discovered to contain a peculiar vegetable acid, denominated by
Vauquelin _Kinic_, a name which Dr. Duncan very judiciously superseded
by that of _Cinchonic_ acid.
In the _Red_ bark, Fourcroy detected also a portion of citric acid, some
muriate of ammonia, and muriate of lime. Upon which of these principles
the tonic and febrifuge virtues of bark depends, has ever proved a
fruitful source of controversy. Deschamps attributed them to _Cinchonate
of Lime_, and asserted that two doses of thirty-six grains each, would
cure any intermittent. Westering considered _Tannin_ as the active
constituent; while M. Seguin assigned all the virtues to the principle
which precipitates gallic acid, and which, as it has been before stated,
he mistook for gelatine. Fabroni concluded from his experiments, that
the febrifuge power of the bark did not belong exclusively and
essentially to the astringent, bitter, or to any other individual
principle, since the quantity of these would necessarily be increased by
long boiling, whereas the virtues of the bark are notoriously diminished
by protracted ebullition. This argument however will not go far, when we
consider the chemical changes which the liquid is known to suffer during
that operation, and by which a considerable portion of its matter is
rendered insoluble. Such was the state of our knowledge respecting the
composition of the _Cinchona_, when Pelletier and Caventou, guided by
analogy, were led to infer the presence of an alkaline element of
activity in its composition. The merit, belonging to the researches of
these eminent chemists, does not so much consist in the discovery of new
elements, as in the proofs which they have furnished of the well known
principle, _Cinchonine_, being a salifiable base,[461] and in
demonstrating the peculiar states of combination in which it exists in
the different species of Cinchona.
1. _Cinchona Lancifolia._
Their analysis of the _Pale Bark_, furnished the following principles.
1. _Acidulous Kinate of Cinchonia._[462]
2. _A green fatty matter._
3. _Red Colouring matter, slightly soluble._
4. _Ditto soluble._ (Tannin.)
5. _Yellow colouring matter._
6. _Kinate of Lime._
7. _Gum._
8. _Starch._
9. _Lignin._
_Cinchonia_, when obtained in an isolated form,[463] is distinguished by
the following characters and habitudes.
It is white, transparent, and crystallizes in the form of needles; it
has but little taste, circumstance depending upon its comparative
insolubility, as it requires no less than 7000 parts of cold water for
its solution; in boiling water it is soluble in 2500 times its weight,
but a considerable part separates, on cooling. In alcohol and the acids
it is much more soluble, and imparts to such menstrua the characteristic
bitter of the bark; it dissolves only in small quantities in the fixed
and volatile oils, or in sulphuric ether. Cinchonia restores the colour
of litmus which has been reddened by an acid. With acids it combines and
forms neutral salts, of which the solubility and crystalline form vary
with the acid employed.
_Sulphate of Cinchonia_, easily crystallizable and moderately soluble,
has been found to consist of _Cinchonia_ 100, _Sulphuric acid_ 13·02.
_Nitrate of Cinchonia_, uncrystallizable, and sparingly soluble.
_Muriate of Cinchonia_, crystallizes in very beautiful needles, and is
more soluble than the preceding salts.
_Oxalate of Cinchonia_, nearly insoluble; hence by pouring oxalic acid,
or oxalate of ammonia into solutions of any of the soluble salts of
cinchonia, we obtain a very white and abundant precipitate, which might
be mistaken for oxalate of lime; it is however soluble in an excess of
acid, and in alcohol.
_Gallate of Cinchonia_, equally as insoluble as the _Oxalate_, whence
the precipitate occasioned by pouring an infusion of galls into the
decoctions of genuine cinchona.
Cinchonia, when heated, does not fuse before decomposition. Its ultimate
elements are _oxygen_, _hydrogen_, and _carbon_; the latter being
predominant.
The _Kinic acid_, which exists in native combination with the
_Cinchonia_, amongst several other peculiar properties, is convertible
by means of heat into a substance (_acide pyrokinique_,) which is
crystallizable, and capable of producing with iron a most beautiful
green colour.
2. _Cinchona Cordifolia._
In the _Yellow Bark_, these chemists discovered also a salifiable base,
quite distinct however in its character and habitudes from _Cinchonia_;
they accordingly have designated it by another name, viz. _Quinine_, but
which we shall hereafter call _Quina_. In speaking of these two bases,
the authors compare them, in point of dissimilarity, to the fixed
alkalies, potass and soda. _Quina_ is distinguished from _Cinchonia_ by
the following characters. It cannot, like this latter body, be
crystallized by evaporation from its alcoholic solution, although it may
be obtained in transparent plates. _It is very soluble in æther_; in
water it is as insoluble as cinchonia, but its taste is much more
bitter. The salts which it forms are different from those of cinchonia,
both in the proportion of their elements, and in the properties which
they possess, being generally much more bitter. In comparing their
composition, _Quina_ will appear to have less capacity of
saturation[464] than cinchonia.
_Sulphate of Quina._ It forms crystals quite remarkable for their
satin-like and pearly lustre. It is soluble in cold water, a property
which is very considerably increased by an excess of acid.[465] It
appears from the observations of M. Callaude, apothecary at Annecy, that
_Sulphate of Quina_ exposed to a gentle heat, becomes highly luminous;
and M. Pelletier has since found that _Sulphate of Cinchonia_, when
exposed in a capsule to the steam of boiling water, exhibits the same
phenomenon, but that neither _Quina_ nor _Cinchonia_, by themselves, nor
their acetates, possess this phosphorescent quality. This appears to be
the most efficient of all the salts of Bark, and is the one from which I
have frequently derived much advantage. In its exhibition we must be
careful not to combine it with substances that form insoluble compounds
with it. The _Infusum Rosæ compositum_ is objectionable as a vehicle, on
account of the astringent matter which it contains, and which therefore
precipitates the _Quina_ from its solution. I have lately seen a
prescription, in which the salt is directed to be rubbed with a few
grains of _Cream of Tartar_, and then to be dissolved in mint water.
This is obviously injudicious, since Tartaric acid decomposes the
sulphate, and occasions an insoluble _Tartrate_, which is precipitated.
The form in which I have usually prescribed it is in that of solution,
with a small quantity of sulphuric acid, in the proportion of a minim to
every grain of the salt. A _Wine of Quina_ may be made by adding five
grains of the sulphate to a pint of Sherry; a Tincture, by dissolving
the same quantity in eight fluid-ounces of Rectified Spirit. The
sulphate is to be preferred to the pure _Quina_ in these cases, because,
when the tincture is made by using the alkali, not saturated by an acid,
a precipitate is formed on adding it to aqueous liquors. Dose of the
Sulphate, gr. i.–v.
_Acetate of Quina_, very remarkable for the great facility with which it
crystallizes, and for the pearly aspect and agreeable stellated grouping
of the crystals; whereas the acetate of cinchonia crystallizes with
difficulty, and simply in plates transparent, and devoid of lustre.
_Quina_ forms with the oxalic, gallic and tartaric acids, salts as
insoluble as those which the same acids form with _Cinchonia_.
3. _Cinchona Oblongifolia._
The _Red Bark_ upon analysis was found to contain a double basis, and to
yield both _Cinchonia_ and _Quina_, and, what is still more
extraordinary, the quantity of each exceeded that which is known to
exist in the _grey_ and yellow _barks_.
The latest experiments, however, made on very large quantities of the
bark, have shewn that _Quina_ and _Cinchonia_ exist simultaneously in
all the three species; but the _Cinchonia_ is, relatively to the
_Quina_, in greater quantity in the _grey_ bark; whilst, in the _yellow_
bark, the _Quina_ so predominates, that the presence of the _Cinchonia_
might well have escaped notice when small quantities were operated on.
Having thus furnished a sketch of this curious discovery, we have next
to enquire whether the alkaline bases in question do actually
concentrate all the virtues of the barks in which they reside? M.
Majendie[466] informs us that Pelletier had very early after the
discovery transmitted to him a portion of the new substances for trial,
and that he has unequivocally determined that they do not possess any
deleterious qualities,[467] and are therefore essentially different from
the principles of _Nux vomica_, (_Strychnine_,) Opium, (_Morphia_,) &c.
According to the testimony of Dr. Double, as related in the same
journal, they would seem to possess the medicinal properties of the
cinchona.
In the third number of _Majendie’s Journal_ we receive a report from M.
le docteur Renauldin, of an intermittent cured by the _Sulphate of
Cinchonia_, in doses of six grains.
As the discovery of an alkaline element in Opium led the way to the
detection of salifiable bases in other active vegetables,[468] it has
seemed to me preferable that I should introduce those general
observations which I wish to offer upon the subject of those bodies,
under the history of that narcotic. It is only necessary in this place
to caution the practitioner against the hasty generalizations of the too
sanguine chemist; it has already been observed that those vegetable
remedies, whose value has been established by the sober experience of
ages, consist of different principles of activity, or, at least, owe a
modified power to the compound effect of their several ingredients. (_p.
154, note._)
SOLUBILITY OF THE BARK.[469] Cold water extracts its bitter taste, with
some share of its odour; when assisted by a moderate heat, the infusion
is stronger, but becomes turbid as it cools; the infusion cannot be
kept, even for a short time, without undergoing decomposition, and being
spoiled; wine also extracts the virtues of bark, and is prevented by
this substance from becoming sour, a fact which probably depends upon
the avidity with which some of the principles of bark combine with
oxygen, and which may throw some light upon the cause of its antiseptic
virtues. The colouring matter of wine is precipitated by bark, as it is
by charcoal, in the course of a few days. By decoction the active matter
of cinchona is in a great degree extracted, but if the process be
protracted beyond eight or ten minutes, it undergoes a very important
chemical change, the precise nature of which is not well understood; the
balance of affinities, however, by which the different elements are
united, is evidently overthrown, and a considerable precipitation
ensues; oxygen would also appear to have been absorbed; whether the
_Cinchonia_ becomes insoluble has not yet been ascertained, but
experience has shewn that the general loss of solubility, produced by
such a process, is accompanied with a corresponding loss of medicinal
activity; on which account, the extract is necessarily a very
inefficient preparation; if we attempt to redissolve it, not more than
one half is soluble in water. Vinegar is a less powerful solvent than
water; the active matter of bark is rendered more soluble by the
addition of mineral acids, and by the earths and alkalies; these latter
bodies deepen its colour, and precipitate the _Cinchonia_, for which
reason, when they are employed, the decoction ought not to be filtered;
see _Form. 41, 42_, and note thereon. _Lime water_ has been recommended
as a solvent, and it affords an excellent form for children and
dyspeptic patients; for the same reason we obtain a stronger and perhaps
a more efficient preparation, by triturating it with magnesia, previous
to the process of infusion. Alcohol is a very powerful solvent, but the
great activity of this menstruum so limits its dose that we are
prevented from exhibiting a sufficient quantity of the bark in the form
of tincture; it furnishes however an excellent adjunct to other
preparations.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. Precipitates are produced by the _salts of
iron_, _sulphate of zinc_, _nitrate of silver_, _oxy-muriate of
mercury_, _tartarized antimony_, _solutions of arsenic_, _&c._ Any
considerable portion of a tincture produces also a precipitation, which
sometimes does not immediately take place, and the medicinal value of
the bark is probably not impaired by it. As the infusions of _nut galls_
and some other vegetable astringents precipitate the cinchonia from
bark, it becomes a question how far such liquids are medicinally
compatible; saline additions, as _alum_, _muriate of ammonia_, _&c._
have been frequently proposed, but in many such mixtures decompositions
arise which must deceive us with regard to the expected effects. FORMS
OF EXHIBITION. No form is so efficient as that of powder, a fact which
would seem to argue against the _exclusive_ value of the _Cinchonia_;
even the ligneous fibre which the chemist pronounces to be inert and
useless, may produce its share of benefit by modifying the solubility of
the other ingredients, or by performing some mechanical duty which we
are at present unable to understand or appreciate; but where the stomach
rejects it, it must be administered in _infusion_ or _decoction_, with
the addition of its _tincture_. In cases where it is necessary to join
cordials, an infusion of bark in Port wine[470] is a popular and very
useful form for its administration. DOSE of the powder, gr. v to ʒij or
more, of the infusion or decoction ℥ij. MEDICINAL USES. It is powerfully
tonic and antiseptic; it was introduced into practice for curing
intermittent fevers, but since that period it has been generally used in
diseases of debility, in fevers of the typhoid type, and in gangrene. It
was first conjectured to be useful in gout by Sydenham, and Dr. Haygarth
has strongly recommended its exhibition in acute rheumatism; when
however it is used in these diseases, the greatest attention ought to be
paid to the state of the bowels, and purgatives should be occasionally
interposed. In Dyspepsia, the use of the purer bitters is to be greatly
preferred to that of the bark. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Infus.
Cinchonæ_, L.E.D. _Decoct. Cinchon._ L.E.D. _Extractum Cinchon._ L.E.
_Extract. Cinchonæ resinosum._ L.D. _Tinct. Cinchonæ_, L.E.D. _Tinct.
Cinchonæ comp._ L.E.D. _Tinct. Cinchon. Ammoniat._ L. MAGISTRAL FORMULÆ,
31, 37, 40, 44, 127. ADULTERATIONS. The frauds committed under this head
are most extensive; it is not only mixed with inferior barks, but
frequently with genuine bark, the active constituents of which have been
entirely extracted by decoction with water. In selecting cinchona bark,
the following precautions may be useful; it should be dense, heavy and
dry, not musty, nor spoiled by moisture; a decoction made of it should
have a reddish colour when warm; but when cold, it should become paler,
and deposit a brownish red sediment. When the bark is of a dark _colour_
between red and yellow, it is either of a bad species, or it has not
been well preserved. Its _taste_ should be bitter, with a slight
acidity, but not nauseous, nor very astringent; when chewed, it should
not appear in threads, nor of much length; the _odour_ is not very
strong, but when bark has been well cured, it is always perceptible, and
the stronger it is, provided it be pleasant, the better may the bark be
considered. In order to give bark the form of _quill_, the bark
gatherers not unfrequently call in the aid of artificial heat, by which
its virtues are deteriorated; the fraud is detected by the colour being
much darker, and upon splitting the bark, by the inside exhibiting
stripes of a whitish sickly hue. In the form of powder, cinchona is
always found more or less adulterated. During a late official inspection
of the shops of apothecaries and druggists, the Censors repeatedly met
with powdered cinchona having a harsh metallic taste, quite foreign to
that which characterizes good bark.[471] The best test of the goodness
of bark is afforded by the quantity of _Cinchonia_, or _Quina_ that may
be extracted from it; and the manufacturer should always institute such
a trial before he purchases any quantity, taking a certain number of
pieces indiscriminately from the bulk. Much has been said of late
concerning the probability of the genuine species of the cinchona tree
becoming extinct; in consequence of which some succedaneum has been
anxiously sought for; the bark of the broad-leaved willow, _Salix
Caprea_, has been proposed for this purpose. Vogel recommends the root
of _Geum urbanum avens_; others propose that of the _Dastisca canabina_.
The _Cinchona Caribæa_ of the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia is said, by Dr.
Wright, to whom we are indebted for our knowledge of it, to have
satisfactorily answered in all cases where the Peruvian bark was
indicated. The _Geoffræa Intermis_ is often sold for it.
M. Ré, Professor of the Materia Medica at the Veterinary School at
Turin, has announced that the _Lycopus Europæus_ of Linnæus, called by
the peasants of Piedmont the _Herb China_, is a complete succedaneum for
Peruvian Bark.[472] The success with which bark has been imitated by
medicinal combination, has already been noticed in the first part of
this work.
CINNAMOMI CORTEX. L.E.D (Laurus Cinnamomum.)
_Cinnamon._
The qualities of Cinnamon depend upon the presence of an _essential
oil_. _Benzoic acid_ has been found in it. It is principally employed to
cover the taste of nauseous medicines, and to correct the griping
quality of different purgatives. It is, however, in itself, astringent
and tonic, whence it has been found efficacious in the relief of alvine
fluxes. ADULTERATIONS. It is sometimes intermixed with cinnamon from
which the oil has been drawn; the fraud is detected by the weakness of
the odour and taste of the specimen; sometimes it is mixed with
_cassia_, but this is soon discovered, for cassia is thick and clumsy,
breaks short, and smooth, and has a remarkable slimy taste, whereas the
fracture of cinnamon is shivery, and its flavour warm and clean.
Cinnamon ought not to leave a mawkish taste in the mouth; this
circumstance denotes an inferior quality. There is an inferior kind
imported into Europe from China, through the hands of private merchants;
this is distinguished by being darker coloured, rougher, denser, and by
breaking shorter; the taste is also harsher, more pungent, and ligneous,
without the sweetness of Ceylon cinnamon. DOSE of the cinnamon in powder
is from grs. x. to ℈j. OFFICINAL PREP. _Aqua Cinnamomi_, L.E.D, _Spir
Cinnamomi_, L.E.D. _Tinct. Cinnamomi_, L.E.D. _Tinct. Cinnamom. co._ L.
_Pulv. Cinnamom. comp._ L.E.
CINNAMOMI OLEUM. It is principally imported from Ceylon: it has a
whitish yellow colour, a pungent burning taste, and the peculiar fine
flavour of cinnamon in a very great degree.[473] It should sink in
water, and be entirely soluble in alcohol. It is one of the most
powerful stimulants which we possess. Dose, ♏︎i to iij, on a lump of
sugar.
COCCUS. L.E. (Coccus Cacti.) Coccinella. D.
_Cochineal._
It is an insect imported from Mexico and New Spain, and has the
appearance of a wrinkled berry or seed of a deep mulberry colour, with a
white powder between the wrinkles. USES. Its medicinal virtues are now
entirely discredited, and it is only employed for the sake of its
colouring matter, for the purpose of a dye; it was known to the
Phœnicians, and was the _tolu_ of the Jews. Its watery solution is of a
violet crimson, its alcoholic of a deep crimson, and its alkaline of a
purple hue; the colour of the watery infusion is brightened by acids,
cream of tartar, and alum, and at the same time partly precipitated. Dr.
John has given the name of _Cochenelin_ to this colouring principle,
which M. M. Pelletier and Caventou have lately obtained in a perfectly
pure state, as a very brilliant purple red powder with a granular
crystalline appearance; these chemists propose to call it _Carmine_, but
as Mr. Children very justly observes, if we adopt the term, its
termination should be altered, to avoid confounding the pure colouring
matter with the pigment in common use. It may be called _Carmina_, a
more harmonious name than Cochenelin, (Ann: de Chimie, vol. viii).
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. The colouring matter is decomposed by _sulphate
of iron_, _sulphate of zinc_, and _acetate of lead_. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Tinct: Cardamom: comp:_ L.D. _Tinct: Cinchon: comp:_ L.D.
_Tinct: Gentian_, _comp:_ E. _Tinct: Cantharid:_ D. ADULTERATIONS. It is
invariably adulterated with pieces of dough, formed in moulds, and
coloured with cochineal. I understand that this fraud gives employment
to a very considerable number of women and children in this metropolis.
A cargo of the counterfeit article was some time since exported, in
order to obtain the drawback; by throwing a suspected sample into water,
we shall dissolve the spurious ones, and ascertain the extent of the
adulteration.
COLCHICI RADIX, ET SEMINA. L.E.D.
Colchicum Autumnale.
The _Bulb_ of the Meadow Saffron.
QUALITIES. When recent it has scarcely any _odour_, but its _taste_ is
bitter, hot and acrid. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Its properties reside in a
milky juice, and depend upon an alkaline principle; it contains also
gum, starch, inulin, and extractive matter, which, when in solution,
undergoes a chemical change, analogous, I apprehend, to that which takes
place in the infusion of Senna, and it would appear with similar
inconvenience. Sir Everard Home ascertained that this deposit, in the
vinous infusion, excites nausea and griping, but that it may be removed
without destroying the efficacy of the medicine. The alkaline element,
similar to that of the Hellebore (_Veratria_), lately found in it,
appears to exist in combination with gallic acid. (_Annales de Chimie_,
_tom._ xiv. _Mai_, 1820.) This alkaline body would seem to display its
greatest energies by its action upon mucous surfaces; in small portions
it excites violent sneezing, and when applied to the membrane of the
stomach, immediate vomiting and purging are the result.[474] See
_Veratri radix_. The virtues of the bulb of Colchicum are very variable,
according to the place of growth and season of the year. Since the third
edition of this work, I have been favoured with some valuable
observations upon this subject by Mr. Alexander Gordon; he says that it
is in its greatest perfection from the beginning of June until the
middle of August.[475] It is also necessary to extract the virtues of
the bulb as soon as it is gathered, for although removed from the earth,
the developing process of vegetation continues, and the substance
undergoes a corresponding series of chemical changes, and finally
becomes as inert as if it had remained in the ground. It is a problem of
some importance to discover a method of destroying the vegetable life of
the bulb, without at the same time injuring its virtues, for I apprehend
that a want of attention to the above precaution frequently renders the
vinous infusion inactive. The practitioner engaged in preparing this
vegetable remedy will find some valuable directions in the third edition
of Thomson’s Dispensatory. The flower of the _meadow saffron_ is very
poisonous to cattle. SOLUBILITY. Vinegar and wine[476] are the best
menstrua for extracting its active qualities; by decoction its essential
oil is dissipated. MEDICINAL USES. It has been much extolled on the
continent as a remedy in dropsy, especially in hydro-thorax, and in
humoral asthma; its operation however as a diuretic, is less certain
than squill, although its _modus operandi_ is analogous to it, as will
be seen by referring to our new arrangement of Diuretic remedies. As a
_specific_ in gout its efficacy has been fully ascertained; it allays
pain, and cuts short the paroxysm. It has also a decided action upon the
arterial system, which it would appear to control through the medium of
the nerves. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. In my opinion, acids, and all
oxygenated substances render the vinous infusion drastic; on the
contrary, alkalies render its principles more soluble, and its operation
more mild, but not less efficacious. Magnesia may judiciously accompany
its exhibition. DOSE of the saturated vinous infusion, the only form in
which its successful operation can be insured, fʒss to fʒj, whenever the
patient is in pain. See _Vinum Colchici_. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Acetum Colchici_, L. _Oxymel Colchici_, D. _Vinum Colchici_, L.
_Spiritus Colchici Ammoniatus_, L. _Syrupus Colchici Autumnalis_, E.
COLCHICI SEMINA. Dr. Williams of Ipswich has lately published an account
of the efficacy of the _Seeds_ of Colchicum, which he says possess all
the virtues of the root, without its pernicious[477] qualities; the form
in which he administers them, is in that of vinous infusion.[478] He
also informs me that he has experienced considerable tonic effects from
these seeds; and that unlike other narcotic remedies they do not appear
to produce, or favour congestion in the head. The seeds ought not to be
bruised, as their virtues reside chiefly in the husk, or cortical part.
COLOCYNTHIDIS PULPA. L.E.D.
(Cucumis Colocynthis.)
Colocynth. Coloquintida. _Bitter Cucumber._
QUALITIES. The medullary part of this fruit, which is alone made use of,
is a light, white, spongy body. _Taste_, intensely bitter and nauseous.
_Odour_, when dry, none. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Mucilage, resin, a bitter
principle, and some gallic acid. SOLUBILITY. Alcohol and water alike
extract its virtues, but the active principle resides both in the
portion soluble in water, and in that which is insoluble. MEDICINAL
USES. It is a very powerful drastic cathartic, and was employed by the
ancients in dropsical and lethargic diseases. Many attempts have been
made to mitigate its violence, which is best effected by triturating it
with gummy farinaceous substances, or the oily seeds; the watery
decoction or infusion is much less severe, and has been recommended in
worm cases, but it is rarely employed, except in combination with other
purgatives. Thunberg informs us, (_see his Travels_, _vol._ ii, _p._
171) that this article is rendered so perfectly mild at the Cape of Good
Hope by being pickled, that it is absolutely used as food both by the
natives and colonists. Mixed with paste or other cements, it is used to
keep away insects, which it does by its extreme bitterness. DOSE, grs.
iv. to x. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. The infusion is disturbed by
_sub-acetate_, and _acetate of lead_; _nitrate of silver_; _sulphate of
iron_, and by the _fixed alkalies_. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Extract_.
_Colocynth_. L. _Extract. Colocynth. comp._ L.D. _Pil_. _Aloes cum
Colocynth._ D.E. (=B=) When the fruit is larger than a St. Michael’s
orange, and has black acute pointed seeds, it is not good.
CONFECTIONES L. _Confections._
Under this title the London College comprehends the _conserves_ and
_electuaries_ of its former Pharmacopœias; but in strict propriety, and
for practical convenience, the distinction between _conserves_ and
_electuaries_ ought to have been maintained. Saccharine matter enters
into each of these compositions, but in different proportions, and for
different objects. In conserves it is intended to preserve the virtues
of recent vegetables; in electuaries, to impart convenience of form. See
_Electuaria_.
CONFECTIO AMYGDALARUM. L. This preparation affords an expeditious mode
of preparing the almond emulsion; it should be used in the proportion of
a drachm to each fluid-ounce of distilled water.
CONFECTIO AROMATICA. L. _Electuarium Aromaticum_. E.D. This is a very
useful combination of various aromatics, to which the London and Dublin
colleges have added a _carbonate of lime_; this circumstance makes the
preparation a judicious constituent for the exhibition of active salts,
liable to be invalidated by the presence of acid in the stomach, but, at
the same time, rendering it incompatible with _acids_, _antimonial
wine_, &c. These observations do not of course extend to the _aromatic
electuary_ of the Edinburgh pharmacopœia. See _Form: 15, 42, 49, 125,
126_. DOSE, ℈j to ʒj.
CONFECTIO CASSIÆ. L. The ingredients of this confection are manna,
tamarind pulp, and syrup of roses. It is gently laxative, and from its
agreeable flavour is well calculated for children. The pharmaceutist, in
preparing it, must take care that he does not substitute the syrup of
the _red_, for that of the _damask_ rose; a substitution, as stated
under the head of Syrupi, not very unusual. The confection does not
ferment or become acescent. DOSE, ʒj to ℥j.
CONFECTIO OPII. L. _Electuarium Opiatum_. E. This is a combination of
aromatics with opium, intended as a substitute for the _Mithridate_ and
_Theriaca_ of the old pharmacopœias. It is highly useful in flatulent
cholic and diarrhœa, and in all cases where a stimulant narcotic is
indicated. One grain of opium is contained in grs. 36 of the London, and
in grs. 43 of the Edinburgh preparation. DOSE, grs. x to xxx.
CONFECTIO PIPERIS NIGRI. L. This preparation has been introduced into
the Pharmacopœia, on the suggestion of several eminent practitioners,
who have experienced its utility in certain cases of Piles. It is
intended to resemble WARD’S[479] PASTE, whose composition has been given
in all the former editions of this work, and according to which Formula
the committee have directed the present preparation. It is principally
useful in those cases attended with considerable debility, in
leucophlegmatic habits, and when piles arise from a deficient secretion
in the rectum. On the other hand, the composition will as certainly
prove injurious in those cases which are accompanied with erysipelatous
inflammation, and which require cooling laxatives, and a total
abstinence from all stimulants, for their cure.
CONFECTIO ROSÆ CANINÆ, olim _Conserva Cynosbati_. Its acidity depends
upon uncombined citric acid, a circumstance which it is essential to
remember when we direct its use in combination. The hip, or fruit of
this plant, beat up with sugar, and mixed with wine, is a very
acceptable treat in the north of Europe.
CONFECTIO ROSÆ GALLICÆ. _Confection of the Red Rose._ Principally used
as a vehicle for more active medicines. It is sometimes brightened by
the addition of a small proportion of sulphuric acid; this is a
circumstance of great importance, where the confection is used for
making the mercurial pill. See _Pilulæ Hydrarg_. It is a very common
excipient for pills, see _Form: 21, 59, 66, 73, 122, 160, 170_.
CONFECTIO RUTÆ, _Confection of Rue_. The principal use of this
preparation is as an ingredient in antispasmodic enemas.
CONFECTIO SCAMMONEÆ. L.D. Scammony, _two parts_, powdered cloves and
ginger, of each, _one part_, to which are added a small portion of oil
of carraway, and of syrup of roses, q. s. It is a stimulating cathartic,
and may be given in the dose of ʒss to ʒj.
CONFECTIO SENNÆ. L.E.D olim _Electuarium Lenitivum_. The ingredients of
this preparation are senna leaves, figs, tamarind pulp, cassia pulp, the
pulp of prunes, coriander seeds, liquorice root, and refined sugar. It
is gently laxative, and is an excellent vehicle for the exhibition of
more powerful cathartics. (_Form. 74, 93._) When properly made, it is an
elegant preparation, not apt to ferment, nor to become acescent; the
directions of the pharmacopœia are however rarely followed. Jalap
blackened with walnut liquor, is frequently substituted for the more
expensive article cassia; and the great bulk of it, sold in London, is
little else than prunes, figs, and jalap. I understand that a
considerable quantity is also manufactured in Staffordshire, into which
unsound and spoilt apples enter as a principal ingredient. The
preparation sold at Apothecaries’ Hall is certainly unique in
excellence. Dose, ʒij or more.
The above are the principal confections which are employed in modern
practice, for happily the shops are at length disencumbered of those
nauseous insignificant conserves, unknown to the ancients, but which
were ushered into use by the Arabian physicians, and which continued for
so many years to disgrace our dispensatories and to embarrass our
practice. The French, in their new Codex Medicamentarius, have limited
their electuaries to a number not exceeding nine; they have however made
up in complexity for deficiency in number; the _Electuarium de croco_,
which is intended to answer the same ends as our confectio aromatica,
has no less than twelve ingredients, although the force of the
combination depends entirely upon carbonate of lime, cinnamon, and
saffron; and so it is with the rest.
CONII FOLIA. L.E. (Conium Maculatum.)
Cicuta. D. _Hemlock._
QUALITIES. The leaves, when properly dried, have a strong and narcotic
odour, and a slightly bitter and nauseous taste: the fresh leaves
contain not only the narcotic, but also the acrid principle: by
exsiccation, the latter is nearly lost, but the former undergoes no
change; the medicinal properties of the leaves are therefore improved by
the operation of drying. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The medicinal activity of
the plant resides in a resinous element, which may be obtained in an
insulated form, by evaporating an ethereal tincture made with the
leaves, on the surface of water; it has a rich dark green colour, and
contains the peculiar odour and taste of hemlock in perfection; a dose
of half a grain will produce vertigo and head-ache. It may be
distinguished by the name of _Conein_. The watery extract of this plant
can therefore possess but little power, a fact which Orfila has fully
established by experiment. No part of the plant is entirely destitute of
efficacy, though the leaves possess the most activity. SOLUBILITY.
Alcohol and æther extract its virtues. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. Its
energies are greatly diminished by vegetable acids; hence vinegar is its
best antidote. MEDICINAL USES. It is a powerful sedative, and has been
deservedly commended for its powers in allaying morbid irritability:
according to my own experience, it is, in well directed doses, by far
the most efficacious of all palliatives, for quieting pulmonary
irritation. It has been extolled also in the cure of schirrus and
cancer, and it will without doubt prove in such cases a valuable
resource, from its sedative influence. Externally, it will afford
considerable relief in irritable ulcers, when applied in the form of
fomentation or cataplasm, see _Form. 17, 18_. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. The
dried leaves, powdered, and made into pills, (_Form. 2, 17, 18_.) The
powder ought to have a fine lively green colour. DOSE, gr. iij,
gradually increased, until some effect is produced. Several different
plants have been mistaken for, and employed in the place of hemlock,
such as _Cicuta Virosa_, (the water hemlock,) _Æthusa Cynapium_,
_Caucalis anthriscus_, and several species of _Chærophyllum_. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Extract._ _Conii._ L.E.D.
CONTRAJERVÆ RADIX. L.E.
(Dorstenia Contrajerva, Radix.) _Contrajerva Root._
The qualities of this plant are alike extracted by spirit and water; the
watery decoction, however, is very mucilaginous; as it contains no
astringent matter, the salts of iron do not affect it. DOSE of the
powdered root, gr. v. to ʒss, but it is rarely used. It is considered
cordial, and diaphoretic. Has it any virtues? The Spanish Indians have
long used it as an antidote to poisons; the Spanish word _contrahiérba_
signifies antidote. OFFICINAL PREP. _Pulv._ _Contrajerv. co._ L.
COPAIBA, L.E. (Copaifera Officinalis.)
Balsamum Copaibæ. D.
_Copaiba_, _Copaiva_, or _Capivi Balsam_.
QUALITIES. _Consistence_, that of oil, or a little thicker. _Colour_,
pale golden yellow. _Odour_, fragrant and peculiar. _Taste_, aromatic,
bitter, and sharp. _Sp. Grav._ 0·950. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is
improperly denominated a balsam, for it contains no benzoic acid, but
consists of resin and essential oil. SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble in
water, but soluble in ten parts of alcohol, and in expressed and
essential oils; with the pure alkalies it forms white saponaceous
compounds which are soluble in water, forming opaque emulsions.
MEDICINAL USES. Stimulant, diuretic, and laxative; it seems to act more
powerfully on the urinary passages than any of the other resinous
fluids; hence its use in gleets and in fluor albus. Its use gives the
urine an intensely bitter taste, but not a violet smell, as the
turpentines do. By referring to the Synoptical arrangement of Diuretic
remedies, it will appear that _Copaiba_ is referred to Class I, 1. _b._
for there is reason to believe that its active principle undergoes
absorption, and by coming in contact with the urinary organs, produces
the medicinal effects for which it is so highly valued. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. Diffused in soft or distilled water by yolk of egg, or by
twice its weight of mucilage, fʒss to every f℥j of water, forms an
elegant mixture, or it may be given dropped on sugar, and in this latter
form it is certainly more disposed to act on the urinary organs, than
when exhibited in that of an emulsion. (_Form. 156._) Dr. Chapman has
proposed a new mode of exhibiting this medicine; he advises us to pour
the Copaiba on half a wine-glassful of water, and afterwards to add
slowly a few drops of a common bitter tincture, by which means the
Copaiba will be collected in a small globule that may be easily
swallowed, while its taste, so nauseous to most patients, will be
entirely masked by the bitterness of the vehicle. In whatever form,
however, this medicine is administered, it is extremely apt to derange
the digestive organs, if long continued, and the unpleasant effects thus
occasioned remain, in some cases, for a very long period.[480]
ADULTERATIONS. A considerable quantity sold in London is entirely
_factitious_. A curious trial took place some time since, between the
owner of certain premises that were burnt down, and the Governors of the
Sun Fire Office, in consequence of the latter refusing to indemnify the
proprietor for his loss, because the fire had been occasioned by his
_making_ Balsam of Copaiba. This article is also adulterated with
mastiche and oil; M. Bucholz asserts that if it does not dissolve in a
mixture of four parts of pure alcohol, and one of rectified æther, we
may infer its adulteration; _rape oil_ is also frequently mixed with it,
in which case if dropped into water, the drops will not retain their
spherical form, as they invariably will, if pure.
CORNUA. L.E.D. Cervus Elaphus.
_Stag’s_, or _Hart’s Horn_.
The horns of the stag differ only from bone, in containing less of the
phosphate of lime, and a larger proportion of gelatine; by boiling, they
yield a clear, transparent, and flavourless jelly, in quantity about
one-fourth of the weight of the shavings employed; to obtain which we
should boil ℥iv in f℥vij of water, until reduced to f℥vi. ADULTERATIONS.
This article is often sophisticated with the shavings of mutton bone;
the fraud is detected by their greater degree of brittleness. They were
formerly so much used for the preparation of ammonia, that the alkali
was commonly called _Salt_, or _Spirit_, _of Hartshorn_.
CORNUS FLORIDA.
(Common Dogwood.)
_Cortex._
[The dogwood is a common forest tree, abundant in almost every part of
the United States. It flowers in the months of May and June. The bark,
which is the part used in medicine, yields by analysis tannin, gallic
acid, resin, gum resin, bitter extractive, and mucilage. The dogwood is
a powerful tonic, and by many practitioners has been used as a
substitute for the Peruvian bark. The diseases in which it has been
found serviceable are intermitting and remitting fevers, dyspepsia,
general debility, &c. It may be given in substance, in doses of ʒj to
ʒij—in extract, from 5 to 15 grs. or in infusion or decoction.]
CRETA PRÆPARATA. L.D.
Carbonas Calcis Preparatus. E. _Prepared Chalk._
This is common chalk, the coarser particles of which have been removed
by the mechanical operation of washing. It consists of carbonate of
lime, with various earthy impurities. The Dublin Pharmacopœia directs a
chemical process for obtaining a perfectly pure carbonate (_Creta
Præcipitata_), but it appears to be an unnecessary refinement. MED.
USES. It is antacid and absorbent, on which account it is useful in
acidities of the primæ viæ, and in diarrhœas, after removing all
irritating matters by previous evacuation. (_Form. 52._) From its
absorbent properties, it is a good external application to ulcers
discharging a thin ichorous matter. DOSE, grs. x to ℈ij, or more. It is
almost unnecessary to state that it must not be combined with acidulous
salts; I have however seen a formula for a powder, intended as an
astringent, in which chalk and alum entered as ingredients. OFFICINAL
PREP. _Hydrargyrum cum creta._ L. _Pulvis cretæ comp._ L.E. _Pulv.
Opiatus._ E. (=F=) _Mist. Cretæ._ L.E. _Trochisci Carbonatis Calcis._ E.
_Confectio Aromatica._ L.E. (=G=)
CROCI STIGMATA. L.E.
(Crocus Sativus.)
Crocus. D. _Saffron._
QUALITIES. _Form_, cakes, consisting of the stigmata of the flower,
closely pressed together. _Odour_, sweet, penetrating and diffusive.
_Taste_, warm and bitterish. _Colour_, a rich and deep orange red.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. One hundred parts consist of sixty-two of
extractive, the remaining parts are chiefly ligneous fibre, with small
portions of resin and essential oil. Bouillon Lagrange and Vogel have
examined this extractive matter very accurately, and from the
circumstance of its watery infusion assuming different colours when
treated with different agents, they have named it _polychroite_. Thus
chlorine and light destroy its colour, sulphuric acid changes it to
indigo, which gradually becomes lilac, and nitric acid gives it a green
hue. SOLUBILITY. It yields its colour and active ingredients to water,
alcohol, proof spirit, wine, vinegar, and in a less degree to æther; the
watery infusion, and the vinous tincture soon grow sour, and lose their
properties, and the solution in vinegar becomes quickly colourless. MED.
USES. It is now never employed but for the sake of its colour or
aromatic flavour, as an adjunct to other substances. It is much used in
foreign cookery to colour rice, &c. OFFICINAL PREP. _Syrup. Croci._ L.
_Tinct. Croci sativi._ E. _Confect. Aromat._ L.D. (=O=). _Pil. Aloes cum
Myrrha_. L. (=G=). _Tinct. Aloes comp._ L.E.D. (=O=) _Tinct. Cinchonæ
comp._ L.D. _Tinct. Rhei._ L. (=O=). _Tinct. Rhei comp._ L. (=O=).
ADULTERATIONS. It is not unfrequently sophisticated with the fibres of
smoked beef, or the petals of flowers, especially of the marigold,
(_Calendula Officinalis_,) and of the safflower, (_Carthamus
Tinctorius_.) The former of these fraudulent ingredients is indicated by
the unpleasant odour which arises when the saffron is thrown upon live
coals; the latter, by infusing the specimen in hot water, when the
expanded stigmata may be easily distinguished from the other petals of
substituted flowers; a deficiency of colour and odour in the infusion
indicates that a tincture or infusion has already been drawn from the
saffron, and that it has been subsequently pressed again into a cake. In
the market is to be found saffron from Sicily, France, and Spain,
besides the English; that which is imported from Spain, is generally
spoiled with oil, in which it is dipt with the intention of preserving
it. The cake saffron sold in some of the less respectable shops,
consists of one part of saffron and nine of marigold, made into a cake
with oil, and then pressed; it is sold in considerable quantities for
the use of birds, when in moult.
CUBEBA.[481] L. (Piper Cubeba.) _Baccæ._
_Cubebs_, or _Java Pepper_.
This Indian spice, a native of Java, formerly held a place in our
materia medica, and entered into the composition of _mithridate_ and
_theriaca_, but being inferior in pungency and aromatic warmth to
pepper, it fell into disuse. Lately, however, it has been ushered into
surgical practice for the cure of gonorrhœa, with all the extravagance
of praise which usually attends the revival of an old, or the
introduction of a new medicine.[482] It has been pronounced to be a
specific in this complaint, if taken in the early stages, in the dose of
a dessert-spoonful three times a day, in a sufficient quantity of
water.[483] The Indians have been long acquainted with the influence
which cubebs exerts upon these organs; thus Garcias, “_Apud Indos
cubebarum in vino maceratarum est usus ad exitandam venerem_.” CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. M. Vauquelin has lately made a very accurate analysis of
this pepper, from which its composition may be stated as follows: 1. A
volatile oil, which is nearly solid.—2. A resin, _resembling Balsam of
Copaiba_.—3. Another and coloured resin.—4. A coloured gummy matter.—5.
An extractive principle, similar to that which is found in leguminous
plants.—6. Some saline substances. He considers the resin _resembling
the Copaiba_, to be the peculiar matter in which that property resides,
which imparts to it the power of curing gonorrhœa. As the qualities of
this spice do not reside in volatile elements, an extract made with
rectified spirit will be found to possess the whole of its virtues. The
French, in their new _Codex Medicamentarius_, have introduced the cubebs
into their list of materia medica. There is a precaution, with respect
to the exhibition of Cubebs, which it is important for the practitioner
to remember—to keep the bowels thoroughly open; for where hardened fæces
are allowed to accumulate, the spice insinuates itself into the mass,
and produces excoriations in the rectum. ADULTERATIONS. The “Turkey
Yellow Berries,” i. e. the dried fruit of the _Rhamnus Catharticus_, are
often substituted for the Cubebs, and the similarity between them is so
great, that the casual observer may be easily deceived.
CUMINI[484] SEMINA. L. Cumin Seeds.
QUALITIES. _Odour_, strong, heavy, and peculiar; _Taste_, bitterish and
warm. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Gum, resin, and a yellow pungent oil, upon
which the peculiar properties of the seeds depend. SOLUBILITY. Water
does not extract more than their odour, but alcohol dissolves all the
principles in which their virtues reside, and leaves upon evaporation a
powerful extract. MEDICINAL USES. Carminative and stomachic; they are
however but rarely used, except as an ingredient in plasters.
CUPRI SULPHAS. L.E.D. Sulphate of Copper.
vulgo _Blue Vitriol_. _Blue Copperas._
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals, which are rhomboidal prisms. _Colour_, a
deep rich blue. _Taste_, harsh, acrid, and styptic; they slightly
effloresce; when treated with sulphuric acid, no effervescence occurs, a
circumstance which at once distinguishes this salt from _Œrugo_.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. According to the latest experiments, it is an
_oxy-sulphate_, consisting of one proportional of peroxide with two
proportionals of sulphuric acid, and when crystallized, it contains ten
proportionals of water; its beautiful colour depends on this last
ingredient. SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in four parts of water at 60, and
in less than two at 212°; the solution shews an excess of acid by
reddening litmus. In alcohol it is insoluble. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES.
_Alkalies and their carbonates_; _sub-borate of soda_; _acetate of
ammonia_; _tartrate of potass_; _muriate of lime_; _nitrate of silver_;
_sub-acetate, and acetate of lead_; _oxy-muriate of mercury_; _all
astringent vegetable infusions and tinctures_. Iron immersed in the
solution, precipitates copper in a metallic form; hence the exhibition
of the filings of iron has been proposed as an antidote.[485] MEDICINAL
USES. It is emetic from grs. ij to xv. tonic gr. 1/4; it is, however,
but rarely used internally except as an emetic; externally it is
employed as an escharotic; and, in solution, as a stimulant to foul
obstinate ulcers.[487] In the proportion of half a drachm to eight
ounces of rose water, it forms a lotion which has been found very
efficacious in phagedenic ulcers of the face, and in allaying itching
when attended with erysipelatous inflammation about the anus and labia
pudendi. It is also a styptic when applied in solution. OFFICINAL
PREPARATION. _Solut. Cupri Sulphat. com._ E. _Cuprum Ammoniatum_ L.E.D.
(=I=) (_Form. 68._)
CUPRUM AMMONIATUM. L.D
Ammoniaretum Cupri. E. _Ammoniated Copper._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a violet coloured mass, which on exposure to air
becomes green, and is probably converted into a carbonate. _Taste_,
styptic and metalline. _Odour_, ammoniacal. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is
a triple salt, a sub-sulphate of oxide of copper, and ammonia. The
Edinburgh College is certainly incorrect in calling it an _ammoniuret_.
SOLUBILITY, f℥j; of water dissolves ℈j of this salt. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES; _Acids_; the _fixed Alkalies_; _Lime water_. MEDICINAL USES.
It is tonic and antispasmodic. Dr. Cullen first proposed its exhibition
in epilepsy, and it has frequently been employed with evident advantage
in that disease. It has been also given in chorea, after a course of
purgatives. Brera considers it quite equal to Arsenic, in the cure of
obstinate Intermittents; other physicians have commended it in cases of
Hysteria. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It may be formed into pills with bread;
to which an addition of sugar has been recommended, to prevent them from
becoming hard; but we must remember that recent experiments have shewn
that sugar has the power of counteracting the operation of copper. Dose,
gr. 1/4 cautiously encreased to grs. v. twice a day. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Liquor Cupri Ammoniati._ L.
CUSPARIÆ CORTEX. L. (_Cusparia febrifuga._)
BONPLANDIÆ TRIFOLIATÆ CORTEX. E.
ANGUSTURA, CORTEX. D.
_Cusparia, or Angustura Bark._
QUALITIES. _Form_, pieces covered with a whitish wrinkled thin
epidermis; the inner surface is smooth, of a brownish yellow colour.
_Odour_, not strong, but peculiar. _Taste_, bitter, slightly aromatic,
and permanent. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Cinchonia, resin, extractive,
carbonate of ammonia, and essential oil. SOLUBILITY. Its active matter
is taken up by cold and hot water, and is not injured by long decoction,
but the addition of alcohol precipitates part of the extractive. Alcohol
dissolves its bitter and aromatic parts, but proof spirit appears to be
its most complete menstruum. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Sulphate of
Iron_; _Sulphate of Copper_; _Oxy-muriate of Mercury_; _Nitrate of
Silver_; _Tartarized Antimony_; _Sub-acetate_, _and Acetate of Lead_;
_Potass_; and perhaps the _Mineral Acids_, for they produce
precipitates, as do also the _infusions of Galls_, and _Yellow
Cinchona_. MEDICINAL USES. Stimulant and tonic; it does not, like
cinchona, oppress the stomach, but imparts a degree of warmth, expels
flatus, and increases the appetite for food: with respect to its powers
in the cure of intermittents, many doubts are entertained. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. In substance, infusion, decoction, tincture, or extract; its
nauseous taste is best disguised by cinnamon. DOSE of the powder, grs.
v. to ℈j; of the infusion or decoction, f℥j; in large doses all the
forms are liable to produce nausea. _Form. 58._ OFFICINAL PREP. _Infusum
Cuspariæ._ L. _Tinct. Bonplandiæ Trifoliatæ._ E. _Tinct. Angusturæ._ D.
ADULTERATIONS. There is found in the market a particular bark, which has
been called FINE ANGUSTURA, but which is of a different species, and is
a very energetic poison. This bark is characterized by having its
epidermis covered with a matter which has the appearance of rust of
iron, and which, moreover, possesses certain chemical properties of this
metal; for if water acidulated with muriatic acid be agitated in contact
with its powder, it assumes a beautiful green colour, and affords with
an alkaline prussiate, (_Hydro-cyanate of Potass_) a Prussian blue
precipitate. Late researches have detected the presence of an alkaline
element in this bark, on which the name of _Brucia_ has been bestowed.
When this alkali is dissolved in boiling alcohol, and crystallized by
spontaneous evaporation, it yields colourless and transparent crystals
in the form of oblique quadrangular prisms.
DATURÆ STRAMONII HERBA. E.D.
_The Herbaceous part of the Thorn Apple._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, fœtid and narcotic, occasioning head-ache and
stupor; _Taste_, bitter and somewhat nauseous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
Gum, resin, and carbonate of ammonia; the recent experiments of M.
Brandes have also developed an alkaline element of activity, to which
the name of _Daturia_ has been assigned; it appears to exist in native
combination with malic acid; when in an uncombined state it is nearly
insoluble in water, and in cold alcohol, but boiling alcohol dissolves
it. It has been obtained with difficulty in the form of quadrangular
prisms. SOLUBILITY. The medicinal powers of the herb are alike extracted
by aqueous and spirituous menstrua. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. The
infusion is precipitated by the salts of lead, silver, mercury, and
iron; the mineral acids would also appear to produce some essential
changes which may diminish its efficacy. Acetic acid increases its
powers, although it relieves the effects of an overdose, if administered
after the stomach has been emptied. This apparent anomaly is easily
explained when we consider, that in the first case its operation is
purely _chemical_, increasing the solubility of the active principle of
the plant, while in the latter case it operates as a _vital_ agent,
restoring to the nervous system that energy which has been suspended by
the narcotic influence of the vegetable. MEDICINAL USES. It is narcotic,
and has been regarded by many authors as eminently antispasmodic; Dr.
Barton, an American physician, made very extensive trials of its
efficacy in Mania, the result of which is highly favourable to its use.
Dr. Marcet first noticed its salutary effects in chronic diseases
attended with violent pain; he found it to lessen powerfully, and
quickly, sensibility and pain, and to produce a sort of nervous shock,
attended with a momentary affection of the head and eyes, with a degree
of nausea, and with phenomena resembling those which are produced by
intoxication. It seems to be more particularly beneficial in chronic
rheumatism, sciatica, &c. Its root, smoked in the manner of tobacco, has
been much extolled as a remedy in the paroxysms of spasmodic asthma;
this practice however, is not unattended with danger;[488] the same
transient feelings of relief may be procured by smoking a mixture of
opium and any aromatic herb. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. Some discrepancy of
opinion has existed upon this point; the native practitioners in the
Carnatic gave the powdered root; Hufeland recommends a tincture of the
whole plant; in this country an extract of the leaves, or, more lately,
of the seeds, has been preferred, and I have been recently informed by
Sir Henry Halford, that he has found a tincture made with the
seeds,[489] a very efficient and unobjectionable preparation. Dr. Davy,
at my request, has made a series of experiments upon the extracts
prepared by Mr. Barry _in vacuo_, and his report upon the effects of
that of Stramonium, will be found under the article _Extract.
Stramonii_, which see. DOSE. In the commencement, of the leaves powdered
gr. i. of the seeds gr. ss. It is said that the Turks sometimes use the
Stramonium instead of Opium, and the Chinese infuse the seeds in beer.
Cataplasms of the fresh bruised leaves have been very successfully used
in sores of a highly irritable and painful nature. OFFICINAL
PREPARATION. _Extract. Stramonii._
DECOCTA. L.E.D. _Decoctions._
These are solutions of the active principles of vegetables obtained by
boiling them in water. To decide upon the expediency of this form of
preparation, in each particular case, requires a knowledge of the
chemical composition of the substance in question. In conducting the
operation, the following rules must be observed.
1. _Those substances only should be decocted, whose medicinal powers
reside in principles which are soluble in water._
2. _If the active principle be volatile, decoction must be an
injurious process; and, if it consist of extractive matter, long
boiling, by favouring its oxidizement, will render it insipid,
insoluble, and inert._
3. _The substances to be decocted should be previously bruised, or
sliced, so as to expose an extended surface to the action of the
water._
4. _The substances should be completely covered with water, and the
vessel slightly closed, in order to prevent, as much as possible,
the access of air: the boiling should be continued without
interruption, and gently._
5. _In compound decoctions, it is sometimes convenient not to put in
all the ingredients from the beginning, but in succession, according
to their hardness, and the difficulty with which their virtues are
extracted; and if any aromatic, or other substances containing
volatile principles, or oxidizable matter, enter into the
composition, the boiling decoction should be simply poured upon
them, and covered up until cold._
6. _The relative proportions of different vegetable substances to
the water, must be regulated by their nature; the following general
rule may be admitted; of roots, barks, or dried woods, from ʒij to
ʒvj to every pint of water; of herbs, leaves, or flowers, half that
quantity will suffice._
7. _The decoction ought to be filtered through linen, while hot, as
important portions of the dissolved matter are frequently deposited
on cooling; care must be also taken that the filtre is not too fine,
for it frequently happens, that the virtues of a decoction depend
upon the presence of particles which are suspended in a minutely
divided state._
8. _A decoction should be prepared in small quantities only, and
never employed, especially in summer, forty-eight hours after it has
been made. It should be considered as an extemporaneous preparation,
but introduced into the pharmacopœia for the purpose of convenience,
and for the sake of abridging the labour of the physician._
It is very important that the water employed for making decoctions,
should be free from that quality which is denominated _hardness_.
The officinal decoctions may be classed into simple and compound
preparations.
1. _Simple._
DECOCTUM CINCHONÆ. See Cinchona, and _Form: 41, 42, 127_. The codex of
Paris directs a decoction of bark, “_Decoctum Kinœ Kinœ_,” which is only
half the strength of ours, but contains an addition of a small quantity
of carbonate of potass.
DECOCTUM CYDONIÆ. The inner coats of the seeds of the Quince (_Pyrus
Cydonia_) yield a very large proportion of mucilage, but as hot water
extracts from them also fecula and other principles, the decoction very
soon decomposes. It has been strongly recommended as an application to
erysipelatous surfaces; and it would seem to be peculiarly adapted for
such a purpose, since it is not so easily washed away from the part to
which it is applied, as ordinary mucilage; for the same reason it has
been preferred as an ingredient in injections, gargles, &c. It is stated
by some practitioners to be a very useful application, when united with
the _acetate of lead_, in cases of acute ophthalmia; such a combination,
however, is extremely unchemical, and must invalidate the powers of the
other ingredients. The native practitioners of India employ it as a
cooling mucilaginous drink in gonorrhœa. An ounce of bruised Quince seed
will make three pints of water as thick and ropy as the white of an egg;
hence two drachms, the quantity directed by the College, is amply
sufficient for a pint of the decoction. It is coagulated by _alcohol_,
_acids_, and _metallic salts_.
DECOCTUM DIGITALIS. D. This is a very improper form for the exhibition
of digitalis, being variable in strength.
DECOCTUM DULCAMARÆ. L. In making this decoction we must take care that
the operation of boiling is not continued too long. See _Dulcamaræ
Caules_. DOSE from f℥ss to f℥j.
DECOCTUM LICHENIS. L.E.D. In this preparation we have the bitter
principle of the plant united with its fecula. A portion of the former
may be removed by macerating the lichen, and rejecting the first water.
If ℥j of the mass be boiled for a quarter of an hour in f℥vj of water,
we shall obtain mucilage of a consistence similar to that composed of
one part of gum arabic and three of water. Its exhibition requires the
same precaution as that of _Mucilago Acaciæ_. From the large proportion
of fecula which this moss contains, it is perhaps as nutritive as any
vegetable substance, the _Cerealia_ of course excepted. See _Lichen
Island_. DOSE, a wine glass full occasionally.
DECOCTUM PAPAVERIS. L. In making this decoction the whole of the capsule
should be bruised, in order to obtain its mucilage and anodyne
principle; the seeds should be also retained, as they yield a portion of
bland oil which increases the emollient quality of the decoction. A
large quantity of fixed oil is constantly in the market, which is
derived from the seeds of the poppy. This decoction is a useful
fomentation in painful swellings, &c.
DECOCTUM QUERCUS. L.E. Decoction is the usual form in which _Oak Bark_
is exhibited, since all its active principles are soluble in water. Its
astringent virtues depend upon gallic acid, tannin, and extractive. The
decoction is disturbed by the following substances; the _infusion of
yellow cinchona_; _sub-acetate_ and _acetate of lead_; _solutions of
isinglass_; the _preparations of iron_; _oxy-muriate of mercury_; and
_sulphate of zinc_; all _alkaline substances_ destroy its astringency,
and are consequently incompatible with it. It is principally useful as a
local astringent, in the forms of gargle, injection, or lotion. Its
internal exhibition in obstinate diarrhœas, and alvine hemorrhages, has
also proved highly beneficial. See _Form: 51, 61_. DOSE, f℥ss to f℥j.
Dr. Eberle states that in the Intermittents of very young children, he
has in some cases used this decoction as a bath with efficacy.
DECOCTUM SARSAPARILLÆ. L.E.D. See Sarsaparilla. In making this
decoction, it is rarely properly digested or boiled for a sufficient
length of time to extract its virtues. The only salts which occasion
precipitates in this decoction are, _nitrate of mercury_ and _acetate of
lead_; _lime water_ has the same effect. DOSE, f℥iv to f℥vj.
DECOCTUM VERATRI. Stimulant and acrid; internally, it is cathartic, but
too violent to be safely exhibited; it is useful as a lotion in scabies,
and other cutaneous eruptions.
2. _Compound Decoctions._
DECOCTUM ALOES COMPOSITUM. It resembles the well known _Beaume de vie_,
although less purgative, and is a scientific preparation, constructed
upon the true principles of medicinal combination. Aloes is the base, to
which are added, 1st, sub-carbonate of potass, 2ndly, powdered myrrh,
3dly, extract of liquorice, 4thly, saffron, and after the decoction is
made, 5thly, compound tincture of cardamoms. By the 1st ingredient the
aloes is rendered more soluble; the 2d and 3d suspend the portion not
dissolved, and at the same time disguise its bitterness; the 4th imparts
an aromatic flavour, and the 5th not only renders it more grateful to
the stomach, but prevents any spontaneous decomposition from taking
place. Its taste is improved by keeping. It is a warm, gentle cathartic.
_Form: 80._ DOSE, f℥ss to f℥j. Its operation is different from that of
simple aloes. See _Aloes_. The following substances are incompatible
with it; _strong acids_, _oxy-muriate of mercury_; _tartarized
antimony_; _sulphate of zinc_; and _acetate of lead_; and those salts
which are decomposed by sub-carbonate of potass.
DECOCTUM GUAIACI COMPOSITUM. E. Commonly called _Decoction of woods._
This decoction has fallen into disuse, and deservedly, for it can
possess but little power, except, as a diluent, or demulcent; the water
takes up from the guaiacum only a small portion of extractive matter,
and the virtues of sassafras, if any, must be dissipated. DOSE, f℥ss to
f℥j.
DECOCTUM HORDEI COMPOSITUM.[490] An elegant and useful demulcent, with
an aperient tendency.
DECOCTUM SARSAPARILLÆ COMPOSITUM. L.D. This decoction, which is an
imitation of the once celebrated _Lisbon Diet Drink_,[491] differs
materially from the _Decoct: Guaiaci comp:_ from the addition of the
mezereon root, which renders it diaphoretic and alterative, and useful
in the treatment of secondary syphilis, and chronic rheumatism. DOSE,
from f℥iv to f℥vj three or four times a day.
DIGITALIS FOLIA. L.E.D. (_Digitalis Purpurea._)
_Foxglove._
QUALITIES. The leaves, when properly dried, have a slight narcotic
_odour_, and a bitter nauseous _taste_, and when reduced to powder, a
beautiful green _colour_. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Extractive matter, and a
green resin, in both of which the narcotic properties reside; they
appear also to contain ammonia, and some other salts.[492] SOLUBILITY.
Both water and alcohol extract their virtues, but decoction injures
them. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. See _Infusum Digitalis_. MEDICINAL USES.
It is directly sedative, although some maintain the contrary opinion,
diminishing the frequency of the pulse, and the general irritability of
the system, and increasing the action of the absorbents, and the
discharge by urine. The effects appear to be in a great degree connected
with its sensible influence upon the body, which is indicated by
feelings of slight nausea and languor; accordingly, every attempt to
prevent these unpleasant effects, or to _correct_ the operation of
digitalis, by combining it with aromatic, or stimulant medicines, seems
to be fatal to the diuretic powers of the remedy. Dr. Blackall, in his
“Observations upon the cure of Dropsies,” has offered some remarks which
bear upon this point, and to which I have before referred. _See page 96
& 150._
Several of the formulæ introduced under the class of diuretics are
combinations supported by high authority, but it is doubtful whether
their adoption can be sanctioned upon principle; they are however well
calculated to illustrate the nature of diuretic compounds, and this is
the only purpose for which they were selected. See _Form: 103_. The
French have introduced in their new Codex, an ethereal tincture,
_Tinctura Ætherea_ _Digitalis purpureæ_, in which the sedative influence
of the plant must be entirely overwhelmed by the stimulant properties of
the menstruum. Under the head of _Diuretics_, I have so fully considered
the value of diuretic combinations, and the _modus operandi_ of
Digitalis, that it is unnecessary to dwell upon the subject in this
place. Digitalis has considerable influence over the action of the
heart; and in certain diseases, attended with inordinate motions of that
organ, it proves eminently serviceable; I have employed it with great
satisfaction in cases of palpitation connected with a state of general
irritability, so frequently occurring in female disorders; and according
to my observations where it succeeds, opium generally does harm. _Form:
32._ FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In substance, tincture, or infusion; the
latter form is most efficient as a diuretic. DOSE of the powdered leaves
gr. j, in a pill, twice a day; the augmentation of the dose should
proceed at the rate of one-fourth of the original quantity, every second
day, until its operation becomes apparent, either on the kidneys, or on
the constitution generally. If it produce such a disturbance in the
primæ viæ as to occasion vomiting or purging, its diuretic powers will
be lost; in such a case the addition of a small portion of opium, or
opiate confection, may be expedient. The distressing effects of an
overdose are best counteracted by tincture of opium in brandy and water,
and by the application of a blister to the pit of the stomach. A London
Surgeon has lately stated that he has prescribed the tincture of
Digitalis, in the dose of twenty-five drops, three times a day, in
barley-water, with great success in Gonorrhæa. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Infus: Digitalis_. L.E. _Tinct: Digital:_ L.E.D. _Decoct: Digitalis:_
D. It is very important that the leaves of this plant be properly
collected, and accurately preserved; they should be gathered when the
plant is beginning to flower, and, as it is biennial, in the second year
of its growth; the largest and deepest coloured flowers should be also
selected, for they are the most powerful; they should be also carefully
dried until they become crisp, or they will lose much of their virtue;
the too common method of tying them in bundles, and hanging them up to
dry, should be avoided, for a fermentation is produced by such means,
and the parts least exposed soon become rotten. The powdered leaves
ought to be preserved in opaque bottles, and kept from the action of
light as well as of air and moisture; a damp atmosphere has, upon a
principle already explained, a very injurious operation, by carrying off
those faint poisonous effluvia with which its efficacy seems to be
ultimately connected.
DULCAMARÆ CAULES. L.D.
(Solanum Dulcamara.)
The Twigs of _Woody Nightshade_, or _Bitter-sweet_.
The virtues of this plant are extracted by boiling water, but long
coction destroys them; the usual and best form in which it can be
administered is that of decoction or infusion. This plant is much more
appreciated on the continent than in this country; we rarely use it
except in cutaneous affections; Professor Richter of Gottingen states
that he has employed it in _Phthisis Pituitosa_ with very extraordinary
success; and Sir A. Crichton says that in the few cases of chronic
tubercular Phthisis in which he has given it, it appeared to increase
the powers of the Sarsaparilla with which it was usually combined.
OFFICINAL PREP: _Decoct: Dulcam:_ L.
ELATERII PEPONES. L.E.D.
(Momordica Elaterium.)
_Wild_, or _Squirting Cucumber_.
This plant appears from the testimony of Dioscorides and other writers,
to have been employed by the ancient physicians with much confidence and
success. All the parts of the plants were considered as purgative,
although not in an equal degree; thus Geoffroy, “_radicum vis cathartica
major est quam foliorum, minor vero quam fructuum_.” This question has
very lately been set at rest by the judicious experiments of Dr.
Clutterbuck,[493] which prove that the active principle of this plant
resides more particularly in the juice which is lodged in the centre of
the fruit, and which spontaneously subsides from it; when this substance
is freed from extraneous matter, it possesses very energetic powers, and
appears to me to be entitled to consideration as a distinct proximate
principle, which I shall venture to call _Elatin_. See _Extractum
Elaterii_.
ELEMI. L.D. (Amyris Elemifera. _Resina._) _Elemi._
This substance is what is generally termed a _gum-resin_; that is, a
compound consisting of gum, resin, and volatile oil: late researches
however seem to shew that these bodies are compounds of a peculiar
character, consisting of a volatile substance, something between
essential oil and a constituent which possesses the properties of
extractive rather than those of gum.
True Elemi has a fragrant aromatic odour, not unlike that of
fennel-seeds, but more potent. _Sp. gr._ 1·0182. When powdered it mixes
with any unguent; it also combines with balsams and oils, and by the aid
of heat, with turpentine. USES. It is only employed for forming the
_mild digestive ointment_ which bears its name, viz. _Unguent: Elemi_
_comp:_ L.D.
EMPLASTRA. L.E.D. Plasters.
The principles upon which this form of preparation is to be constructed
are fully detailed at p. 207.
EMPLASTRUM AMMONIACI. L. _Ammoniacum_ reduced to a suitable consistence
by distilled vinegar. It adheres to the skin without irritating it, and
without being attended with any unpleasant smell.[494] There is a
peculiar disease of the knee, to which servant maids, who scour floors
upon their knees, are liable, and for which this plaster is a specific.
I have also found it particularly eligible in cases of delicate women
with irritable skins.
EMPLASTRUM AMMONIACI CUM HYDRARGYRO. L.D. The mercury in this plaster is
in the state of oxidation _ad minimum_. It is discutient and resolvent,
and is applicable to indurated glands, and venereal nodes, and for
removing indurations of the periosteum, remaining after a course of
mercury; the addition of the ammoniacum increases the stimulating and
discutient powers of the mercury, which gives this plaster a superiority
over the _Emplastrum Hydrargyri_. It is also powerfully adhesive.
EMPLASTRUM ASSAFŒTIDÆ. E. Emplast. Plumbi and Assafœtida, of each _two
parts_, galbanum and yellow wax, of each _one part_. I have seen it
useful in flatulent cholic, when applied over the umbilical region.
EMPLASTRUM CANTHARIDIS. L. _Emplast: Cantharidis vesicatoriæ._ E.D. A
variety of substances has in different times been employed for producing
vesication, but no one has been found to answer with so much certainty
and mildness as the _Lyttæ_. All the others are apt to leave ill
conditioned ulcers: true it is, that the emplastrum lyttæ will
occasionally fail, but this is generally attributable to some
inattention, or want of caution on the part of the person who prepares
it; in spreading it, the spatula should never be heated beyond the
degree of boiling water; the plaster also should be sufficiently secured
on the part by slips of adhesive plaster, but it ought not to be bound
on too tight; where the cuticle is thick, the application of a poultice
for an hour, previous to that of the blister, will be useful, or the
part may be washed with vinegar. In consequence of the absorption of the
active principle of the _Lyttæ_, blisters are apt to occasion strangury
and bloody urine; it has been a problem therefore of some importance to
discover a plan by which such an absorption may be obviated, for this
purpose, camphor has been recommended to be mixed with the blistering
composition, and a piece of thin gauze has been interposed between the
plaster and the skin; but it has been lately found, that ebullition in
water deprives the _Cantharides_ of all power of thus acting on the
kidneys, without in the least diminishing their vesicatory properties:
the ordinary time required for the full action of a blister is ten or
twelve hours, but if it be applied to the head, double that period will
be necessary. Children, owing to delicacy of skin, are more speedily
blistered, the epispastic may therefore be removed earlier. In some
cases the blistered parts, instead of healing kindly, become a spreading
sore; whenever this occurs, poultices are the best applications; it may
arise from a peculiar irritability of the constitution, although I
apprehend that it not unfrequently depends upon the sophistication of
the plaster with euphorbium. In cases where it is desirable to keep up
the local irritation, it is still a question with some practitioners
whether it be more advisable to encourage a discharge from the vesicated
part by some appropriate stimulant, or to renew the vesication at short
intervals by repeated blisters; the latter mode is perhaps to be
preferred, as being more effectual, and certainly less troublesome to
the patient: it has moreover been stated,[495] that by a repeated
application of this nature, the influence excited appears to extend much
deeper, so as to derive a greater quantity of blood from the immediate
neighbourhood of the vessels, or from the vessels themselves which are
in a state of disease, than the influence excited by an application less
stimulating upon the surface of a part already abraded. The character of
the discharge would likewise appear essentially different; it being in
the latter cast a purulent secretion from the superficial exhalants of
the surface only; in the former, a copious effusion of serum, mixed with
a large portion of lymph, produced from a deeper order of vessels.
EMPLASTRUM CERÆ. L. _Emplast: Simplex_. E. This is the _Emplast: Ceræ_
of P.L. 1787, the _Emplast: Attrahens_ of 1745, so called because it was
formerly employed to keep up a discharge from a blistered surface, and
the _Emplastrum de melilolo simplex of_ 1720.
EMPLASTRUM CUMINI. L. A valuable combination of warm and stimulant
ingredients.
EMPLASTRUM GALBANI COMPOSITUM. L.D. _Emplast: Gummos_. E. More powerful
than the preceding plaster. In indolent glandular enlargements of a
strumous character, in fixed and long continued pains in the
neighbourhood of the joints, or in anomalous or arthritic pains of the
ligaments, this plaster is said to be frequently beneficial.
EMPLASTRUM HYDRARGYRI. L.E. The mercury in this plaster is in the state
of oxidation _ad minimum_; each drachm containing about fifteen grains
of mercury, (_sixteen grains_, _Edinb._) It is alterative, discutient,
and sometimes sialogogue; but it is inferior to the _Emplast: Ammoniac:
cum Hydrargyro_.
EMPLASTRUM OPII. L.E. This plaster is supposed to be anodyne, but it is
very doubtful whether the opium _can_, in such a state, produce any
specific effect. See _Form: 5_.
EMPLASTRUM PICIS COMPOSITUM. L. _Emplast: Picis burgundicæ_, P.L. 1787.
It is stimulant and rubefacient, and is often employed as an application
to the chest, in pulmonary complaints; the serous exudation however
which it produces, frequently occasions so much irritation that we are
compelled to remove it.
EMPLASTRUM PLUMBI. L. _Emplast: Oxydi Plumbi semi-vitrei._ E. _Emplast:
Lythargyri._ P.L. 1787. _Emplast: commune_, 1745. _Diachylon_[496]
_Simplex_, P.L. 1720. This is a very important plaster, since it forms
the basis of a great many others; under the name of _Diachylon_ it has
long been known, and employed as a common application to excoriations,
and for retaining the edges of fresh cut wounds in a state of
apposition, and at the same time for defending them from the action of
the air; when long kept it changes its colour, and loses its adhesive
properties, and by high temperature the oxyd of lead is revived.[497]
EMPLASTRUM RESINÆ. L. Olim, _Emplast: commune adhæsivum_, P.L. 1745.
_Emplast: Resinosum_. E. _Emplast: Lithargyri cum Resina._ D. It is
defensive, adhesive, and stimulant.[498]
EMPLASTRUM SAPONIS. L.D. _Emplastrum Saponaceum._ E. The Soap Plaster is
said to be a mild discutient application.
EUPATORIUM PERFOLIATUM.
Boneset.
_Herba et flores._
[The boneset is a plant indigenous to the United States, and is to be
found in the neighbourhood of marshes and low situations. It is
intensely bitter and somewhat astringent. According to the analysis of
Dr. Andrew Anderson of New-York, it yields, 1. A free acid; 2. Tannin;
3. Extractive matter; 4. A gummy matter; 5. A resin; 6. Azote; 7. Lime,
probably the acetate of lime; 8. Gallic acid, probably modified; 9. A
resiniform matter, soluble in water and in alcohol, and which seems to
contain a bitter principle. It also appears from this analysis that the
free acid may be obtained from all parts of the plant—that tannin is
obtained in much the largest quantity from the leaves, and least from
the roots—that the extractive and gummy matter reside chiefly in the
roots—that the leaves and flowers also contain a larger proportion of
resin than the roots—and that azote exists in the flowers, leaves, and
roots. The principal properties of the boneset are those of a tonic and
diaphoretic. The diseases in which it has been prescribed with success
are intermitting and remitting fevers, typhoid peripneumony and catarrh.
It may be given in powder, infusion, or tincture. When given as a tonic,
the tincture is the preferable form. The dose of the powder is from 20
to 30 grains. When used as a sudorific, it is to be taken in infusion,
and in large quantities.]
EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA.
American Ipecacuanha. _Radix._
[This plant is peculiar to the United States. The root is perennial, and
of a sweetish taste. By analysis it yields caoutchouc, resin, mucus, and
fecula. In its medicinal properties it resembles, and perhaps equals,
the common ipecacuanha. As an emetic the dose is from 15 to 25 grains.]
EUPHORBIÆ GUMMI-RESINA. L.
(Euphorbia Officinarum.) _Euphorbium._
QUALITIES. This substance is imported from Barbary, in drops or
irregular tears; its fracture is vitreous; it is inodorous, but yields a
very acrid burning impression to the tongue. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is
what is termed a _gum resin_, but its acrid constituent is exclusively
in that portion which is soluble in alcohol, and which might be named
_Euphorbin_; it appears to form as much as 37 per cent. to which are
added of wax 19, malate of lime 20·5, malate of potass 2, and water 5.
SOLUBILITY. Water by trituration is rendered milky, but dissolves only
one-seventh part; and alcohol one-fourth of it. USES. Internally
administered, it proves very violently drastic, but it is never employed
except as an errhine, cautiously diluted with starch, or some inert
powder. The Indian practitioners administer it as a purge in obstinate
visceral obstructions; and in those cases of costiveness which so often
attend an enlargement and induration of the spleen and liver. Farriers
use it for blistering horses, and there is good reason to believe that
it is sometimes fraudulently introduced to quicken the powers of our
Emplastrum Cantharidis. It enters as an ingredient into a plaster, which
has been much celebrated by Cheselden and others, as a stimulating
application, to relieve diseases of the hip-joint, and to keep up
inflammation of the skin in chronic states of visceral inflammation; the
following is its composition. ℞. _Emplast: Picis comp:_ ℥iv.—_Euphorbiæ
gum-resinœ_ ʒss.—_Terebinth: Vulgar, q. s._ CAUTION, in pulverizing this
substance, the dispenser should previously moisten it with vinegar to
prevent its rising and excoriating his face.
EXTRACTA. L.E.D. _Extracts._
These preparations are obtained by evaporating the watery or spirituous
solutions of vegetables, and the native juices obtained from fresh
plants by expression, to masses of a tenacious consistence. The London
college does not arrange the extracts under the titles of _watery_ and
_resinous_, which is the arrangement of the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia, nor
under those of simple and resinous, which is the division observed in
that of Dublin, but rejecting all _specific_ distinctions, includes,
under the _generic_ appellation of extract, both the species, as well as
all the _inspissated juices_. Since however the former of these
arrangements will afford greater facilities for introducing the
observations which it is my intention to offer, it is retained in this
work.
The chemical nature of extracts must obviously be very complicated and
variable, depending in a great degree upon the powers of the _menstruum_
employed for their preparation; although Fourcroy and Vauquelin
considered that _one peculiar_ principle was the basis of them all,
which they called _Extract_, _Extractive_, or the _Extractive
Principle_. It is distinguished by the following characters, _viz_.
It has a strong taste, varying in different plants; it is soluble in
water, and in alcohol when it contains water, but is quite insoluble in
_absolute_ alcohol and æther; its aqueous solution soon runs into a
state of putrefaction; by repeated solutions and evaporations, or by
long ebullition, it acquires a deeper colour, and in consequence of its
combination with oxygen it becomes insoluble and inert, a fact which is
of extreme importance as it regards its pharmaceutical relations; it
unites with alumine, and if boiled with its salts, precipitates it,
hence wool, cotton, or thread, impregnated with alum, may be dyed of a
fawn-colour by _extractive_; its habitudes with alkalies are very
striking, combining most readily and forming with them compounds of a
brownish yellow colour, which are very soluble in water; if to a
colourless and extremely dilute solution of extractive, an alkali be
added, a brown or yellowish tint is immediately produced, so that under
certain circumstances I have found an alkali to be a serviceable test in
detecting the presence of extractive matter. The usual brown hue of the
_liquor ammoniæ acetatis_, is owing to the action of the ammonia upon
traces of vegetable extractive contained in the distilled vinegar.
Much confusion has arisen from the word _extract_ having been employed
in this double meaning,—_chemically_ to express a peculiar vegetable
proximate principle, and _pharmaceutically_ to denote any substance
however complicated in its nature, which has been obtained by the
evaporation of a vegetable solution or a native vegetable juice. It is
in the latter sense that it is to be understood in the present article.
The different proximate principles of vegetable matter undergo various
and indefinite changes with such rapidity, when acted upon by heat, that
the process of _extraction_ must necessarily more or less impair the
medicinal efficacy of a plant, and not unfrequently destroy it
altogether, and hence, says Dr. Murray, “with the exception of some of
the pure bitters, as gentian, or some of the saccharine vegetables, as
liquorice, there is no medicine perhaps but what may be given with more
advantage under some other form;” this however is not exactly true, for
when care is taken in the preparation, we are thus enabled to
concentrate _many_ very powerful qualities in a small space, and the
process lately adopted of evaporating the solutions by the aid of steam,
contributes very materially to obviate the failures which so frequently
occurred from a too exalted temperature. There is, for instance, great
reason to suppose that the black colour which so often characterises the
extracts of commerce, is frequently owing to the decomposition and
carbonization of the vegetable matter; the colour therefore of an
extract becomes in some degree a test of its goodness. I have lately
examined the extracts of commerce with some attention, and I find the
presence of iron by no means an uncommon circumstance; when thus
contaminated they afford a very dirty coloured solution, which rapidly
becomes darker on exposure to air. The extracts mentioned in the preface
as made by Mr. Barry, by _evaporating in vacuo_, deserve the attention
of the profession; the principle is without doubt well calculated to
secure the active matter of the plant from those changes to which it is
constantly liable during the ordinary operation of inspissation. The
extracts, thus prepared, are certainly more powerful in their effects,
and some few of them appear also to possess properties which are not to
be distinguished in the Extracts of Commerce; those of narcotic plants,
as _Hemlock_, _Hyoscyamus_, _&c._ are decidedly more efficacious; where
the practitioner directs their use, he should, to prevent any mistake,
add the words _in vacuo præp._ as in _Formula 4_; for on account of the
difference in the strength of these preparations, and of those prepared
by the ordinary method, they cannot be indiscriminately employed. Dr.
John Davy, at my request, has made trial of these extracts in the
Military Hospital at Fort Pitt, and as his results coincide with those
obtained in my own practice, I shall relate, under the history of each
Extract, the comparative conclusions which have been obtained.
1. WATERY OR SIMPLE EXTRACTS.
_Mucilaginous_ Extracts of Rouelle.
These extracts must, of course, contain all the principles of a plant
which are soluble in water, such as gum, extractive matter, tannin,
cinchonin, sugar, fecula, &c. together with any soluble salts which the
vegetable may contain. I have also found by experiment that an aqueous
extract may even contain, in small proportions, certain elements which,
although quite insoluble in water, are nevertheless partially soluble in
vegetable infusion. This law of vegetable chemistry has never been
expressed, although we have repeated instances of its truth, and a
knowledge of it may explain some hitherto unintelligible anomalies. It
has been stated that extractive matter is perfectly insoluble in æther,
but Mr. A. Thomson found repeatedly, that if a small portion of resin
was present, æther would in that case take up extractive in combination
with the resin which it so readily dissolves. As decoction or infusion
is a process preliminary to that of extraction, the practitioner must
refer to those articles for an enumeration of the different sources of
error which are attached to them.
EXTRACTUM ALOES PURIFICATUM. L. The resinous element of the aloes is got
rid of in this preparation; on which account it is supposed, in an equal
dose, to be more purgative and less irritating. _Dose_, gr. x to xv.
_Form: 12, 13, 36._
EXTRACTUM ANTHEMIDIS. L.E. _Extract. Florum Chamœmeli._ D. This extract
furnishes an example of the change effected on some plants by the
process of extraction; in this case the volatile oil is dissipated, and
a simple bitter remains, possessing scarcely any of the characteristic
properties of chamomile. This remark, however, does not apply to this
extract, when prepared _in vacuo_. I have lately received from Mr. Pope
of Oxford Street, a specimen which retains, in the most eminent degree,
all the odour and taste of the recent flower. _Dose_, gr. x–℈j.
EXTRACTUM CINCHONÆ. L.D. The properties of the bark in this preparation
are much invalidated, owing to the oxidizement of its extractive matter,
which takes place to such an extent, that not more than one half of the
preparation is soluble in water; it is not however altogether devoid of
utility, and will often sit lightly on the stomach, when the powder is
rejected. Its taste is very bitter, but less austere than the powder.
The most beautiful extract of bark, which I have ever seen, was prepared
by Mr. Barry of Plough Court; its colour was that of a deep brilliant
ruby, and its flavour preserved all the characteristic peculiarity of
the recent substance.[499] _Dose_, grs. x to ʒss. Fourteen ounces of the
bark will yield about three ounces and a half of extract. It should be
kept _soft_, so as to be fit for forming pills, and _hard_, so that it
may be reduced to powder.
EXTRACTUM COLOCYNTHIDIS. L. This extract is much milder, although less
powerful, than the pulp; _Dose_, grs. v to ʒss. It soon becomes hard and
mouldy.[500]
EXTRACTUM GENTIANÆ. L.E.D. The bitter principle suffers no deterioration
in the process: it is used principally as a vehicle for metallic
preparations. _Form. 36, 53, 103._ _Dose_, gr. x to ℈j.
EXTRACTUM GLYCYRRHIZÆ. L.D. It is usually imported from Spain; in the
coarser kinds, the pulps of various plums and of prunes are added; it
should dissolve in water without leaving any feculence.[501]
EXTRACTUM HÆMATOXYLI. L.E.D. The astringent properties of the _logwood_
are preserved in the extract, but it becomes so extremely hard, that
pills made of it very commonly pass through the body without undergoing
the least change. _Dose_, grs. x to ʒss dissolved in cinnamon water: it
sometimes imparts a bloody hue to the urine of those who have taken it.
EXTRACTUM HUMULI. L. The bitter taste of the hop characterises this
preparation; whether it possesses, or not, any anodyne properties, seems
very doubtful. _Dose_, grs. v to ℈j.
EXTRACTUM OPII. L.D. As it contains less resinous matter than crude
opium, it is supposed to produce its effects with less subsequent
derangement. See _Opium_. _Dose_, gr. j to v, for an adult.
EXTRACTUM PAPAVERIS. L.D. It is a weak opium. _Dose_, grs. ij to ℈j.
EXTRACTUM SARSAPARILLÆ. Notwithstanding the reputation which this
preparation has acquired, it is very doubtful whether it possesses any
medicinal powers. _Dose_, gr. x to ʒj in pills, or dissolved in the
decoction.
EXTRACTUM STRAMONII. This extract was first recommended by Stöerck, as a
powerful remedy in maniacal affections; its probable value in such
diseases appears to have been suggested by a very curious process of
reasoning, viz. that as it deranged the intellect of the sane, it might
possibly correct that of the insane. Experience has certainly not
confirmed the very sanguine report of Stöerck with regard to its powers,
but it has satisfactorily shewn its occasional value in violent
paroxysms, in quieting the mind, and procuring rest. I am informed by my
friend Dr. Davy, that, for such an object, it has been very frequently
and successfully given, in the Lunatic Military Hospital at Fort
Clarence. He farther states that he has himself made many trials with
the extract of Stramonium, prepared by Mr. Barry (_in vacuo_) as well as
with the common extract; and that he finds the former to be uniformly
more powerful. “In most diseases,” says he, “this medicine would seem
uncertain in its operation, sometimes occasioning an anodyne effect,
and, at other times, producing irritation, and preventing sleep; I have,
however, seen very beneficial effects from it in asthma, and in coughs
that have a nightly exacerbation, in doses of from gr. 1/4 to gr. 2,
daily.”
EXTRACTUM TARAXACI. L.D. The medicinal powers of Dandelion are asserted
to exist unimpaired in this preparation, but it becomes inert by
keeping. See _Taraxacum_. _Dose._ grs. x to ʒj, in combination with
sulphate of potass.
2. _Spirituous or Resinous Extracts._
These may contain, with the exception of gum, all the ingredients
contained in watery extracts, besides resin; their composition however
will greatly depend upon the strength of the spirit employed as the
solvent; but of this I shall speak more fully under the article
_Tincture_.
EXTRACTUM CINCHONÆ RESINOSUM. L.E.D. The operation of spirit in this
preparation is two-fold; it extracts from the bark the element which is
insoluble in water, and it diminishes the tendency in the extractive
matter to absorb oxygen during the process. _Dose_, grs. x to xxx. It is
said that a spurious extract of bark is to be met with in the market,
consisting of the extract of the horse-chesnut tree bark, and yellow
resin.
EXTRACTUM COLOCYNTHIDIS COMPOSITUM. L.D. _Extract. Catharticum._ P.L.
1775. _Pilulæ Rudii._ P.L. 1720. This preparation has been established
through successive pharmacopœias, and has undergone some modification in
each; in the present edition the soap has been restored, and its
solubility is thereby increased, as well as its mildness as a cathartic.
The omission of this ingredient was formerly suggested by the
consideration of its being incompatible with _Calomel_; this however is
_not_ the case. It presents a combination of purgative substances which
is highly judicious, and will be found to be more powerful than an
equivalent dose of any _one_ of the ingredients. _Dose_, gr. v to ʒss,
_Form. 71, 81, 88._
EXTRACTUM JALAPÆ. L.E.D. It is purgative, but is liable to gripe, unless
it be triturated with sugar and almonds, or mucilage, so as to form an
emulsion. _Dose_, grs. x to ℈j.
EXTRACTUM RHEI. L. The powers of the Rhubarb are considerably impaired
in this extract. _Dose_, grs. x to ʒss. _Form. 78._
3. _Inspissated Juices._
These preparations are obtained by expressing the juices from fresh
plants, and evaporating them in a water-bath; they are generally of a
lighter colour than common extracts, and they are certainly much more
active, although there is a great difference in the activity of
different samples; and perhaps the _medicinal_ powers of the juices
themselves are very much under the controul of soil and season. That
they _vary in quantity_ from such causes we have ample proof; thus in
moist seasons, Beaumé obtained five pounds of inspissated juice from
thirty pounds of _elder berries_, whereas, in dry seasons, he could
rarely get more than two. From _hemlock_ he procured in October, 1796,
7·5 per cent. of inspissated juice, and in May of the same year only
3·7; on the contrary, in August, 1768, 4 per cent., and in May, 1776, as
much as 6·5; but in general, the product in the autumnal months was the
most considerable.
The modes of preparing the inspissated juices of the same plant vary in
the different pharmacopœias, and in several points that are very
_essential_; some direct the expressed juices to be _immediately_
inspissated, others allow them to undergo a slight degree of
fermentation, and some _defecate_ them, before they proceed to their
inspissation.
EXTRACTUM (_Succus Spissatus._ E.) ACONITI. L.E. The medicinal
properties of this preparation are analogous to those of the recent
_Wolfsbane_, viz. narcotic, and in some cases diuretic, (see _Form.
128_.) It is however rarely used. _Dose_, at first, should not exceed
gr. ½, but it may be gradually increased. I have not yet, says Dr. Davy,
in a letter recently received from him, had much experience of the
_Extractum Aconiti_, but that little is favourable to its use; “in some
cases of chronic rheumatism, and in some of intermittent fever,
complicated with visceral disease, it has had a beneficial effect not to
be mistaken; the dose has been from one to two grains.” Dr. Stöerck, who
first tried this medicine, observed from it a powerful diaphoretic
effect; this, says Dr. Davy, “I have not noticed, and yet the extract
which I have used was prepared by Mr. Barry, _in vacuo_, which is
certainly far more powerful than that employed by Stöerck; the latter,
when applied to the tongue, “_levissimam tantum titillationem
excitabat_,” whereas that of Mr. Barry produces a most disagreeable
sensation of burning, which extends to the throat; and in one instance,
when applied to the tip of my tongue, it occasioned ulceration.”
EXTRACTUM BELLADONNÆ. L.E. See _Belladonnæ Folia_. _Dose_, gr. j,
gradually increased to gr. v, in the form of pill. Dr. Davy has made a
few trials of Barry’s Extract; the results of which he informs me are
not at all favourable to the use of this medicine; it is much more
powerful than the common extract, and can only be given with safety in
small doses; “in several instances,” says he, “I have not been able to
repeat a grain dose daily, more than thrice, on account of the alarming
symptoms produced, as head-ache, vertigo, indistinct vision with dilated
pupil, and, in one case, irritation of the bladder, occasioning very
frequent micturition; in chronic rheumatism and catarrh, with severe
cough, the only diseases in which I have yet given it, it has not
appeared to be in the least serviceable; it may probably prove valuable
to the oculist; from trials that have been made of it here by Mr.
Miller, Assistant Surgeon to the Forces, it has been found to dilate the
pupil beyond the common extract. Stöerck even introduced his extract
into the eye with impunity. Acrid as the preparation is which I have
used, the patients have never complained of it, nor have I known any
disagreeable effects from it, when applied in solution, sufficiently
dilute.”
EXTRACTUM (_Succus Spissatus._ E.D.) CONII. L. Much of this extract, as
it is found in commerce, has not been prepared with equal fidelity, nor
with due attention to the season when the plant is in its greatest
perfection; Dr. Fothergill says, “I know from repeated experiments, that
the extract which has been prepared from _hemlock_, before the plant
arrives at maturity, is much inferior to that which is made when the
plant has acquired its full vigour, and is rather on the verge of
decline: just when the flowers fade, the rudiments of the seeds become
observable, and the habit of the plant inclines to yellow, _is the
proper time_ to collect it;” the plants which grow in places exposed to
the sun should be selected, as being more _virose_ than those that grow
in the shade: still however with every precaution, it will always be
uncertain in strength. Orfila found that an extract prepared by boiling
the dried powder in water, and evaporating the decoction, was inert; in
fact, the whole of the activity of the plant resides in a resinous
element _insoluble_ in water, and for which I have proposed the name of
_Conein_. Extract of hemlock, when judiciously prepared, is a very
valuable sedative; I state this from ample experience, and when combined
with Hyoscyamus, and adapted by means of mucilage and syrup, to the form
of a mixture, it affords a more effectual palliative than any remedy
with which I am acquainted, for coughs and pulmonary irritation. _Form.
19._ is that from which I have derived the greatest benefit in such
cases. See also _Form. 2, 3, 4, 19, 57_. Since the fourth edition of the
present work, I requested my friend Dr. John Davy to make trial of its
efficacy in the Military Hospital at Chatham, and I here introduce his
report upon the subject;—“My experience of the effects of the _Extractum
Conii_ perfectly agrees with that of Dr. Paris, as stated in the fourth
edition of the Pharmacologia, and I am of his opinion that when properly
prepared, and administered, it is a very valuable sedative; I have given
it to the extent daily of from a scruple to a drachm, in chronic
catarrh, and in phthisis pulmonalis, either alone or in conjunction with
the Extract of Hyoscyamus, and it has afforded more relief than any
other medicine that I have tried. From two or three trials of it in
pneumonia, I am disposed to think it may be very serviceable in certain
forms of this disease, in which venesection is contra-indicated by
extreme debility; and also in measles. In the trials alluded to, I
commenced giving it in the large dose of a drachm, daily, suspended in
water containing in solution a grain of _Antimonium Tartarizatum_. In a
very few instances, where I have from the commencement given it in a
large dose, as from ʒj to ʒiss, it has occasioned hallucination of
ideas, which in two cases was attended with excitement of the sensorium
and increased action of the heart, and in one case, with diminished
activity of both. The Extract of Conium, prepared by Mr. Barry, is the
most powerful one I have ever used, indeed, until I tried it, I had no
just idea of the virtues of Conium as a medicine; but I am now disposed
to give credit to Stöerk’s account of its efficacy in various chronic
diseases; and I have no doubt but that this valuable medicine has fallen
into comparative disrepute and disuse from the bad quality of the
extract commonly employed.” Dr. Maton has found that the value of this
extract is greatly increased by including the seeds in its preparation.
_Dose_, grs. v to ℈j; or more, twice or thrice a day; in a full dose it
produces giddiness, a slight nausea, and a tremor of the body; a
peculiar heavy sensation is also experienced about the eyes; and the
bowels become gently relaxed: unless some of these sensations are
produced, we are never sure that the remedy has had a _fair trial_ of
its effects. Patients will generally bear a larger dose at night than at
noon, and at noon than in the morning.
EXTRACTUM ELATERII. L. This substance spontaneously subsides from the
juice of the wild cucumber, in consequence I presume of one of those
series of changes which vegetable matter is perpetually undergoing,
although we are hitherto unable to express them by any known chemical
law. It is therefore not an _extract_, either in the chemical or
pharmaceutical acceptation of the term, nor an _inspissated juice_, nor
is it a _fecula_,[502] as it has been termed; the Dublin College has
perhaps been more correct in simply calling it _Elaterium_, the name
given to it by Dioscorides.
It occurs in commerce in little thin cakes, or broken pieces, bearing
the impression of the muslin upon which it has been dried; its _colour_
is greenish, its _taste_ bitter, and somewhat acrid; and when tolerably
pure, it is light, pulverulent, and inflammable.
The early history of this medicinal substance is involved in great
perplexity, each author speaking of a different preparation by the same
name; for instance, the _Elaterium_ of Dioscorides must have been a very
different substance from that of _Theophrastus_; and, wherever
Hippocrates mentions the term, he evidently alludes to _any_ violent
purgative. “_Hippocrati Elaterium medicamentum est quod per alvum
expurgat._” (_Bod: in Theophrast_.) This will, in some degree, reconcile
the discordant testimonies of different authors with regard to the
powers of _Elaterium_; for example, Dioscorides states its dose to be
from grs. ii to ℈j—in Ætius, Paulus, and Actuarius, it is recommended to
the extent of ʒss—in Mesue from ℈ss to ℈j—in Bontius (_Med: Ind:_) from
℈j to ʒss—Massarias exhibits it in doses of gr. vj—Fernelius and
Sennertus to ℈j—Herman from grs. v vj—Quincy to grs. v—and Boerhaave
does not venture to give more than gr. iv—while the practitioners of the
present day limit their dose from gr. ½ to grs. ij. Dr. Clutterbuck,
with a laudable intention to discover some method of procuring this
article at a cheaper rate, and at the same time of establishing some
process which might ensure a preparation of more uniform strength, has
lately performed a series of interesting and instructive
experiments,[503] the results of which prove in a satisfactory manner
“that the active principle of this plant is neither lodged in the roots,
leaves, flowers, nor stalks, in _any considerable quantity:_ nor is it
to be found in the body of the fruit itself, or in the seeds, but in
_the juice around the seeds_; the substance which spontaneously subsides
from this liquor, obtained without pressure, is _genuine_ Elaterium, the
quantity of which, contained in the fruit, is extremely small, for Dr.
Clutterbuck obtained only six grains from _forty_ cucumbers.” This
gentleman communicated the detail of these experiments to the President
of the College of Physicians, who requested me, as professor of Materia
Medica, to report upon them. I accordingly deemed it to be my duty to
enter upon a series of new experiments, which I have lately completed,
with the able assistance of Mr. Faraday, in the laboratory of the Royal
Institution. The results of which will shew, that although Dr.
Clutterbuck found that an _eighth_ part of a grain of elaterium seldom
failed to _purge violently_, yet, strange as it may appear, that _not
more than one grain in ten_ of elaterium, as it occurs in commerce,
possesses any active properties, and that this decimal part is a
vegetable proximate principle, not hitherto noticed, to which I shall
give the name of ELATIN. I shall subjoin the detail of my experiments,
and I think it will appear that their results will authorise me to
express the chemical composition of Elaterium in the following manner.
F. Water ·4
{ B. Extractive 2·6
I. { B.DJ Fecula 2·8
{ C. Gluten ·5
K. Woody matter 2·5
H. _Elatin_ { 1·2
G. Bitter Principle {
———
10 grains.
Proximate Analysis of Elaterium.
_Experiments. Series 1st._
A.
Ten grains of Elaterium, obtained from a respectable chemist, and
having all the sensible properties which indicated it to be genuine,
were digested for twenty-four hours with distilled water, at a
temperature far below that of boiling; _four grains_ only were
dissolved.
B.
The solution was intensely bitter, of a brownish yellow colour, and
was not in the least disturbed by alcohol, although a solution of
_Iodine_ produced a blue colour; the solution therefore contained no
gum, and only _slight traces_ of starch.
C.
The solution, after standing twenty-four hours, yielded a _pellicle_
of insoluble matter, which when burnt appeared to resemble _Gluten_.
D.
The six grains which were insoluble in water, were treated for
forty-eight hours with alcohol of the specific gravity ·817, at 66°
of Fahrenheit; a green solution was obtained, but by slow
evaporation only _half a grain_ of solid green matter was procured.
The insoluble residue obstinately adhered to, and coated the filtre
like a varnish, and completely defended the mass from the action of
the alcohol; it is probable that it consisted principally of
_Starch_.
_Experiments. Series 2d._
E.
Ten grains of Elaterium, from the same sample, were treated with
alcohol of the specific gravity ·817, at 66° Fahrenheit, for
twenty-four hours; upon being filtered, and the residuum washed with
successive portions of alcohol, the Elaterium was found to have lost
1·6 of _a grain_. The high specific gravity of the alcohol in this
experiment was important; had it been lower, different results would
have been produced.
F.
The alcoholic solution obtained in the last experiment, was of a
most brilliant and beautiful green colour, resembling that of the
oil of cajeput, but brighter; upon slowly evaporating it, 1·2
_grains_ of solid green matter were obtained.
G.
The solid green matter of the last experiment was treated with
boiling distilled water, when a minute portion was thus dissolved,
and a solution of a most intensely bitter taste, and of a brownish
yellow colour, resulted.
H.
The residue, insoluble in water, was inflammable, burning with smoke
and an aromatic odour, not in the least bitter; it was soluble in
alkalies, and was again precipitated from them unchanged in colour;
it formed, with pure alcohol, a beautiful tincture, which yielded an
odour of a very nauseous kind, but of very little flavour, and which
gave a precipitate with water; it was soft, and of considerable
specific gravity, sinking rapidly in water; circumstances which
distinguish it from common resin; in very minute quantities it
purges. It appears to be the element in which the purgative powers
of the Elaterium are concentrated, and which I have denominated
ELATIN.
I.
The residuum, insoluble in alcohol, weighing 8·4 grs. (Expt. E) was
boiled in double distilled water, when 5·9 grs. were dissolved.
J.
The above solution was copiously precipitated blue by a solution of
Iodine, and was scarcely disturbed by the Per-sulphate of Iron.
K.
The part insoluble, both in alcohol and water, which was left after
Experiment I, amounting to 2·5 grains; it burnt like wood, and was
insoluble in alkalies.
It appears that the whole of the _Elatin_ does not separate itself from
its native juice by spontaneous subsidence, and that, on this account,
the supernatant liquor possesses some powers as a cathartic. We cannot
be surprised therefore that the _Elaterium_ of commerce should be a very
variable and uncertain medicine; for independent of the great temptation
which its high price holds out for adulterating it, which is frequently
done with starch, it necessarily follows that where the active principle
of a compound bears so small a proportion to its bulk, it is liable to
be affected by the slightest variation in the process for its
preparation, and even by the temperature of the season; where pressure
is used for obtaining the juices, a greater or less quantity of the
inactive parts of the cucumber will be mixed with the _Elatin_, in
proportion to the extent of such pressure, and the _Elaterium_ will of
course be proportionally weak.[504] There is one curious result obtained
in my experiments which deserves notice, _viz._ that there is a _bitter_
principle in the Elaterium, very distinct from its extractive matter,
and totally unconnected with its activity, for I diluted the solution
obtained in experiment G. and swallowed it, but it produced upon me no
effect, except that which I generally experience upon taking a powerful
bitter,—an increased appetite; and yet notwithstanding this fact, when
in combination with _Elatin_, it is far from being inert, since this
latter body is considerably quickened by its presence. See page 152. The
solution B was given to a person, but no effect whatever ensued. _Dose_
of good _Elaterium_, as it occurs in commerce, is about one grain, or it
is better to give it only to the extent of half a grain at a time, and
to repeat that dose every hour until it begins to operate. It is
probably, when thus managed, the best hydragogue cathartic which we
possess; it differs however from the class of remedies to which it
belongs, for it excites the pulse and whole animal system, so as to
produce a considerable degree of febrile action. It was strongly
recommended by Sydenham, Lister, and Hoffman, and all their
cotemporaries and immediate successors, as a valuable remedy in dropsy;
but in consequence of some fatal results from its improper application,
it was driven from practice with a violence that marks prejudice rather
than conviction; one author, in descanting upon its virulence, exclaims,
“_Elaterium esse in catalogo diaboli quo necat homines_.” For its
restoration to medicine, we are indebted to Dr. Ferriar of Manchester,
who used it with great success in the cure of Hydrothorax.
EXTRACTUM (_Succus Spissatus._ E.D.) HYOSCYAMI. L. This preparation is
certainly powerfully narcotic, and tends to relax rather than astringe
the bowels; where the constitution is rebellious to opium, it furnishes
a more valuable resource to the practitioner than any other narcotic
extract. _Dose_, gr. v to ℈j, in pills. _See Form. 1, 3, 4, 19, 139._
EXTRACTUM LACTUCÆ. L. SUCCUS SPISSATUS LACTUCÆ SATIVÆ. E. This
preparation has found its way into the London Pharmacopœia, in
consequence of the testimony of many highly respectable practitioners in
favour of its sedative properties. In the memoirs of the Caledonian
Horticultural Society, various suggestions are offered as to the best
mode of obtaining an extract from the milky juice of the garden Lettuce,
to which Dr. Duncan has bestowed the name of “LACTUCARIUM;” it was first
recommended to take the milk with cotton, afterwards with a sponge, and
more recently with a painter’s brush; all these methods however are
attended with considerable difficulty, and the juice cannot be collected
in any quantity. Mr. Probart, a chemist in Great Portland Street, has
lately cultivated large plantations of the lettuce, for the purpose of
instituting experiments upon the subject, and I am happy in being
enabled through his liberality, to introduce in this place, an account
of the process which he pursues, and which he considers the only one by
which the article can be brought into the market at any reasonable
price.[505]
In concluding the history of Inspissated juices, it deserves notice that
the London College uniformly directs that the _feculence_ should be
preserved in the compound: there can be no doubt of the propriety of
such advice, but the Colleges of Edinburgh and Dublin reject it. The
French Codex gives directions for two extracts from each of these
substances, one containing what they please to denominate the _fecula_,
the other not; thus there is “_Extractum Cicutæ absque Fecula_” and
“_Extract: Cicut: cum Fecula_.” There is one curious fact respecting
these narcotic preparations, that most, if not all of them, contain
_nitre_, _common salt_, and _muriate of potass._
Manufacturing chemists, in order to give a smooth and glossy appearance
to their Extracts, generally add to every ℔j, about ʒss of gum, fʒj of
olive oil, and ♏︎xx of rectified spirit; there is no harm in the
practice.
FERRI SUB-CARBONAS. L. CARBONAS FERRI
PRÆCIPITATUS. E. CARBONAS FERRI. D.
_Carbonate of Iron._
In a former Pharmacopœia of London, a sub-carbonate of iron was
prepared, under the name of _ferri-rubigo_ (rust of iron,) by exposing
iron-filings to the action of air and water; and although the Colleges
of Edinburgh and Dublin still retain this mode of preparation, yet they
admit at the same time of another which, like the _sub-carbonate_ of the
present London Pharmacopœia, is produced by precipitation. QUALITIES.
_Form_, a chocolate brown powder. _Odour_, none. _Taste_, slightly
styptic. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Mr. Phillips has shewn that this
precipitate is liable to vary according to the temperature at which it
is prepared, as well as from other differences of manipulation; it
generally consists of mixtures of peroxide, and proto-carbonate of iron,
in the proportion of four parts of the latter, and six of the former. By
referring to the _Medicinal Dynameter_ the practitioner may find the
quantity of those ingredients in any given weight of the preparation,
and compare its strength with the other chalybeate medicines.
SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble in water, but acids dissolve it with
effervescence. _Forms of Exhibition._ In powder or pills, combined with
aromatics. DOSE, gr. v to xxx. (_Form. 38._) It has lately been brought
into particular notice by the publication of Mr. Hutchinson of
Southwell, who states that in doses of half a drachm to a drachm, two or
three times a day, it has proved in his hands a most efficacious remedy
in the cure of _Tic doloureux_. Mr. Hutchinson is well known to the
profession as a judicious and inquiring practitioner, and we are well
satisfied that he would not recommend any remedy to the attention of his
brethren, without a well grounded assurance of its efficacy; at the same
time it must be remembered that this disease is very frequently the
consequence of an irritation in some nerve, by the mechanical operation
of osseous spiculæ; in such cases we cannot expect the sub-carbonate of
Iron to afford relief. A noble Marquis who lost his leg at Waterloo,
suffered excruciating pains in his face, in consequence of exfoliation
in the stump, which were relieved as soon as the local irritation
subsided; and a late lamented physician appears to have owed his severe
sufferings to the irritation produced on the brain by a bony
excrescence. I have little doubt if cases of _Tic doloureux_ were more
carefully examined, they would be frequently found to derive their
origin from a similar source. If it were necessary I could add several
of such instances to those already enumerated.[506]
FERRI RAMENTA ET FILA. L. FILA ET
LIMATURA. E. FERRI SCOBS. D.
_Iron Filings and Wire._
Iron seems to be a metal that proves active in its _metallic_ state; its
filings may be given in the form of powder, conjoined to some aromatic,
or what is perhaps more eligible, in the form of an electuary. The
Mahometan practitioners are in the habit of prescribing them, in
conjunction with ginger, and cummin seeds, in cases requiring tonics.
DOSE, grs. v to ʒss. IMPURITIES. Iron filings should be carefully
purified by the application of the magnet, since those obtained from the
work-shops are generally mixed with copper and other metals. For
pharmaceutical purposes, iron wire should be preferred, as being the
most pure, since the softest iron only can be drawn, and Mr. Phillips
has shewn us, in his experiments upon the “_Ferrum Tartarizatum_” that
soft iron is more easily acted upon by Tartar.
FERRI SULPHAS. L. SULPHAS FERRI. E.D.
Ferrum Vitriolatum. P.L. 1787. Sal Martis. P.L. 1745.
Sal, seu Vitriolatum Martis. P.L. 1720.
_Sulphate of Iron_, formerly _Green Vitriol_.
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals, which are rhomboidal prisms, transparent,
and of a fine green colour; when exposed to the air they effloresce, and
at the same time become covered with a yellow powder, owing to the
attraction of oxygen; when exposed to heat, they undergo watery fusion,
and at a higher temperature, the acid is driven off and the peroxide of
iron alone remains, which in commerce is known by the name of
_Colcothar_. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. According to Dr. Thomson, it consists
of 27·7 of sulphuric acid, 28·3 of protoxide of iron, and 45 of water; 8
parts, however, of this water, exist in combination with the oxide of
iron. The Medicinal Dynameter will shew the proportion of protoxide in
any given weight of this salt. SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in two parts of
water at 60°, and three-fourths at 212°. The solution reddens vegetable
blues. It is insoluble in alcohol; when however the iron is farther
oxidized, it becomes soluble in that menstruum.[507] INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. Every salt whose base forms an insoluble compound with
sulphuric acid; _the earths, the alkalies and their carbonates_; _borate
of soda_; _nitrate of potass_; _muriate of ammonia_; _tartrate of potass
and soda_; _acetate of ammonia_; _nitrate of silver_; _sub-acetate and
acetate of lead_; _and Soaps_. Whether the medicinal virtues of a salt
of iron are injured by combination with astringent vegetable matter,
seems to admit of doubt. Such substances have been usually ranked
amongst the _incompatibles_, but I am disposed to think without
sufficient grounds, for I have frequently witnessed the salutary effects
of iron when exhibited in this questionable state of combination—may not
the absorbents be more disposed to take up iron, when combined with
vegetable matter, than when it is presented in a more purely mineral
form?[508] MEDICINAL USES. Tonic, astringent, emmenagogue, and
anthelmintic; in large doses, it occasions griping in the bowels. DOSE,
gr. j to v, combined with rhubarb, or some bitter extract. (_form: 72,
87._) If given in solution, the water should be previously boiled, or
the oxygen contained in the atmospherical air, which is diffused through
it, will partially convert the salt into an _oxy_-sulphat, and render it
insoluble. As an external astringent it is useful in the aphthæ of
children.[509] OFFICINAL PREP. _Mist: Ferri comp:_ L. (=K=) _Pil: Ferri
comp:_ L. (=J=).
FERRUM AMMONIATUM. L. MURIAS
AMMONIÆ ET FERRI. E.D.
_Ferrum Ammoniacale, P.L._ 1787. _Flores Martiales._
_P.L._ 1745. _Ens Veneris. P.L._ 1720.
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystalline grains, which deliquesce; _Colour_,
orange yellow; _Odour_, resembling that of saffron; _Taste_, styptic.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. This is very variable; depending upon the degree
of heat and length of time employed for its preparation. It seems to be
a mixed mass, consisting of sub-muriate of ammonia and sub-muriate of
iron, the metal being in the state of red oxide; and, Mr. Phillips
states that in the London preparation a portion of sub-carbonate of
ammonia is necessarily present. The same chemist has also shewn that the
proportion of Peroxide of iron in 200 grains is not more than three
grains. Its equivalents will be seen in the Medicinal Dynameter.
SOLUBILITY, f℥j of water dissolves ʒiv of it; it is also very soluble in
alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _The Alkalies, and their Carbonates_;
_Lime water_, and _Astringent vegetables_. MEDICINAL USES. It is tonic,
emmenagogue, and aperient, but it is so uncertain in its composition and
effects that it is rarely used. OFFICINAL PREP: _Tinct: Ferri Ammon:_ L.
_Form: 36, 43, 95._ IMPURITIES. These are indicated by the dull and pale
yellow colour of the salt; it may be purified by resubliming it.
FERRUM TARTARIZATUM. L.
TARTRAS POTASSÆ ET FERRI. E.
TARTARUM FERRI. D.
QUALITIES. _Form_, a powder of a brownish green colour; _Odour_, none;
_Taste_, slightly styptic; it attracts humidity from the atmosphere, but
does not deliquesce. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Mr. Phillips has devoted much
attention to this subject, and he states that as it is frequently
prepared, it is a mere mixture of metallic iron with super-tartrate of
potass, coloured by oxide of iron; when however it is made with more
care, it appears to be a double salt, consisting of tartrate of potass
and tartrate of iron; or may it not be one of those combinations which
cream of tartar forms with metals, and of which I have spoken under the
article _Antimonium Tartarizatum_? The quantity of peroxide of iron
contained in any weight of this preparation may be seen by referring to
the _Medicinal Dynameter_; five grains, for instance, will be found to
contain gr. j of peroxide, which, it will be observed, are equivalent to
♏︎xiv of the _Tinctura Ferri Muriatis_, and to ♏︎xxv of the _Liquor
Ferri Alkalini_, or to f℥j of the _Vinum Ferri_. SOLUBILITY. It is very
soluble in water, and the solution remains for a great length of time
without undergoing any change, except that of depositing _tartrate of
lime_, which is an incidental impurity in the super-tartrate of potass.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _All strong acids_; _lime water_;
_hydro-sulphuret of potass_; _astringent vegetables_? _The fixed
alkalies and their carbonates_ decompose the solution very slowly,
unless heated; but _ammonia_ and its _sub-carbonate_ produce upon it no
effect, whether it be hot or cold; this fact, observes Mr. Phillips,
will enable us to exhibit iron in solution with an alkali, without the
occurrence of an precipitate. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. The perfect
preparation, from its tendency to deliquesce, cannot be well ordered in
the form of powder; that of solution is probably the most judicious.
MED. USES. It is supposed to add to its chalybeate virtues those of a
diuretic nature. DOSE, grs. x to ʒss. See _Form: 34, 53, 92_. Dr.
Bateman has recommended a watery solution of it, as a chalybeate
peculiarly suited to children, from its tasteless quality.[510]
FILICIS RADIX. L.E.D.
(Aspidium Filix, _Mas._)
Root of the _Male Fern_.
QUALITIES. This root is nearly inodorous; its taste slightly bitter,
sweetish, sub-astringent, and mucilaginous; as it contains no volatile
ingredient, it may be given in decoction, but on account of its
astringency, it must not be conjoined with a _chalybeate_. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. According to M. Morin, the Male Fern root owes its
anthelmintic property to a fatty substance, capable of being saponified;
of a nauseous odour quite like that of the root; of a very disagreeable
taste, heavier than water, and distilling with water, and when burnt,
giving a dense aromatic smoke. The root, moreover, contains gallic and
acetic acids; uncrystallizable sugar; tannin; starch; a gelatinous
matter insoluble in water and alcohol; lignine; and various salts. M.
Morin considers the fatty matter as formed of a fixed and a volatile
oil, but farther experiments are required to make the characteristic
principle of this root better understood. (Ann. de Chim. xxvi. 219.)
DOSE, as an anthelmintic,[511] ʒj to ʒiij, followed by a cathartic; its
use however is superseded by more powerful and certain vermifuges. The
root is sometimes boiled in ale to flavour it.
GALBANI GUMMI RESINA. L.E.D.
_Galbanum._
QUALITIES. _Form_, variegated masses, of a yellowish brown colour;
_Odour_, fetid; _Taste_, bitter and acrid. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is
one of those vegetable products to which the name of _gum-resin_ has
been given, _see Elemi_. The latest analysis of galbanum by M. Meisner,
affords the following results, Resin 65·8; Gum 22·6; Cerasin 1·8; Malic
acid 0·2; Volatile oil 3·4; Vegetable Debris 2·8; loss 3·4. SOLUBILITY.
Water, wine, and vinegar, by trituration, take up one-fourth of its
weight, and form a milky mixture, which deposits its charge by rest; a
permanent suspension, however, may be effected by the intermedium of egg
or of gum arabic, for which purpose the galbanum will require half its
weight of gum. Alcohol takes up one-fifth of its weight, and a golden
yellow tincture results, which has the sensible qualities of the
galbanum, and becomes milky on the addition of water, but no precipitate
falls. A mixture of two parts of rectified spirit and one of water, will
dissolve all but the impurities. By distillation, galbanum yields half
its weight of volatile oil, which at first has a blue colour. MED. USES.
It is antispasmodic, expectorant, and deobstruent, and in a medical
classification, might be placed between ammonia and assafœtida. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. No form is preferable to that of pill. OFFICINAL. PREP.
_Pil. Galbani comp._ L. _Pil. Assafœtid. comp._ E. (=B=) _Pil. Myrrh.
co._ D. _Tinct. Galb._ D. _Empl. Galb._ D. _Emplast. Galb. co._ L.
_Emplast. Assafœtid._ E. (=B=) _Emplast. Gummos._ E.
GALLÆ. L.E.D.
(Cynips Quercus folli _Nidus_.) _Gall Nuts._
QUALITIES. _Form_, excrescences, nearly round and of different
magnitudes, smooth on the surface, but studded with tuberosities; they
are heavy, brittle, and break with a flinty fracture. _Odour_, none;
_Taste_, bitter and very astringent. SOLUBILITY. The whole of their
soluble matter is taken up by forty times their weight of boiling water.
Alcohol, by digestion, dissolves .7, and æther .5 of their substance.
The watery infusion possesses all the properties of the gall-nut, and
reddens vegetable blues. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Is at present involved in
some obscurity; it contains tannin, gallic acid, a concrete volatile
oil, and perhaps extractive and gum. M. Braconnot has also lately
discovered in the gall-nut a new acid, which he calls _Ellagic acid_,
from the word _galle_ reversed, a nomenclature which it must be
confessed is at least free from the objections urged against that which
is founded upon chemical composition. (_See Annales de Chimie, vol. ix.
p. 187, new series_; also _Children’s Essay on Chemical Analysis, p.
276_.) INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. The infusion and tincture of galls
possess habitudes with which it is very important for the medical
practitioner to be acquainted, not only for the purpose of directing
their exhibition with success, but because the elements which impart to
them their characteristic traits, viz. _Gallic Acid_ and _Tannin_,[512]
are very widely diffused through the products of the vegetable kingdom,
and will be found to be constantly active in their chemical, medicinal,
and pharmaceutical relations. Metallic salts, especially those of iron,
produce precipitates with infusion of galls, composed of tannin, gallic
acid, and the metallic oxide; of these compounds the _tanno-gallate of
iron_ is the most striking, being of a black colour; those of
_sub-acetate_ and _acetate of lead_ are greyish; _tartarized antimony_
produces a yellowish; _sulphate of copper_ a brown; _sulphate of zinc_
reddish black; _nitrate of silver_, a deep olive; and _nitrate of
mercury_, a bright yellow precipitate; the _oxy-muriate of mercury_
produces only an opacity. _Sulphuric acid_ throws down a yellowish curdy
precipitate, _muriatic_, a flaky and white one, and _nitric acid_ merely
modifies the colour of the infusion, although it destroys its
astringency; the solution of _ammonia_ occasions no precipitate but
renders the colour deeper, the _carbonate_ however throws down a
precipitate; the carbonates of the _fixed alkalies_ produce a yellowish
flaky, and _lime water_ a copious green precipitate. The _tannin_ in the
infusion of galls is precipitated by a solution of isinglass or of any
other animal jelly, by that of starch, and by many metallic oxides.
MEDICINAL USES. Galls are most powerfully astringent. The native
practitioners of India not only administer them as astringents in
dysentery, but as tonics in cases of intermittent fever. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. In that of powder; and in combination with other astringents
(_Form. 51_,) or with aromatics and bitters. As a local remedy the
gall-nut enters into gargles and injections; for _blind_ piles, an
ointment composed of 2½ parts of finely powdered galls, and a small
portion of opium, with three parts of simple ointment as an excipient,
offers a very valuable resource. (_Form. 55._) In some cases of
hemorrhoids, prolapsus ani, and fluor albus, the application may be made
in the form of a fomentation, for which purpose two drachms of bruised
galls should be macerated for an hour in a pint of boiling water, which,
when cold, may be used in the usual manner. DOSE, for internal
exhibition, grs. x–℈ij, or more. OFFICINAL PREP. _Tinct. Gallarum_. E.D.
OBSERVATION. Those which are small, protuberant, bluish, and heavy, are
the best, being such as have been collected before the _larvæ_ within
them had changed to the state of fly, and eaten their way out; a white,
or a red hue indicates an inferior quality, and are those from which the
insect has escaped. Aleppo galls are the most valuable, as being the
most astringent.
GENTIANÆ RADIX. L.E.D.
(Gentiana Lutea, _Radix_.) _Gentian Root._
QUALITIES. Form, wrinkled pieces of various length and thickness;
_Odour_, not particular; _Taste_, intensely bitter, but not nauseous.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, resin, a small portion of oil, bitter extractive,
and a proportion of tannin; it contains also mucilage, in consequence of
which the infusion frequently becomes ropy. Since the last edition of
this work, the continental chemists have announced the existence of an
alkaline principle, which they call _Gentia_ or _Gentiania_, and which
is said to concentrate within itself all the virtues of the Gentian
root; it does not appear to be in the least poisonous; _M. Majendie_ has
injected it into the veins without any obvious effects, and has himself
swallowed two grains without experiencing any sensation but that of
extreme bitterness, followed by gentle warmth in the region of the
stomach.[513] The root, moreover, contains saccharine matter, for when
fermented with water, it yields a spirit which is extensively used by
the Swiss. SOLUBILITY. The virtues of this root are extracted by water
and alcohol; proof spirit is perhaps its most perfect menstruum. See
_Infus. Gentian. comp._ MED. USES. It is tonic and stomachic, and its
use for such purposes is of ancient date;[514] in dyspepsia, hysteria,
and in all cases where a vegetable bitter is indicated, it will be found
a serviceable remedy. DOSE, in substance, from grs. x to ʒj. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Extract: Gentian_. L.E.D. _Infusum Gentianæ comp._ L.E.D.
_Tinct. Gentian. comp._ L.E.D.[515] _Vinum Gentianæ compositum._ E.
GERANIUM MACULATUM.
(Spotted Geranium.)
_Radix._
[This plant is very common in the United States, and is usually found in
the vicinity of moist, woody situations. From the analysis of Bigelow,
it appears to contain a very large proportion of tannin. It is
accordingly powerfully astringent, and has been used with advantage in
diarrhœa, chronic, dysentery and cholera infantum. In powder the dose of
the Geranium is from 20 to 30 grs.—in extract, 10 grs.—in tincture from
ʒj to ʒij—and in decoction from ℥j to ℥ij.]
GLYCYRRHIZÆ RADIX. L.E.D..nf c
(Glycyrrhiza Glabra.)
_Liquorice Root._ _Stick Liquorice._
QUALITIES. _Taste_, sweet and mucilaginous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Gum,
with a peculiar modication of saccharine matter (_Glycion_), or sugar in
its purest form, for it is not fermentable; on which account it is added
to beer for the purpose of imparting a sweet taste, and at the same time
enabling it to keep better. SOLUBILITY. Water extracts both its
principles, but by long coction it becomes bitter; alcohol extracts only
its saccharine matter. MED. USES. It is principally employed as a
demulcent in combination with other mucilaginous vegetables; the root
will yield nearly half its weight of extract. Liquorice covers the taste
of some unpalatable medicines more effectually than any other substance,
and it has long enjoyed the reputation of assuaging thirst, whence the
Greeks distinguished this root by the term _Adipson_; and, perhaps, the
English word _Liquorice_ may be derived from the same belief. OFFICINAL
PREP. _Decoct: Sarsaparill: comp._ L.D. (=O=) Infus: _Lini_, L. (=B=)
_Extract: Glycyrrhizæ._ L.E.D. _Confectio Sennæ_[516] L.E. (=O=)
ADULTERATIONS. The powdered root is generally sophisticated with flour,
and sometimes with powdered guaiacum; the fraud may be detected by its
colour being a fine pale, instead of a brownish yellow, and by its
reduced or foreign flavour.
GRANATI CORTEX. L.E.D.
Punica Granatum. _Pomorum Cortex._
_Pomegranate Bark._
What has been said respecting the Gall-nut, applies with equal truth to
this substance. The efficacy of the bark of the root of the pomegranate,
says Dr. Ainslie (_Mat. Med. of Hindostan_), as a remedy for the tape
worm is now well established in India; it is given in decoction,
prepared with two ounces of the fresh bark, boiled in a pint and a half
of water until only three quarters of a pint remain.
GUAIACI RESINA ET LIGNUM. L.E.D.
(Guaiacum Officinale).
_The Resin and Wood of Guaiacum._
A. THE WOOD.
QUALITIES. This wood is heavier than water, and emits when heated an
aromatic odour; _Taste_, bitterish and sub-acrid; to extract its virtues
long decoction is required. It has enjoyed great reputation as a
specific in the venereal disease; it was imported into Europe in 1517,
and gained immediate celebrity from curing the celebrated Van Hutten:
long before this period, however, it was used by the natives of St.
Domingo. Boerhaave, so late as the eighteenth century, maintained its
specific powers. It seems probable that the discipline which always
accompanied its exhibition, such as sweating, abstinence, and purgation,
might be the means, in the warmer climates, of effecting cures which
were attributed to the guaiacum. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Decoct:
Guaiaci comp:_ E. _Decoct: Sarsaparill: comp:_ L.D.
B. THE GUAIAC, or _Resin_.
QUALITIES. _Form_; it has the aspect of a gum resin; _Colour_, greenish
brown; it is easily pulverized, and the powder, which is at first grey,
becomes green on exposure to air and light, which appears to depend upon
the absorption of oxygen: when heated, it loses its colour; it melts by
heat; and has a _sp. grav:_ of 1·2289. SOLUBILITY. _Water_ dissolves out
of it about 9 per cent. of extractive matter; _alcohol_ 95, and _æther_
40 parts in a hundred. The _alkaline_ solutions and their _carbonates_
dissolve it readily; _Sulphuric acid_ dissolves it with scarcely any
effervescence, and affords a solution of a rich claret colour; _Nitric
acid_ dissolves it with a copious extrication of nitrous fumes;
_Muriatic acid_ dissolves a small portion only; but in all these cases
the guaiacum is decomposed; the acids are therefore incompatible with
it. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The experiments of Mr. Hatchett demonstrate
that it is a substance _sui generis_, and not a resin, or gum-resin.
MED. USES. Stimulant, diaphoretic,[517] and in large doses, purgative.
FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In that of bolus; or diffused in water, by means of
one half of its own weight of gum arabic. DOSE, gr. x. to ʒss. OFFICINAL
PREP: _Mist: Guaiac:_ L. _Tinct. Guaiac._ L.E.D. _Tinct. Guaiac.
Ammoniat._ L.E.D. _Pulv. Aloes com._ L.D. (=O.M.=) ADULTERATIONS.
_Common resin_ may be detected by the turpentine emitted when the guaiac
is thrown upon hot coals; _Manchinal gum_, by adding to the tincture a
few drops of sweet spirit of nitre, and diluting with water; the guaiac
is thus precipitated, but the adulteration floats in white striæ.
HÆMATOXYLI LIGNUM. L.E.D.
(Hæmatoxylon Campechianum). _Logwood._
QUALITIES. The wood is hard, compact, and heavy. _Odour_, none; _Taste_,
sweet, and astringent; _Colour_, deep red. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The
colouring matter of this wood has been very recently submitted to a
rigid examination; and the name of _Hematin_ has been given to it; it
affords small brilliant crystals of a reddish white colour, and slightly
astringent, bitter, and acrid flavour; sulphuretted hydrogen passed
through its solution in water, gives it a yellow colour, which
disappears in a few days. Gelatine throws it down in reddish flakes. The
habitudes of Logwood are curious with respect to mutability of colour.
The recent infusion, made with distilled water, is yellow, but that with
common water has a reddish purple colour, which is deepened by the
alkalies, and changed to yellow by the acids; various salts precipitate
it; _acetate of lead_; _alum_; the _sulphates of copper and iron_;
_tartarized antimony_; and _sulphuric_, _muriatic_, _nitric_, and
_acetic acids_, are on this account incompatible with it. MED. USES. It
is supposed to be astringent, and is therefore given in protracted
diarrhœas, and in the latter stage of dysentery. OFFICINAL PREP.
_Extract. Hæmatoxyli._ L.
HELLEBORI FŒTIDI FOLIA L.
(Helleborus Fœtidus). HELLEBORASTER. D.
_The Leaves of Fœtid Hellebore._
As this plant is merely retained in the list of materia medica on
account of its anthelmintic properties, it might be well dispensed with,
since we possess many others which are much more safe, as well as more
efficacious.
HELLEBORI NIGRI RADIX. L.E.D.
_The Root of Black Hellebore._ _Melampodium._[518]
_Christmas Rose._
QUALITIES. The fibres of the root are the parts employed; they are about
the thickness of a straw, corrugated, externally of a deep dark colour,
hence the epithet _black_; internally white, or of a yellowish hue.
_Odour_, unpleasant; _Taste_, bitter and acrid. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. An
analysis of this root has lately been effected by M. M. Feneulle and
Capron, from which it appears that its active principle, unlike that of
the White Hellebore (_Veratrum_) is not an alkali; the following
substances enter into its composition, viz. 1. A Volatile Oil.—2. A
Fatty matter.—3. A Resin.—4. Wax.—5. A Volatile Acid.—6. A bitter
principle.—7. Mucus.—8. Alumina.—9. Gallate of Potass.—10. Acidulous
Gallate of Lime.—11. A Salt, with an Ammoniacal base. SOLUBILITY. Both
water and alcohol extract its virtues, but the spirituous solution is
the most active; long coction diminishes its powers, hence the watery
extract acts more mildly than the root. MEDICINAL USES. This is one of
the most ancient articles of the materia medica. Ctesias, who lived in
the time of Plato, and anterior to Hippocrates, speaks of it as a
medicine of important virtues. By the Greek and Roman physicians it was
highly esteemed as a remedy in Mania (_see p. 8._) The extraordinary
cures performed at the island of Anticyrus, famous for its Hellebore,
are celebrated by the poets and historians of antiquity. It is a drastic
cathartic, and may prove therefore emmenagogue, and hydragogue, but in
this country, its reputation has been destroyed by the decided manner in
which Dr. Cullen reprobated its use. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It is seldom
given in substance, but in the form of tincture or extract; or in that
of decoction, made with two drachms of the root to a pint of water. DOSE
of the powdered root, grs. x to ℈j; of the decoction, f℥j. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Tinct. Hellebori Nigri._ L.E.D. _Extractum Hellebori
Nigri._ E.D. ADULTERATIONS. The roots of the poisonous aconites are
often fraudulently substituted; this is easily discovered, for the
aconite is lighter coloured than the palest specimens of black
hellebore; it is safe therefore to choose the darkest.
HORDEI SEMINA. L.E.D.
(Hordeum Distichon. _Semina, tunicis nudata._)
Hordeum Perlatum. _Pearl Barley._
Barley is formed into _Pearl Barley_, by the removal of its husk or
cuticle,[519] and afterwards by being rounded and polished in a mill.
These well known granules consist chiefly of fecula, with portions of
mucilage, gluten, and sugar, which water extracts by decoction, but the
solution soon passes into the acetous fermentation; the bran of barley
contains an acrid resin, and it is to get rid of such an ingredient that
it is deprived of its cuticle. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Decoct. Hordei._
L.E.D. _Decoct. Hordei. comp._ L.D.
HUMULI STROBILI. L.E.
(Humulus Lupulus. _Stroboli Siccati._)
QUALITIES. _Odour_, fragrant, and sub-narcotic. _Taste_, bitter,
astringent, and aromatic. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Tannin, 5 grs.;
Extractive, 10 grs.; Bitter principle, 11 grs.; Wax, 12 grs.; Resin, 36
grs.; Lignin, 46 grs. The fact, with respect to the residence of the
properties of the hop in the yellow grains scattered over its scales,
has been since confirmed by the observations of M. Payen and A.
Chevalier, who have moreover detected a volatile oil in the Lupulin,
amounting to 2 per cent.; its proportion, however, appears to vary in
the Hop of different countries; the French hop, for instance, has been
found to contain more than the Belgic, but less than the English; Hops,
moreover, soon after having been picked, yield, _cæteris paribus_, more
oil and less resin than the old; a circumstance which induced M. M.
Payen and Chevalier to suspect that the oil is capable of being
resinified. (_Journal de Pharmacie, Juin 1822._) This oil is similar in
odour to the hop, but much more penetrating, narcotic, and very acrid in
the throat.
SOLUBILITY. Boiling water, alcohol, and æther, extract their virtues;
but their aromatic flavour is destroyed by decoction; like most
vegetable bitters, the cold is more grateful than the warm infusion; its
colour is deepened by alkalies, and rendered turbid by the mineral
acids; metallic salts also produce decomposition. MEDICINAL USES. Hops
have been said to be tonic, narcotic, and diuretic; they have been
recommended in the cure of rheumatism; and, like many articles in the
materia medica which have received the sanction of respectable
practitioners, they have been extolled far beyond their merit. They
undoubtedly possess the advantages of a pleasant bitter combined with a
feeble narcotic; the late Mr. Freake was very sanguine as to their
powers, and at his request I made a series of experiments at the
Westminster Hospital, but I confess that their results have not
established my confidence in their efficacy. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Extract. Humili._ L. _Tinct. Humili._ L. Their use as a preservative of
beer is well known, and the philosophy of their agency is fully
described in the first part of this work, (_page 168_); it is equally
notorious, that various vegetable substances are daily substituted for
them, such as _Quassia_[520] and _Wormwood_, both of which are inferior
to the _Menyanthes Trifoliata_, or _Marsh Trefoil_. The people of Jersey
are said to use the wood-sage, _Teucrium Scorodonia_; it imparts however
a very high colour to the beer. During the first four years that the
Cape of Good Hope was in the possession of the British, more than
300,000 pounds of Aloes were imported into England; how could such a
quantity be consumed? except, as Mr. Barrow states, by the London Porter
brewers; it must however be allowed that a considerable quantity of this
article is used by the Varnish makers.
HYDRARGYRUM.[521] L.D. HYDRARCYRUS. E.
Olim, Argentum vivum. _Mercury_, or _Quicksilver_.
Mercury, in its metallic state, is never applied to any medical
use,[522] except in visceral obstruction, in hopes of forcing a passage
by its gravity; but under various forms of preparation, it affords a
series of very active remedies. ADULTERATIONS. With the exception of
Peruvian Bark, there is perhaps no active article in the materia medica
more shamefully adulterated; its impurity is at once indicated by its
dull aspect; by its tarnishing, and becoming covered with a grey film;
by its diminished mobility, in consequence of which its globules are
unable to retain the spherical form, and therefore _tail_, as it is
technically expressed. _Lead_ is discovered by dissolving it in nitric
acid, and adding to the solution water impregnated with sulphuretted
hydrogen, when, if lead be present, a dark brown precipitate will ensue.
_Bismuth_, by pouring the nitric solution into distilled water, when it
will appear as a white precipitate. _Zinc_, by exposing the mercury to
heat. _Tin_ is detected by a dilute solution of nitro-muriate of gold,
which throws down a purple precipitate. The presence of lead in mercury
is a most dangerous circumstance; I have once witnessed a case of
_cholica pictonum_ in consequence of it. The usual mode of purifying
quicksilver, by pressing it through chamois leather, will not separate
the lead, if it be, as is generally the case, in combination with
bismuth; for the manner in which the adulteration is effected, is by
melting with a gentle heat these two metals, and adding the alloy to the
mercury; and although this alloy should exceed one-fourth of the whole
bulk, it will pass, together with the mercury, through chamois leather.
On standing, the bismuth will be thrown upon the surface, in the form of
a dark powder, but the lead will remain in solution. The greatest part
of the mercury of commerce comes from Istria and Friuli, and from the
Palatinate, and as it passes through the hands of the Dutch, we must
expect to receive it in a state of alloy. On a superficial examination,
it ought not, when shaken with water, to impart to it any colour; when
agitated or digested with vinegar, it should not communicate a sweetish
taste; and when exposed in an iron spoon to heat, it ought to evaporate
entirely. The French are so well aware of the mischievous extent to
which this metal is falsified, that in their late Codex they direct the
reduction of the _red oxyd_ in order to obtain it; the process however
is too expensive for general adoption. The Italian Jews purify
quicksilver for their barometers, by digesting it in dilute sulphuric
acid, which is by no means an improper process. The mode directed for
the purification of mercury by the London College, (_Hydrargyrum
Purificatum_) is unable to separate it _completely_ from its more
deleterious contaminations. It is a general opinion in Germany, that
mercury, boiled in water, will impart to it an anthelmintic virtue;[523]
this, if it happens, can only depend upon the impurities of the mercury;
but large draughts of cold water are in themselves anthelmintic.
Although metallic mercury in its fluid form exerts no effect upon the
animal system, it, nevertheless, in a state of vapour, manifests
considerable powers; and it is necessary for the practitioner to be
informed that it assumes this condition at the ordinary temperature of
the atmosphere. I have stated several experiments in proof of this fact
in my work on Medical Jurisprudence, _Art_. “_Aerial Poisons_,” to which
the reader may refer.
HYDRARGYRUM PRÆCIPITATUM ALBUM. L.
SUB-MURIAS HYDRARGYRI AMMONIATUM. D.
_White Precipitate._
QUALITIES. _Form_, an impalpable powder of a snowy whiteness; _Odour_
and _Taste_, none. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a triple compound of
oxide of mercury 81, muriatic acid 16, ammonia 3 parts. SOLUBILITY. It
is insoluble in water, and in alcohol; when triturated with lime water
it does not become black. It is now only used in combination with lard
as an ointment; formerly it was administered internally, and Boerhaave
strongly recommends it as a safe and mild mercurial, and as seldom, if
ever, exciting copious salivation. OFFICINAL PREP. _Unguent._ _Hydrarg.
præcipitati albi._ L.D.
HYDRARGYRUM CUM CRETA. L.D.
_Mercury with Chalk._
This is mercury slightly oxydized by trituration, and mixed with chalk.
Grs. iij contain about one grain of mercury. DOSE, grs. v to ʒss. It is
a mild and excellent mercurial, and has been known to cure syphilitic
affections, when the constitution had proved rebellious to every other
form of preparation. Dr. George Fordyce committed a great error, when he
denied to this compound any mercurial efficacy. The peculiar mildness of
this preparation has been very justly attributed to the effects of the
carbonate of lime, in neutralizing acid matter in the primæ viæ. In
Mesenteric affections I have employed it with much advantage; in certain
forms of Dysentery it is also a very valuable medicine.
HYDRARGYRI NITRICO-OXYDUM. L.
OXYDUM HYDRARGYRI RUBRUM PER ACIDUM NITRICUM. E.
OXYDUM HYDRARGYRI NITRICUM. D.
_Nitric Oxyd of Mercury—Red Precipitate._
QUALITIES. _Form_, small scales of a bright red colour; _Taste_, acrid
and corrosive. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is strictly speaking a
_sub-nitrate_ of mercury, for if it be boiled for a short time with six
times its weight of water, the liquor when filtered yields a precipitate
with ammonia. SOLUBILITY. It is slightly soluble in water, but
extensively in nitric acid, without any effervescence. USES. It is used
only externally, as an escharotic. OFFICINAL PREP. _Unguent._
_Hydrargyri Nitrico-oxyd._ L.E.D. ADULTERATIONS. _Red Lead_ may be
detected by digesting it in acetic acid, and adding sulphuret of
ammonia, which will produce a dark-coloured precipitate: it should be
totally volatilized by heat.
HYDRARGYRI OXYDUM CINEREUM. L.E.
PULVIS HYDRARGYRI CINEREUS. D.
_Grey Oxyd of Mercury._
QUALITIES. _Form_, an impalpable grey coloured powder, which becomes
paler on exposure to air and light. _Odour_ and _taste_, none. CHEM.
COMPOSITION. When properly prepared it is protoxide of mercury; but, as
frequently found in the shops, it contains a mixture of the triple salt
consisting of oxide of mercury, ammonia, and nitric acid. It is rarely
used; although Dr. Saunders suggested it as a succedaneum for Plenck’s
remedy, and Mr. Abernethy considers it preferable to the red Sulphuret
for mercurial fumigation, on account of its not yielding any suffocating
vapour. OFFICINAL PREP. _Unguent._ _Oxyd. Hydrarg. ciner._ E.
HYDRARGYRI OXYDUM RUBRUM. L.
OXYDUM HYDRARGYRI. D.
_Red Oxyd of Mercury._
The _Precipitate per se_ of the older Chemists.
QUALITIES. _Form_, minute crystalline scales, of a deep red colour,
inodorous, but acrid and caustic; it is soluble in several of the acids
without decomposition; it is also slightly soluble in water; from which
solution it is precipitated by ammonia. USES. It is very active as a
mercurial, and has been a favourite remedy with John Hunter (_Form.
141_) and other celebrated practitioners; it is however apt to affect
the bowels, and is therefore now rarely employed except as an external
application. DOSE, gr. j. combined with opium gss. ADULTERATIONS. It is
seldom adulterated, as it would be difficult to find a substance suited
to that purpose. If well prepared it may be totally volatilized by heat.
HYDRARGYRI OXY-MURIAS. L.
MURIAS HYDRARGYRI CORROSIVUS. E.D.
_Oxy-muriate of Mercury._
_Corrosive Muriate of Mercury._ _Corrosive Sublimate._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a crystalline mass, composed of very small prismatic
crystals, which is easily pulverized, and undergoes a slight alteration
by exposure to air, becoming on its surface opaque and pulverulent.
Light, however, has no effect upon it, although a different opinion has
existed, and it has accordingly been recommended to be kept in black
bottles. _Odour_, none. _Taste_, very acrid, with a metallic
astringency, occasioning a sensation of obstruction in the throat which
continues for some time. _Sp. gr._ 5·1398. When pulverised and thrown
upon burning coals, it is immediately volatilized, giving out a thick
white smoke of a very pungent smell, which irritates the mucous
membranes extremely, and is highly dangerous to those who inhale it.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. According to the latest views, it is a
_Bi-chloride_ of mercury, consisting of one proportional of mercury, to
two proportionals of chlorine. In the French codex, it is termed
“_Deuto-Chloruretum Hydrargyri_.” SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in eleven
parts of cold, and in three of boiling water, and in half its weight of
alcohol; it is also very soluble in æther; indeed this latter liquid has
the curious property of abstracting it from its solution in water, when
agitated with it. Its solubility in water is greatly increased by the
addition of a few drops of rectified spirit, or of muriatic acid. In a
solution of muriate of ammonia it is seventeen times more soluble than
in water, no decomposition however arises; it is therefore probable that
a triple salt is formed; it is also soluble in the sulphuric, nitric,
and muriatic acids, and may be obtained again unaltered, by simply
evaporating the solutions. Dr. Davy, in his late researches upon
corrosive sublimate states that with muriatic acid, common salt, and
some other muriates, it forms definite compounds remarkable for their
solubility. Its watery solution is said to change vegetable blues to
green, but this is an optical fallacy, (_see page 306_.) On exposure to
light this solution slowly undergoes decomposition; but Dr. Davy has
shewn that corrosive sublimate remains unaltered when exposed in
solution in media having a strong affinity for it, as in alcohol, æther,
muriatic acid, &c. and that decomposition only takes place under
circumstances of complicated affinities, as in the instance of _Liquor
Hydrargyri Oxymuriatis_, and in that of the aqueous solution; in which
cases Calomel and Muriatic acid appear to be formed, and oxygen to be
evolved. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. The _carbonates of the fixed_ alkalies
precipitate it of a yellow hue, but the precipitates are not pure
oxides; _ammonia_ forms with it a white triple compound. _Lime water_
decomposes it more perfectly than any alkaline body, occasioning a
precipitate of a deep yellow colour,[524] which is a per-oxyd of mercury
containing a little muriatic acid; this result forms a useful lotion to
ill conditioned ulcers, and has been long known under the title of _Aqua
Phagadenica_; f℥j of lime water should be employed for the decomposition
of two grains of the salt. _Tartarized antimony_, _nitrate of silver_,
_acetate of lead_, _sulphur_, _sulphuret of potass_, and _soaps_,
decompose it. _Iron_, _lead_, _copper_, _bismuth_, and _zinc_, in their
metallic state, also decompose it, producing precipitates which consist
of an amalgam of the metal employed, except in those cases where the
metal in question refuses to amalgamate with mercury, when this latter
metal appears as a metallic dew, composed of very minute globules, with
calomel; hence mortars of glass or earthenware should be used for
dispensing this article; when triturated with olive oil, the oil becomes
white, and when boiled with it, _calomel_ is precipitated; the same
happens if sugar be substituted for oil. The volatile oils reduce it.
When Oil of Turpentine was used, some traces of artificial camphor was
discovered by Dr. Davy, and when the oils of Cloves and Peppermint, a
purple compound distilled over, consisting of the oil employed and
muriatic acid. The following vegetable infusions produce precipitates,
viz. _the infusions and decoctions of chamomile_, _horse-radish root_,
_calumba root_, _catechu_, _cinchona_, _rhubarb_, _senna_, _simarouba_,
_oak bark_, _tea_ and _almond emulsion_. Swediaur observes, that “many
authors have recommended _sublimate_ combined with bark, but that a
reciprocal decomposition is thus produced, by which the energies of both
remedies are alike annulled;” to this ignorance, however, he thinks that
many patients have been indebted for their lives; for, says he, “I see
every day examples of weak and very delicate persons of both sexes, to
whom ignorant practitioners prescribe, and sometimes in very large
doses, the _corrosive sublimate_, with a decoction of bark; certainly
without curing the syphilis, but at the same time without occasioning
those grave and dangerous symptoms, which that acrid medicine would
certainly produce, if given alone, or without that decoction.” We have
here presented the reader with the opinion of Swediaur; but it is just
to state, that the experience of this country has rather tended to
subvert, than to confirm, such a belief. That the corrosive sublimate of
mercury is actually decomposed by the vegetable principles of the bark
is sufficiently evident, but it would seem that the oxide thus
developed, and recombined with vegetable extractive, is a very active
mercurial, especially with respect to its alterative powers. The same
observation will, to a certain extent, apply to the results of its
decomposition by other agents; the fixed alkalies have been found by
actual experiment to be incapable of disarming this salt of its
virulence, because, as Orfila has stated, the oxide liberated is, in
itself, an active poison. Mr. Rose has lately transmitted to me a
formula for the preparation of “_Alterative Drops_,” which he states,
from ample experience, to possess very considerable powers as a
mercurial, and to excite ptyalism, with a quickness and certainty which
characterize but few preparations of the same class. The principal
ingredients are an alcoholic solution of _corrosive sublimate_ and a
vinous solution of tartarized antimony. It is scarcely necessary to
observe that upon admixture a mutual decomposition takes place; the
_peroxide of mercury_ is precipitated by the alkaline element of the
antimonial compound, whilst this latter salt, having its affinities thus
overthrown, parts with the _protoxide of antimony_; so that the
preparation holds a considerable quantity of insoluble matter in
suspension, and which is to be carefully incorporated with the liquid by
shaking the phial, whenever the drops are administered. Now there can be
but little doubt but that the activity of this preparation is owing to
the _peroxide of mercury_, thus diffused in a state of minute division,
while at the same time the antimonial protoxide very probably disposes
the stomach and system to be more readily influenced by it, for reasons
which have been fully discussed in the first part of this work, p. 152.
MED. USES. It is one of the most acrid and active of all metallic
preparations; in well directed doses, however, it is frequently of
service in secondary syphilis, and in cases of anomalous disease, when
it would be improper to administer the other forms of mercury.[525] In
obstinate cutaneous diseases its administration in small doses is often
very serviceable; I have, however, seen extreme emaciation and hectic
fever produced by its too long continued exhibition, although ptyalism
was never occasioned. Its application also as a lotion to leprous
affections, in the proportion of about one grain to a fluid-ounce and a
half of some liquid vehicle, I have frequently seen highly beneficial;
in directing the use of so acrid a lotion, we should caution the patient
not to touch his eyes until his hands have been washed; in consequence
of a neglect of this kind I have seen a very severe ophthalmia produced.
The practitioner should also remember that the system may become
affected by such external applications; a case stands recorded in which
a girl of five years old became salivated, and died, in consequence of
an application made to the head for the cure of _Tinea_, which consisted
of Pomatum rubbed up with a few grains of this salt. Its internal
exhibition should be accompanied with mucilaginous drinks; when an
overdose has been taken, the _white_ of egg, diluted with water, is the
best antidote, for Orfila has found that albumen decomposes it, reducing
it to the state of mild muriate, whilst the compound which it forms with
it is inert. Many examples are recorded of the success of this practice.
In the Transactions of the King and Queen’s College of Physicians in
Ireland, an interesting case of this kind is related by Dr. Lendrick; it
is, however, at the same time but justice to state, that there are
instances also of the failure of this antidote. In the 41st volume of
the _London Medical and Physical Journal_, p. 204, the reader will find
the case of a girl, who was poisoned by a drachm of Sublimate, and who,
notwithstanding the copious ingestion of albumen, died in ninety hours.
More recently vegetable gluten, as existing in wheat-flower, is said to
answer as well as albumen; for the administration of which all that is
required is to give wheat-flower and water. Dose, gr. 1/8 to ½, see
_Liquor Hydrargyri Oxymuriatis_, and _Form. 142_. ADULTERATIONS. It
ought to be volatilized by heat; it is frequently met with in commerce
contaminated with muriate of iron, sometimes with arsenic; the presence
of calomel is at once discovered from its insolubility. TESTS OF ITS
PRESENCE. If any powder be suspected to contain this salt, expose it to
heat in a coated tube, as directed in the treatment of arsenic, but
without any carbonaceous admixture, when corrosive sublimate, if
present, will rise and line the interior surface with a shining white
crust. This crust is then to be dissolved in distilled water, and
assayed by the following tests; 1st, _lime water_ will produce, if the
suspected solution contains this salt, a precipitate of an orange yellow
colour. 2d, a single drop of a dilute solution of _sub-carbonate of
potass_ will at first produce a white precipitate, but on a still
farther addition of the test, an orange-coloured sediment will be
formed. 3rd, _sulphuretted water_ will throw down a dark coloured
precipitate, which when dried and strongly heated may be volatilized
without any alliaceous odour. 4th, _ammonia_ produces a white
precipitate, which is an insoluble triple salt, composed of muriatic
acid, ammonia, and oxide of mercury, which, on being heated, grows
yellow; it passes afterwards to a red, and gives out ammoniacal gas,
nitrogen, calomel, and metallic mercury. In this operation the oxide is
supposed to be decomposed by the hydrogen which results from a portion
of the ammonia. 5th, _Nitrate of tin_, according to Dr. Bostock, is
capable of detecting the three-millionth part of a grain; a single drop
will occasion an immediate and copious dark-brown precipitate. All the
above precipitates, if rubbed on a bright plate of copper, will render
its surface very white. Where the salt is mixed with various coloured
liquids, we must proceed as directed under the head of Arsenic. A very
ingenious application of galvanic electricity has been also proposed by
Mr. Silvester, for the detection of _corrosive sublimate_, which will
exhibit the mercury in a metallic state. A piece of zinc or iron wire
about three inches in length, is to be twice bent at right angles, so as
to resemble the Greek letter Π, the two legs of this figure should be
distant about the diameter of a common gold wedding ring from each
other, and the two ends of the bent wire must afterwards be tied to a
ring of this description. Let a plate of glass, not less than three
inches square, be laid as nearly horizontal as possible, and on one side
drop some sulphuric acid, diluted with about six times its weight of
water, till it spreads to the size of a halfpenny. At a little distance
from this, towards the other side, next drop some of the solution
supposed to contain corrosive sublimate, till the edges of the two
liquids become joined; and let the wire and ring, prepared as above, be
laid in such a way that the wire may touch the acid, while the gold ring
is in contact with the suspected liquid. If the minutest quantity of
corrosive sublimate be present, the ring in a few minutes will be
covered with mercury on the part which touched the fluid. This
experiment may be beautifully simplified in the following manner; drop a
small quantity of solution containing corrosive sublimate on a piece of
gold, and bring into contact a key, or some piece of iron, so as to form
a galvanic circuit, when the gold will be immediately whitened. A
solution of nitrate of silver will, under similar circumstances,
occasion on the gold a white precipitate, but as no amalgamation takes
place, it is readily wiped off, and cannot possibly occasion any
fallacy.[526]
Certain metals likewise decompose solutions of this salt, by virtue of
superior affinity; in those cases where the precipitating metal is
capable of forming a direct union with Mercury, we shall find the
precipitates to consist of an amalgam of the metal employed; where no
such combination takes place, the mercury will be frequently seen
standing on the surface as a metallic dew. This is particularly striking
where iron or steel has been employed; these metals are also at the same
time blackened by it.
Brugnatelli[527] has proposed the following method of distinguishing
_corrosive sublimate_ from _arsenic_—Take a quantity of fresh wheat
starch, mix with water, and add a sufficient quantity of _iodine_ to
give the liquid a blue colour; if _corrosive sublimate_ or _arsenic_ be
added to this liquor, the colour is alike destroyed and it becomes
reddish, but if the change has been effected by the latter substance, a
few drops of sulphuric acid will restore the blue colour, but if by the
former it is not recoverable by such means.[528]
HYDRARGYRI SUB-MURIAS. L.
SUB-MURIAS HYDRARGYRI SUBLIMATUM. D.
SUB-MURIAS HYDRARGYRI MITIS. E.
vulgo. _Calomel_.[529]
This preparation has been known in pharmacy for upwards of two centuries
under a variety of fanciful names, such as _Draco mitigatus_; _Aquila
alba_; _Aquila mitigata_; _Manna metallorum_; _Panchymagogum minerale_;
_Panchymagogus quercetanus_; _Sublimatum dulce_; _Mercurius dulcis
sublimatus_; _Calomelas_; and yet there is not a name in this list that
is so objectionable as the one at present adopted by our colleges: for
whether we adhere to the theory of muriatic acid being the _simple_
body, or accede to the new views of _chlorine_, the name is equally
inappropriate; if we regard it as a compound of muriatic acid and oxyd
of mercury, it is not a _sub_-muriate, but as much a _muriate_ as the
corrosive sublimate; the only difference depending upon the degree of
oxidizement of the mercury, which is at a _minimum_ in calomel, and at a
_maximum_ in sublimate. According to the new views respecting chlorine,
calomel must consist of one proportional of chlorine with one
proportional of metal, and is therefore a _chloride of mercury_.
(“_Proto-chloruretum Hydrargyri._” Codex Med. Paris.)
QUALITIES. _Form._ A semi-transparent mass, consisting of short
prismatic crystals;[530] inodorous, insipid, and of an ivory colour,
which deepens by exposure to light. SOLUBILITY. It is considered as
being insoluble, since according to Rouelle, one part requires 1152 of
water, at 212° for its solution. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Alkalies_ and
_lime water_ decompose it and turn it black, in consequence of
precipitating the black oxyd of the metal; it is also decomposed by
_soaps_, _sulphurets of potass and antimony_; and by _iron_, _lead_, and
_copper_; hence it is improper to employ any metallic mortar for
dispensing medicines which contain it. There seems to be reason for
supposing that this preparation may undergo decomposition _in transitu_,
and that therefore some substances may be _chemically_, and yet not be
_medicinally_ incompatible with it. If calomel be boiled for a few
minutes in distilled water to which alcoholized potass has been added,
it is completely decomposed, a _muriate of potass_ and _black oxyd of
mercury_ being the new products. Calomel is not affected by sulphuric
acid in the cold, but, at a boiling temperature, corrosive sublimate,
and deuto-sulphate of mercury are formed. MEDICINAL USES.[531] This
mercurial preparation is more extensively and more usefully employed
than almost any other article of the materia medica. It is capable of
curing syphilis in every form, provided it does not run off by the
bowels; and in obstructions and hepatic affections, it is in
well-regulated doses a most valuable remedy; in combination, it probably
merits the appellation of _Dirigens_, more decidedly than any other
remedy with which we are acquainted, for when combined with certain
diuretics, it is diuretic, (_Form. 103, 104_) and in diaphoretic
arrangements, it is diaphoretic: it moreover imparts force to many of
the mild, and moderates the severity of drastic medicines: whenever we
wish a strong and permanent impression to be made on the alimentary
canal, and through it on the neighbouring viscera or the system
generally, Calomel by universal consent is adopted for such a purpose.
(_Form. 81, 88, 119, 161._) In larger doses it is one of the most
efficient purgatives which we possess, especially when in combination
with other cathartics: it appears to be particularly eligible in the
diseases of children; and it is singular that infants can generally bear
larger doses of it than adults. DOSE, as an alterative, from gr. ss to
j, night and morning; as a purgative, from gr. ij to gr. x, or in some
cases even to gr. xv, or ℈j. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. That of pill; its
insolubility and specific gravity render any other form ineligible.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Pil. Hydrargyri submuriat. comp:_ L.
IMPURITIES. _Corrosive sublimate_ may be detected by precipitation being
produced, by the carbonate of potass, in a solution made by boiling the
suspected sample with a small portion of muriate of ammonia, in
distilled water; calomel ought also, when rubbed with a fixed alkali, to
become intensely black, and not to exhibit any trace of an orange hue.
HOWARD’S OR JEWEL’S _Hydro-sublimate_. Instead of subliming so as to
obtain the calomel in a concrete state, as directed by the Pharmacopœia,
the salt in the act of sublimation is exposed to aqueous vapour, and
received in water. Being in a state of very minute division, it is
lighter than common calomel in the proportion of three to five, and it
cannot contain any corrosive sublimate. The French in their late _codex_
have introduced a similar formula, under the title of “Murias Mercurii
dulcis mediante aqua subtilissime divisus, _juxta Methodum Josiæ
Jewel_.”
This _Patent Calomel_ of Howard is undoubtedly to be preferred, and
appears, in consequence probably of its minute division, to affect the
system more readily than that made according to the Pharmacopœias.
SUB-MURIAS HYDRARGYRI PRÆCIPITATUS. E.D. This is produced by
precipitating a nitrate of mercury by muriate of soda; the preparation
will generally contain a small portion of _sub-nitrate_, and it is on
that account more liable to run off by the bowels in small doses: in
other respects it is essentially the same as that procured by
sublimation.
HYDRARGYRI SULPHURETUM RUBRUM. L.
SULPHURETUM HYDRARGYRI RUBRUM. D. Olim, _Hydrargyrus Sulphuretus ruber_.
_P. L._ 1817—_Cinnabaris[532] factitia_, 1745.
QUALITIES. _Form_, a red crystalline cake, inodorous, insipid, and
insoluble in water, alcohol, acids, and alkalies, although these bodies
decompose it when melted with it; it is also decomposed by
nitro-muriatic acid, which unites with the metal, and disengages the
sulphur. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a _bi-sulphuret of Mercury_, i. e.
it consists of two proportionals of sulphur and one of mercury.
USES.[533] It is now only used for the purpose of mercurial fumigation,
which is done by inhaling the fumes, produced by throwing ʒss of it on
red hot iron; the effect which is generally produced is violent
salivation; this however does not depend upon the action of the
substance as a _sulphuret_, but upon its decomposition, and the
volatilization of the metallic mercury with a portion of sulphate and
sulphureous vapour. Mr. Pearson observes that it is useful in those
cases of venereal ulcers in the mouth, throat, and nose, where it is an
object to put a _sudden_ stop to the progress of the disease, but that
mercury must at the same time be introduced into the constitution, by
inunction, just as much as if no fumigations had been made use of.
Ulcers and excrescencies about the pudendum and anus in women are
particularly benefitted by it; and in these cases it is conveniently
applied by placing a red hot heater at the bottom of a night-stool pan,
and after sprinkling on it a few grains of the sulphuret, placing the
patient upon the stool. ADULTERATIONS. _Red Lead_[534] may be discovered
by digesting it in acetic acid, and by adding sulphuret of ammonia,
which will produce a black precipitate; or by burning a small portion of
the suspected sample on a piece of bread in the candle, when metallic
globules will announce its presence; for the oxide of mercury, although
revived by this process, will at the same time be volatilized. The
bread, by combustion, affords the carbon by which the metallic reduction
is effected. _Dragon’s Blood_, by its giving a colour to alcohol when
digested with it; _Chalk_, by its effervescence, on the addition of an
acid. It is known in the arts under the name of _Vermillion_; and by the
following simple expedient its presence may, in very minute quantities,
be easily recognised; boil a portion with sulphuric acid in a platina
spoon, and lay the sulphate thus produced, in a drop of muriatic acid,
on a piece of gold, and bring a piece of metallic tin in contact with
both, when the white mercurial stain will be produced.
HYDRARGYRI SULPHURETUM NIGRUM. L.E. Hydrargyrus cum Sulphure. P.L. 1787.
Olim, _Ethiop’s Mineral_.
QUALITIES. _Form_, a very black, impalpable, insipid, and inodorous
powder. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a _Sulphuret of Mercury_, i. e. it
consists of one proportional of sulphur, and one proportional of
mercury; when heated in contact with the air it is converted into a
_bi-sulphuret_. SOLUBILITY. It is entirely soluble in a solution of pure
potass, from which the acids precipitate it unchanged; it is insoluble
in nitric acid. MED. USES. It is supposed to be alterative, and has been
given for such a purpose, in doses from gr. v. to ʒss, but its medicinal
virtues are very questionable. ADULTERATIONS. It is frequently
imperfect, globules of mercury being still discoverable in it by a
magnifying glass, or by its communicating a whiteness to a portion of
gold upon which it is rubbed; _ivory black_ may be discovered by the
residue, after throwing a suspected sample on a red hot iron; it is also
sometimes mixed with equal parts of crude antimony.
HYOSCYAMI FOLIA ET SEMINA. L.E.D.
(Hyoscyamus Niger.) _Henbane._
QUALITIES. This plant, when recent, has a strong fetid, and narcotic
odour; properties which are nearly lost by exsiccation. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Resin, mucilage, extractive matter, gallic acid, and some
salts; an alkaline element (_Hyoscyama_) is said to constitute its
active principle. This principle differs from other vegetable alkalies,
in being able to resist a low red heat, without undergoing
decomposition. SOLUBILITY. Water freely extracts the narcotic powers of
this plant, and decoction destroys them; diluted alcohol is the best
menstruum. INCOMPATIBLES. Precipitates are produced by _acetate of
lead_, _nitrate of silver_, and _sulphate of iron_; vegetable acids
weaken its narcotic powers. The extract or inspissated juice is the best
form in which it can be exhibited; see also the _Tincture_; its leaves
form an anodyne cataplasm, and the smoke from its seeds, when applied by
a funnel to a carious tooth, is recommended in severe fits of
odontalgia. The root of this plant is poisonous.[535] In Dr. Molyneux’s
appendix to Threlkeld’s “SYNOPSIS STIRPIUM HIBERNICARUM” are related
several cases of its effects on persons who had eaten them instead of
_Skirrets_. OFFICINAL PREP. _Extract: Hyoscyam: Tinct: Hyoscyam:_ L.E.D.
ICHTHYOCOLLA.
(Acipenser _Huso & Ruthenus_. _The great and small Sturgeon._)
_Isinglass._ _Fish Glue._
The following kinds, imported from St. Petersburg, are found in the
market. _Short Staple_; _Long Staple_; _Book_; and _Leaf_. _Picking the
Staple_, as it is called, is a peculiar art practised by persons in this
town, who gain a very good livelihood by it; they engage to return the
same weight of isinglass in shreds, as they receive in _Staple_; this in
itself secures very fair profit, for by damping the isinglass in order
to pick it, it gains considerable weight; these persons moreover are in
the habit of adulterating it with pieces of bladder, and the dried skin
of soles; such frauds however are easily detected by their insolubility,
for pure isinglass will dissolve entirely, and yield a clear and
transparent jelly; a single grain will produce, with an ounce of water,
a solution of considerable thickness; it is also soluble in acids and
alkalies; and although insoluble in alcohol, yet it is not precipitated
by it from its watery solutions, unless when added in a very
considerable quantity; it is coagulated by the infusions and decoctions
of vegetable astringents; _carbonate of potass_ likewise throws down a
precipitate. 100 parts of good isinglass consist of 98 of gelatine, and
2 of the phosphates of soda and lime. Its solutions soon putrefy. USES.
It is now rarely used except as a nutrient; its mechanical application
in fining wines and turbid liquors is well known, and its mode of
operation is equally obvious, for by forming a skin, or fine network,
which gradually precipitates, it acts just like a filtre, with this
difference, that in this case the filtre passes through the liquor,
instead of the liquor through the filtre.
INFUSA. L.E.D. _Infusion._
These are _watery_ solutions of vegetable matter, obtained by
maceration, either in cold or hot[536] water without the assistance of
ebullition. In selecting and conducting the operation, the following
general rules should be observed.
I. _Infusion should always be preferred to decoction, where the
medicinal virtues of the vegetable substance reside in volatile
oil, or in principles which are easily soluble; whereas, if they
depend upon resino-mucilaginous particles, decoction is an
indispensable operation._
II. _The temperature employed must be varied according to the
circumstances of each case;[537] an infusion made in the cold, is
in general more grateful, but less active, than one made with
heat._
III. _The duration of the process must likewise be regulated by the
nature of the substances, or the intention of the prescriber; for
the infusion will differ according to the time in which the water
has been digested on the materials; thus, the aroma of the plant
is first taken up, then, in succession, the colouring, astringent,
and gummy parts._
Infusions are liable to undergo decompositions by being kept, and
therefore, like decoctions, they must be regarded as _extemporaneous_
preparations. Unless the dose of them be otherwise stated, it is
generally from f℥j to f℥ij.
I. _Simple Infusions._
INFUSUM ANTHEMIDIS. L.E. It is a good stomachic; and when exhibited
warm, is well calculated to assist the operation of emetics: (_Form.
66_): the cold infusion, i. e. made with cold water, is more grateful.
_Incompatibles._ All _soluble preparations of iron_; _nitrate of
silver_; _oxy-muriate of mercury_; _acetate_, and _sub-acetate of lead_;
_solutions of isinglass_; _infusion of yellow cinchona bark_. Dose,
f℥j-f℥ij.
INFUSUM CALUMBÆ. L.E. See Calumbæ Radix. This infusion is more
perishable than that of other bitters; in twenty-four hours a copious
precipitation takes place in it, and in two days it becomes ropy, and
even musty. _Form. 155._ Dose, f℥i-f℥ij.
_Infusum Caryophyllorum._ L. f℥j. of this infusion holds in solution the
active matter of grs. vj of cloves. _Incompatibles._ Precipitates are
produced by _sulphate of iron_; _sulphate of zinc_; _acetate of lead_;
_nitrate of silver_; _tartarized antimony_; _lime water_, and _yellow
cinchona_. Dose, f℥j-f℥ij.
INFUSUM CASCARILLÆ. L. It is incompatible with the substances mentioned
under _Infus. Caryophyll: Form. 33._ Dose, f℥j-f℥ij.
INFUSUM CINCHONÆ. L.E.D. We obtain in this preparation a feeble solution
of the active constituents of bark, which will agree with many stomachs
that are rebellious to the stronger preparations. Dose, f℥i-f℥iij.
INFUSUM CUSPARIÆ. L. This is a judicious form of the bark, possessing
its stimulant and tonic properties. Dose, f℥j-f℥ij.
INFUSUM DIGITALIS. L.E. This is the best form in which we can administer
the _foxglove_, where our wish is to obtain its diuretic effects as
speedily as possible. (_Form. 110._) Dose, fʒij to f℥ss, twice a day,
_see Digitalis_. _Incompatibles._ We shall counteract its effects by
endeavouring to obviate its nauseating tendency by _brandy and water_,
&c. Precipitates are produced by _sulphate of iron_, and the _infusion
of yellow cinchona_, &c.
INFUSUM LINI COMPOSITUM. L.E. A cheap and useful demulcent; alcohol and
preparations of _lead_, are of course incompatible with it; the
_tinctura ferri muriatis_ produces a flocculent precipitate.
INFUSUM QUASSIÆ. L.E. The proportion of Quassia directed for half a pint
of water, is that of ℈j by the London, and ʒss by the Edinburgh College;
the former is much too small, for, in order to obtain a saturated
infusion, ʒij are required for that quantity of water. _Incompatibles._
_The salts of iron_ produce no change in it; nor is it affected by any
of those substances with which it is likely to come in contact in a
medical prescription. It is highly useful in debilities of the stomach
and intestinal canal, and in irregular and atonic gout, and it has been
observed, that in hysterical atony, to which the female sex is so prone,
the Quassia affords more vigour and relief to the system, than the
Peruvian Bark, especially when combined with a small portion of sulphate
of zinc. To this, as well as the other stomachic infusions, it is usual
to add at the time of prescribing them a small quantity of aromatic
tincture or spirit. _Form. 35; 144._ Dose, f℥ss-f℥iss.
INFUSUM RHEI. L.E. The Edinburgh infusion is stronger than that of
London, and is rendered more grateful by the addition of spirit of
cinnamon; these infusions, however, when given without any _adjuvants_,
produce but a feeble effect. This is obvious, since ℈j of rhubarb in
substance, is at least equivalent in its effects to ʒiss when in
infusion. _Incompatibles._ The _stronger acids_; _the sulphates of iron
and zinc_; _nitrate of silver_; _tartarized antimony_; _acetate of
lead_; _oxy-muriate of mercury_, and the infusions of _cusparia_,
_cinchona_, _catechu_, _galls_, and some other _astringent_ vegetables;
the _alkalies_ deepen the colour, but produce no decomposition. Dose,
f℥j-f℥ij.
INFUSUM SIMAROUBÆ. L. This infusion is inodorous, of a clear straw
colour, with a slightly bitter taste. It presents the best mode of
exhibiting _Simarouba bark_. Dose, f℥ij, beyond this it will prove
emetic. _Incompatibles._ _Alkaline carbonates_ and _lime water_ render
it milky; and it is precipitated by the following substances; _infusions
of catechu_; _galls_, and _yellow cinchona_; _oxy-muriate of mercury_;
_nitrate of silver_, and _acetate of lead_. See _Simaroubæ Cortex_.
INFUSUM TABACI. L. It is never used but as an enema, in incarcerated
hernia, and in ileus. See _Tabaci Folia_.
2. _Compound Infusions._
INFUSUM ARMORACIÆ COMPOSITUM. L. In this preparation the stimulant
property of the horse-radish is materially aided by the mustard; pure
alkalies, but not their carbonates, may form extemporaneous additions;
for the other incompatibles, see _Armoraciæ Radix_. Dose, f℥iss. _Form.
45._
INFUSUM AURANTII COMPOSITUM. L. A grateful stomachic, having the
agreeable compound taste of its several ingredients; it has the merit of
sitting easily on the stomach. Dose, f℥j-f℥iss.
INFUSUM CATECHU COMPOSITUM. L.E. This infusion is a powerful astringent,
rendered grateful by the addition of cinnamon; it will keep for several
months, provided the directions of the Edinburgh College be not followed
in adding the syrup. In prescribing it, we must remember that it
contains a large proportion of _tannin_. See _Catechu_. Dose, f℥j-f℥iij.
INFUSUM GENTIANÆ COMPOSITUM. L. An elegant tonic and stomachic infusion.
It affords a good example of the virtues of a natural substance being
enhanced by the additions of art, as discussed at page 164, for the
bitterness of the gentian is here subdued by the aromatic quality of the
lemon and orange peel. _Incompatibles._ _Acetate of lead_ throws down a
copious precipitate from the infusion, and _sulphate of iron_ strikes a
brown colour, but no precipitate takes place for several hours.
INFUSUM ROSÆ COMPOSITUM. L.E.D. This is an infusion of the petals of the
red rose, rendered astringent and refrigerant,[538] by the addition of
dilute sulphuric acid. By referring to the DYNAMETER, it will be seen
that f℥j; does not contain more than four and a half minims of _dilute_
acid, which are equivalent to three-sevenths of a minim of the strong
_concentrated_ acid. Wherever therefore we expect any advantage from
this latter ingredient, the quantity must be increased by extemporaneous
addition. _Incompatibles._ All those bodies which are decomposed by the
sulphuric acid; the _sulphates of iron_ and _zinc_ do not immediately
alter the infusion, but they _slowly_ decompose it, producing
precipitates of a dark colour. Dr. Clarke of Cambridge detected _iron_
in the petals;[539] may not the presence of this metal enhance the tonic
powers of the infusion? It affords a most elegant vehicle for the
exhibition of cathartic salts.
INFUSUM SENNÆ COMPOSITUM. L.E.D. A pint of water will take up the active
matter of ℥j of senna, but nothing beyond that proportion; hence there
is an unnecessary waste in the London process. The quantity of infusion
directed to be made at one time, is also injudicious, since by simple
exposure to the air for only a few hours, in consequence of the powerful
affinity of its extractive matter for oxygen, a yellow precipitate takes
place, and the infusion loses its purgative quality, and excites
_tormina_ in the bowels; in preparing it therefore, we see the necessity
of conducting the process in _covered_ vessels, and of making only such
a portion as may be required for immediate use; indeed, notwithstanding
every precaution, the extractive will to a certain extent become
oxidized, and the infusion have a tendency to gripe.[540] Dr. Cullen
used to say that Senna was one of the best purgatives, if it could only
be divested of its griping quality; this however he was unable to
obviate, because he was not aware of its cause, and therefore conjoined
it with various aromatics, instead of those salts[541] which might be
capable of increasing the solubility of its oxidized extractive, or the
purgative activity of the infusion; see page 150, and 161. _Soluble
tartar_ and _alkaline salts_ are its most useful adjuncts; it is however
rarely prescribed in practice without the addition of other cathartics.
(_Form. 70, 76, 90._) Sydenham’s favourite “_potio cathartica
lenitiva_,” consisted of an infusion of tamarinds, senna leaves, and
rhubarb, with the addition of manna and syrup of roses. The addition of
tamarinds renders the infusion more grateful but less active; when made
with _bohea tea_, it is in a great degree deprived of its nauseous
taste; a decoction of guaiacum increases its powers, and is said at the
same time to render it milder. Bitters also very considerably exalt its
efficacy, see page 153. A pint of the infusion with a drachm of jalap
forms an excellent combination for a purgative enema. _Incompatibles._
The infusion is disturbed by _strong acids_; _lime water_; _nitrate of
silver_; _oxy-muriate of mercury_; _acetate of lead_; _tartarized
antimony_; and by an _infusion of yellow cinchona_. DOSE, f℥j-f℥ij.
IPECACUANHÆ RADIX. L.E.D.
(Callicocca[542] Ipecacuanha.) _Ipecacuanha._
QUALITIES. _Form_, tortuous pieces of the thickness of a goose-quill,
surrounded by numerous prominent rings, separated by deep grooves. This
root, when powdered, has a faint disagreeable _odour_, and a bitter
sub-acrid _taste_. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The late researches of M. M.
Majendie and Pelletier have detected the existence of a new vegetable
proximate principle in this root, to which ipecacuan is indebted for its
emetic properties; they have, accordingly, denominated it
_Emetine_.[543] It assumes the form of transparent brownish red scales,
which are nearly inodorous, but have a slightly bitter, acrid, but not
nauseous taste. _Emetine_ is decomposed by a heat higher than that of
boiling water; it is insoluble in water, in every proportion, without
undergoing the least change; and in a moist atmosphere it deliquesces;
it is also soluble in alcohol, but not in æther; _nitric acid_ dissolves
it, but at the same time decomposes it; _dilute sulphuric acid_ has no
action on it; _muriatic acid_ and _phosphoric acid_ dissolve it, without
altering its nature; _acetic acid_ dissolves it with great facility;
_corrosive sublimate_ precipitates it from its solutions, but
_tartarized antimony_ has no effect upon them; _gallic acid_, the
_infusion of galls_, and _acetate of lead_, precipitate it. A grain
excites violent vomiting, followed by sleep, and the patient awakes in
perfect health! It exerts also a specific action on the lungs and mucous
membrane of the intestinal canal; when taken in an overdose, its action
can be instantly paralysed by a decoction of galls. There seems to be no
great advantage in substituting this body for the ordinary powder of
Ipecacuanha, except perhaps that its taste being much less offensive, it
may very easily be given to children.[544] _Emetine_ appears to exist in
Ipecacuanha, combined in the following manner, _emetine_ 16, oils 2, wax
6, gum 10, starch 40, woody fibre 20.
Since the discovery of _Emetine_, whose properties are described above,
Pelletier has extended his researches into its composition and nature;
and he has lately been enabled to state that this body, which in
conjunction with Majendie, he had formerly announced as “a new vegetable
proximate principle,” turns out to be a compound of a peculiar alkaline
basis, which may be called _Emeta_, and some acid, together with an
admixture of colouring matter; when compared with _Emetine_, it is what
white crystallized sugar is to moist sugar. Its ultimate elements are
oxygen, hydrogen and carbon; it is a white and friable substance, and
unlike Emetin, is not altered by exposure to air; it is slightly bitter,
and very sparingly soluble in water; with the mineral acids it forms
salts, from whose solutions the infusion of galls throws down white and
flocculent precipitates; the alcoholic solution of _Emeta_ acts upon
vegetable colour as an alkali.
MEDICINAL USES OF IPECACUAN. It is unquestionably the most valuable of
the vegetable emetics, and in cases where the stomach is irritable it is
to be preferred to Tartarized Antimony, and it is also less liable to
act upon the bowels. In the form of decoction (made by boiling three
drachms of the bruised root in a quart of water down to a pint) it has
been found serviceable as an enema in Dysentery, and internal piles.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. All vegetable astringents, as _infusion of
galls_, &c. _vegetable acids_, especially the _acetic_, weaken its
power; Dr. Irvine found that grs. xxx, administered in f℥ij of vinegar,
produced only some loose stools. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. The form of powder
is most energetic, although the vinous solution is both active and
convenient. DOSE. The medicinal operation of this substance varies with
its dose, thus grs. x to ʒss act as an emetic; (_Form: 65_,) grs. j to
ij, as an expectorant, (_Form: 134, 138_,)and in still smaller doses it
proves stomachic and diaphoretic; by combination with opium, this latter
quality becomes more powerful, (_Form: 28, 130_.) The primary effect of
this medicine is that of stimulating the stomach, and it is equally
obvious that its secondary ones depend on the numerous sympathies of
other parts with the organs of digestion. The action of this remedy upon
the pulmonary organs is extremely interesting; it would seem that in
certain conditions of these organs, attended with a dry, hard cough, it
promotes expectoration, while in affections attended with an inordinate
secretion of mucus, it as certainly represses it, and acts the part of
an astringent. In dysentery, and chronic diarrhœa, its astringent power
is also very decided. _Form: 58_. When combined with cathartics it aids
and accelerates their operation; _Form: 84_. In Hemorrhage from the
lungs and uterus, it is decidedly useful, when administered in such
doses as to excite a slight degree of nausea, by which the force of the
circulation is controlled; I have usually combined it, for such a
purpose, with the Acetate of lead in Hæmopthysis; and Bergius relates a
case of violent uterine hæmorrhage which was successfully treated by
giving half a grain every half hour. In certain forms of Dyspepsia it
proves highly beneficial, when administered as proposed by Daubenton, in
doses just sufficient to excite a slight sensation of vermicular motion
of the stomach, without carrying it to the point of nausea, which may be
generally effected by half a grain three times a day. Its peculiar
nauseous taste is completely covered by the addition of powdered Gum
Arabic. SOLUBILITY. Alcohol takes up four parts in twenty of Ipecacuan;
proof spirit six and a half; and boiling water rather more than eight
parts; one pint of good sherry wine will dissolve about 100 grains; the
alcoholic is more emetic than the aqueous solution; decoction destroys
the emetic property of the root. OFFICINAL PREP. _Pulvis Ipecacuanhæ
comp:_ L.E.D. _Vinum Ipecac_. L.E.D.[545] The powder is liable to become
inert by exposure to air and light. The root is refractory, and is
reduced to powder with difficulty, unless a few drops of oil, or an
almond or two, be previously added. It is a curious fact that the
effluvia of this root occasion in some persons the most distressing
sensations of suffocation. I am acquainted with a lady, who is
constantly seized with a violent dyspnœa, whenever the powder of
Ipecacuan is brought into her presence. ADULTERATIONS. There are several
varieties of Ipecacuan to be found in the market, which it is important
to distinguish; _viz._ 1, _The brown variety_, which is the best,
containing sixteen per cent. of emetin; 2, the _grey variety_, with
fourteen per cent. of emetin; 3, the _white variety_, with only five of
emetin. The two former varieties are those usually met with, being
imported into this country in bales from Rio Janeiro; the brown is
distinguished from the grey, in being more wrinkled; the white variety
has no wrinkles whatever. We are informed by Decandolle that the genuine
root is frequently mixed with those of _violets_, _Apocynæ_,
_Euphorbia_, &c. It is also sometimes mixed with the roots of several
species of _Ionidum_.
JALAPÆ RADIX. L.E.D. (Convolvulus Jalapa.)
_Jalap._
QUALITIES. This root is pulverulent, furnishing a powder of a pale
brownish yellow colour. _Odour_, peculiar; _Taste_, sweetish and
slightly pungent. _Chemical Composition._ Resin, gum, extractive,
fecula, lignin, and some salts. The combination of the three first
principles appears requisite for the production of its _full_ cathartic
effect. The gum has been supposed to possess diuretic properties. Very
lately a saline principle has been obtained from Jalap by Mr. Hume,
jun.: but I am not aware that its medicinal properties have been
ascertained. It is procured by macerating the powdered root for twelve
or fourteen days in acetic acid, by which a solution is obtained, which
must be filtered, and then saturated with ammonia; the mixture is to be
shaken violently, when a _sabulous_ deposit will take place, and a few
crystals be collected on the sides of the vessel; both of these must be
collected, and washed in distilled water; and then redissolved in
concentrated acetic acid, and reprecipitated by ammonia added in excess.
By which means, small white acicular crystals are thrown down, to which
the name of _Jalapine_ has been given. SOLUBILITY. Proof spirit is its
appropriate menstruum. MED. USES. It is a cathartic of a stimulating
description, acting principally upon the colon, and, notwithstanding the
tormina it may sometimes induce, it is no less safe than efficacious; as
a hydragogue purgative it has been greatly extolled, but for such a
purpose it will answer better in combination, as in _Form. 73_. Its
action is said to be promoted by the addition of Ipecacuan, or
tartarized antimony. (_Form. 84._) In dropsy its union with
super-tartrate of potass is calculated to promote its beneficial
operation. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. That of powder is the most eligible,
especially when combined with some other powdered substance:
pulverization increases its activity, see _Pulveres_. Van Swieten
advised it to be pulverised, and mixed with sugar, and a small quantity
of some aromatic. The addition of Soap is supposed to render its
operation much milder, and the Prussian Pharmacopœia contains a formula
for such a combination, which is said to operate mildly and promptly. To
this preparation the name SAPO JALAPINUS[546] is given. DOSE, grs. x to
ʒss. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Pulv. Jalap. comp._ E. _Extract._ _Jalap_.
L.E.D. _Tinct. Jalap_. L.E.D. _Tinct. Sennæ comp._ E. (=B=).
ADULTERATIONS. _Briony root_ is sometimes mixed with that of jalap, but
it may be easily distinguished by its paler colour and less compact
texture; and by not easily burning at the flame of a candle. When the
_teredo_ has attacked it, it should be rejected.
JUGLANS CINEREA.
Butternut.
_Cortex._
[The Butternut tree is to be found in almost every part of the United
States. The inner bark is the part used in medicine. It yields, by
analysis, a large quantity of soluble matter, principally of the
extractive kind. Water extracts its virtues, and the Extract, which is
the form in which it is employed, has long been known and used in this
country as an excellent Cathartic. To obviate habitual costiveness, it
is one of the best articles that can be used. By the addition of
Calomel, its powers as an active Cathartic may be greatly increased. The
proper season for gathering the bark for medicinal purposes is in the
months of May and June. The dose of the Extract is from 10 to 30
grains.]
JUNIPERI BACCÆ ET CACUMINA. L.E.D.
(Juniperus Communis.)
_Juniper Berries and Tops._
The principal constituents of these berries are mucilage, sugar, and
volatile oil; in the latter of which their diuretic virtues reside.
FORMS OF EXHIBITION. That of an infusion, made with ℥ij of the berries,
to oj of hot water. Unless pains however are taken, by strong contusion,
to bruise and break the seeds, the preparation will contain but little
of the juniper flavour. The bruised berries may be also triturated with
sugar or some neutral salt, and be thus exhibited in substance, Dose ℈j
to ℈ij. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Oleum Junip._ L.E.D. _Spirit. Junip.
Co._ L.E.D. The taste and diuretic properties of Hollands depend upon
this oil; English gin is flavoured by oil of turpentine.
KINO. L.E.D. _Kino._
(Pterocarpus Erinacea.[547] _Extractum._ L. Eucalypti Resiniferi.
_Succus Concretus._ E. Butea Frondosa. D.)
There is very considerable obscurity with regard to the history and
chemical constitution of this substance; three varieties of it are met
with in the shops, viz. 1. _African Kino_, which bears the highest
price, and has all the appearance of a natural production, slender twigs
being often intermixed in its substance; it is of a reddish brown
colour, and has a bitterish astringent taste. 2. _Botany Bay Kino_, has
also the aspect of a natural production, it is in more solid masses than
the former species, is less brittle (for it contains a very small
proportion of resin) and, with its astringency, has a disagreeable
sweetish taste. 3. _Jamaica Kino_, this is the one most commonly met
with; it has the appearance of a dry extract, is in small fragments, of
a colour more nearly approaching to black than that of the others, and
has an astringent and slightly bitter taste. There is also a fourth
variety mentioned, viz. the _East India_ or _Amboyna_, but this does not
appear to differ from the African variety. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. In all
the varieties the predominant principles are tannin and extractive.
SOLUBILITY. The best menstruum is diluted alcohol. _Incompatible
Substances_, vide _Gallæ_. Mr. Thomson also states a fact which I have
reason to consider quite correct, that the alkalies destroy the
astringent properties of kino. All the varieties are soluble in
solutions of pure potass and ammonia, and no precipitation takes place
on the addition of water. MEDICINAL USES. It is principally employed as
an astringent, but from its liability to vary in strength, it has been
very generally superseded by Catechu.[548] FORMS OF EXHIBITION. Either
in substance or in the form of watery infusion, or in that of tincture.
DOSE, grs. x to ʒss. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Tinct. Kino._ L.E.D.
_Elect. Catechu._ E.D. _Pulvis Alum. co._ E.
KRAMERIÆ RADIX. L. (Krameria Triandra _Radix._)
_Rhatany._
This root, although it has been for some time employed in medicine, has
only lately found its way into the Materia Medica of the London
Pharmacopœia. Its extract, which was some years ago imported into this
country, is supposed to have been employed for giving astringency to
Port wine. According to recent analysis the root contains a peculiar
modification of Tannin, with only a trace of Gallic acid; Gum; Fecula;
and certain salts of Lime. It may be used either in decoction, or
tincture, the latter of which may be made by dissolving two ounces of
the root in a pint of proof spirit. In all its forms it is eminently
astringent. I have used it with much success in Leucorrhæa, and in
uterine hemorrhages. The extract may be distinguished from Kino, to
which it bears a great resemblance in appearance and taste, by being
very fusible by heat, whereas Kino does not possess that character.
LICHEN. L.E.D. (Lichen Islandicus.) _Lichen._
_Iceland Liverwort._ _Iceland Moss._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, none; _Taste_, mucilaginous and bitter. SOLUBILITY.
The effect of water upon this vegetable substance is materially modified
by temperature; if cold, the lichen absorbs nearly its own weight by
maceration, but gives out to the menstruum little or none of its
virtues; if the water be warm, it soon acquires a bitter impregnation;
by ebullition, a decoction is obtained, which, as it cools, gelatinizes.
See _Decoct. Lichen_. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Proust has shewn by analysis
that 100 parts of this moss contain 64 parts of a substance bearing some
analogy to vegetable gluten, 33 of matter, soluble in hot water, and
resembling starch, and 3 parts of a bitter principle. MEDICINAL USES.
This vegetable was introduced to the notice of the profession by
Linnæus, who recommended its decoction, as having been administered with
great success for coughs in Sweden. Upon its introduction into this
country, its patrons bestowed so many extravagant eulogiums upon its
powers, that the less sanguine practitioner at once abandoned its use in
disgust, and it fell into unmerited disrepute. It would be idle to speak
of its specific effects in phthisis; but, as a demulcent, it is
certainly very superior to the mucilaginous mixtures in ordinary use,
and its simple bitter principle at the same time tends to produce a
tonic effect, which is frequently desirable in the debilitated condition
which characterizes the latter stages of this disease. There are
circumstances, however, which may render the removal of the bitter
advantageous; in which case, maceration in successive waters, or in a
weak alkaline ley, as recommended by Westring, will be found to answer
the intended purpose. OFFICINAL PREPARATION. _Decoct. Lichen. Island._
E. D. Sir Alexander Crichton has offered some observations upon the
genuineness of this article which deserve attention. He says that there
are two varieties in the market; the best of which has a horny texture,
and yields a bitter mucilage. It is that which comes from Iceland,
Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The inferior kind has a membranous texture,
and yields little bitter or mucilage in comparison with the former.
Where it comes from he knows not, but he suspects it to be British, as
it is much cheaper than the other.
LIMONES. L.E.D. (Citrus Medica. _Baccæ._)
_Lemons._
SUCCUS—THE JUICE consists of _Citric acid_, mucilage, extractive matter,
and small portions of sugar and water. _Specific gravity_, 1·0384. It
may be preserved for a considerable length of time, by covering its
surface with fixed oil.
Its use in making saline draughts has been already noticed, see
_Acid. Citric._ Its principal medicinal value consists in its
antiscorbutic[549] virtues; indeed it may be fairly asserted that
this disease, so peculiarly incident to a sea life, has been nearly
eradicated by the juice of lemons. Sir Gilbert Blane, in speaking of
its efficacy, asserts that “those only who have made themselves
acquainted with the early part of the Naval history of this country,
or those who have perused the interesting, popular, and eloquent
narrative of Commodore Anson’s voyage, can duly appreciate the value
of this simple remedy.” Lemonade, as a beverage in putrid diseases,
was first introduced by the French physicians in the beginning of
the 17th century, and about the year 1660, an Italian from Florence,
having learnt a process of freezing confectionary, conceived the
happy idea of converting such beverage into ice. This found a ready
sale, and was the occasion of so great an increase in the number of
sellers of Lemonade, that in the year 1676, the _Lemonadiers_ of
Paris were formed into a company, and received a patent from the
government.
CORTEX—THE RIND OR PEEL is composed of two distinct parts; the exterior,
which contains glands, filled with a fragrant volatile oil, upon which
all its properties depend, and the _interior coat_, which is tasteless
and indigestible. The flavour may be obtained by rubbing lump sugar upon
it, which will imbibe the oil, and if it be then dried by a very gentle
heat, may be preserved unimpaired for any length of time, and will be
preferable to the volatile oil obtained by distillation, for the fire
generally imparts an unpleasant or empyreumatic flavour.[550]
It has been already stated, that “the different parts of the same plant
have frequently very different properties.” The Lemon offers a good
example of this fact, for its juice is _acid_, its seeds _bitter_, and
its peel _aromatic_.
LINIMENTA. L.E.D. _Liniments._
These are external applications, having the consistence of oil or
balsam. If we except the _Liniment. Æruginis_, all the officinal
liniments are decomposed by the substances which are incompatible with
soaps.
LINIMENTUM ÆRUGINIS. L. _Oxymel Æruginis._ P.L. 1787. _Mel Ægyptiacum._
P.L. 1745. _Unguentum Ægyptiacum._ P.L. 1720. Diluted with water, it has
been recommended as a gargle in venereal ulcerations, but its use is
hazardous; it is a detergent escharotic preparation.
LINIMENTUM AMMONIÆ FORTIUS. L. _Oleum Ammoniatum._ E. _Linimentum
Ammoniæ._ D. It consists of _liquor ammoniæ one part, olive oil two
parts_, (oil eight parts, E.D.) The alkali forms with the oil a soap,
which is held dissolved by the water in the _liquor ammoniæ_. Is an
excellent rubefacient, and penetrating liniment.
LINIMENTUM AMMONIÆ SUB-CARBONATIS. L. _Linimentum Ammoniæ._ P.L. 1787.
LINIMENTUM VOLATILE. P.L. 1745. The carbonic acid prevents the perfect
formation of soap in this liniment; unlike the former one, therefore, it
deposits the soapy matter on standing. It is much less stimulating than
the preceding one.
LINIMENTUM CALCIS. E.D. _Oil and lime water, equal parts._ This is an
_earthy_ soap, formed by the combination of lime and oil; the soapy
matter separates on standing, it should therefore be _extemporaneous_.
In cases of burns and scalds where the cuticle has been destroyed, it is
an advantageous application.
LINIMENTUM CAMPHORÆ. L. _Oleum Camphoratum._ E.D. Camphor one, olive oil
four parts. It is a simple solution of camphor in fixed oil, and forms a
very useful embrocation to sprains, bruises, glandular swellings, and in
rheumatic affections.
LINIMENTUM CAMPHORÆ COMPOSITUM. L. _Camphor two, liquor ammoniæ six,
spirits of lavender sixteen parts._ It is highly stimulating.[551]
LINIMENTUM HYDRARGYRI. L. A pound of this liniment contains nearly ℥iv
of mercury; it affects the mouth more rapidly than strong mercurial
ointment, although it will be seen by the _Medicinal Dynameter_ to
contain less Mercury. This effect is to be attributed to the stimulating
properties of its adjuncts, viz. Camphor and Ammonia.
LINIMENTUM SAPONIS COMPOSITUM. L. _Hard soap_ iij, _camphor_ j, _spirit
of rosemary_ xvj parts. It is a stimulant and anodyne application, and
in local pains opium may be advantageously added to it. It is commonly
used under the name of _Opodeldoc_.[552] See _Sapo_.
LINIMENTUM TEREBINTHINÆ. This liniment was introduced by Mr. Kentish of
Newcastle, as a dressing to recent burns, which he continued until the
eschars became loose.
LINUM CATHARTICUM. L.D. _Purging Flax._
The qualities of this plant reside in extractive matter, hence water
extracts, but long decoction injures them. MEDICINAL USES. It is
strongly purgative. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. ʒij of the dried herb infused
in oj of boiling water. DOSE, f℥ij.
LINI USITATISSIMI SEMINA. L.E.D.
_Linseed, or Common Flax Seed._
These seeds contain a large proportion of mucilage, and one-sixth of
their weight of fixed oil; the former of which resides principally in
the cuticle, the latter, in the parenchymatous portion of the seed; by
infusion in boiling water, a clear, colourless, inodorous, and nearly
insipid mucilage is obtained; ℥ss of the unbruised seed is sufficient
for oj of water; cold water does not extract any mucilage from them when
unbruised; the farina of the seeds is well adapted for cataplasms.
OFFICINAL PREP. _Infus. Lini Comp:_ L. _Oleum Lini_. L. E. D.
LIQUOR ALUMINIS COMPOSITUS. L.
_Aqua Aluminosa Bateana._ P. L. 1745.
This is a compound solution of _alum_ and _sulphate of zinc_; a
fluid-ounce containing about seven grains of each ingredient, it is
powerfully astringent, and is successfully used as a detergent lotion to
old ulcers; as a collyrium, or as an injection in gleet and fluor albus;
it will also often answer in removing chilblains, and in curing slight
excoriations.
LIQUOR AMMONIÆ. L. AQUA AMMONIÆ. E.
AQUA AMMONIÆ CAUSTICÆ. D.
_Solution of Ammonia._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a limpid, colourless fluid; _specific gravity_, ·960,
or f℥j weighs about 438 grs. _Odour_, strong and pungent; _Taste_,
extremely caustic. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. A solution of ammoniacal gas in
water, which varies considerably in strength in the different
pharmacopœias. When prepared according to the London and Edinburgh
Colleges, it contains nearly 25 per cent. of ammonia, whereas the Dublin
preparation does not contain more than 16. SOLVENT POWERS. It is an
active solvent of many vegetable principles, e. g. _oils_, _resins_, &c.
With alcohol it unites in every proportion; it assists the oxidizement
of copper and zinc, and dissolves many of the metallic oxides. MED.
USES. Stimulant, rubefacient, and antacid. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In milk,
or any liquid vehicle; if in decoctions, or infusions, they must be
previously cooled; for at 130° the ammonia will escape in the form of
gas. DOSE, ♏︎x to xxx. OFFICINAL PREP. _Linimentum Ammoniæ._ L.D. _Oleum
Ammon._ E. _Spir. Ammoniæ_. L. _Spir. Ammoniæ comp._ L. _Spir. Ammon.
succinat._ L. _Liniment. Camphor. comp._ L. ADULTERATIONS. The presence
of other salts in the solution may be discovered by saturating a portion
with pure nitric acid, and applying the test for sulphuric acid,
(_Barytes_) and that for muriatic acid, (_Nitrate of Silver._) Carbonic
acid is detected by its effervescing with acids, or by its forming with
lime water, a precipitate, soluble with effervescence in nitric acid; it
ought to be free from all fetor; its strength can only be determined by
taking its specific gravity. It should be preserved in well closed
bottles, and their dimensions should be small, for when in large vessels
it often becomes carbonated before it is half used.
LIQUOR AMMONIÆ ACETATIS. L. AQUA ACETATIS AMMONIÆ. E.D.
Solution of Acetate of Ammonia.
olim, _Spirit of Mindererus_.
This preparation is a solution of the neutral _acetate of ammonia_, with
a proportion of carbonic acid diffused through it; it is made by
saturating the sub-carbonate of ammonia with distilled vinegar, for
which purpose it will generally be found that ℥j of the alkali will
saturate oiss of the vinegar; since, however, the quantity of acid in
distilled vinegar as well the strength of the ammonia, are liable to
constant variation, the exact point of neutralization should be
ascertained by the alternate application of litmus and turmeric papers;
for if the proportions be not accurately adjusted, some of the metallic
salts, especially those of _antimony_, which are often prescribed in
conjunction with it, are decomposed, and thus rendered inefficacious;
and on this account an excess of alkali is to be feared more than that
of acid. This preparation is also not unfrequently employed as a
collyrium, when much serious mischief may arise from the carbonate of
ammonia predominating. It has been already stated that a very minute
proportion of extractive matter is rendered sensible on the addition of
an alkali; hence this preparation frequently derives from the vinegar a
brown hue, which may be removed by filtering the solution through a
little well burnt charcoal. It also deserves notice that the presence of
a trace of copper, derived from the copper cocks through which the
vinegar has passed, will impart a _brown_ tinge, whilst in larger
quantities this metal yields a _blue_ colour with ammonia. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. _Acids_; _fixed alkalies_; _alum_; _lime water_; _sulphate
of magnesia_; _corrosive sublimate_; _nitrate of silver_; and the
_sulphates of zinc, copper, and iron_. _Acetate of lead_ produces also a
copious precipitation, but this depends upon the presence of the
carbonic acid diffused through the solution, which decomposes the salt
and forms an insoluble carbonate of lead. _Magnesia_ likewise, contrary
to what might be supposed, decomposes the solution and renders it
pungent, from the extrication of ammoniacal gas; this phenomenon depends
upon the magnesia forming a triple acetate with one part of the ammonia,
and setting the remainder at liberty. MED. USES. When assisted by warmth
and plentiful dilution, it is an excellent diaphoretic, and produces its
effects without quickening the circulation: (_Form: 117, 126_,) by
keeping the surface of the body cool, its action is determined to the
kidneys, and it proves diuretic, especially when combined with remedies
of a similar tendency. (_Form: 111._) DOSE, fʒiv to fʒxij. Externally it
furnishes a lotion, valuable as a refrigerant, especially when combined
with some spirituous preparation. See _Form: 148_.
LIQUOR AMMONIÆ SUB-CARBONATIS. L.
SOLUTIO SUB-CARBONATIS AMMONIÆ. E.
AQUA CARBONATIS AMMONIÆ. D.
This is merely a solution of the _solid_ sub-carbonate in distilled
water, see _Ammoniæ Sub-carbonas_. DOSE, fʒss to fʒj in any bland
liquid. ADULTERATIONS. There is frequently a deficient quantity of the
sub-carbonate in solution, its pungency being kept up by the addition of
_liquor ammoniæ_; this may be discovered by shaking it with twice its
bulk of alcohol, when a coagulum of considerable density should occur,
the absence of which will denote the sophistication of the article. Its
_specific gravity_ should be 1·150. The _Incompatibles_ are those
enumerated under the history of _Ammoniæ Sub-carbonas_.
LIQUOR ARSENICALIS. L.
SOLUTIO ARSENICALIS. E.
This is a solution of the _Arsenite of Potass_, coloured and flavoured
by the _Compound Spirit of Lavender_, fʒj of which contains gr. ½ of
_arsenious acid_. It was introduced into practice by Dr. Fowler of
Stafford, as a substitute for the empirical remedy known by the name of
“_The Tasteless Ague Drop_.” It is a powerful tonic, and has been very
successfully administered in the cure of intermittent and remittent
fevers, periodical headaches, and as an alterative in many anomalous
diseases of the skin. It has been also given, with decided effect, in
certain visceral obstructions; its use however is to a great degree
empirical, although we may observe, generally, that wherever strong
arterial action exists, arsenic will do harm. The addition of a few
drops of _Vinum Opii_ is said to render its operation safer and more
efficacious. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Lime water_; _nitrate of silver_;
_the salts of copper_; _hydro-sulphuret of potass_, and _the infusions
and decoctions of bark_. DOSE, ♏︎iv, gradually increased to ♏︎xxx, twice
a day. See _Arsenicum Album_.
LIQUOR CALCIS. L. AQUA CALCIS. E. D.
_Lime Water._
It is a saturated solution of lime in water; f℥j of which contains 3/4
of a grain.[553] INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _All alkaline and metallic
salts_; _borates_; _tartrates_; _citrates_; _acids_; sulphur;
_spirituous preparations_, and _the infusions of all astringent
vegetables_. It should be kept in close vessels, for if exposed to the
air, the lime will attract carbonic acid, and become an insoluble
carbonate; the addition of an _alkaline carbonate_ produces the same
effect instantaneously.[554] If animal charcoal be boiled with
lime-water, it will precipitate the whole of the lime, an effect which
is not produced by charcoal of vegetable origin. MED. USES. It is an
antacid, and is therefore useful in dyspepsia attended with acidity;
_Form. 149_. Mixed with an equal quantity of milk, it furnishes an
excellent remedy in infantile complaints connected with bowel
affections; it is likewise astringent in leucorrhæa, in the last stages
of dysentery, and in protracted diarrhœa. It dissolves also the slimy
mucus with which disordered bowels are so generally infested; on account
of this latter property, it has been exhibited in calculous
affections,[555] with the view of dissolving the cementing ingredient of
the concretion, and thereby of destroying its cohesion: see page 123.
Not being very nauseous, it is easily given under any circumstances, and
it is not liable to produce that irritability of stomach which
frequently attends the long continued use of the fixed alkalies. It also
frequently forms the basis of astringent gargles. Lime water moreover
affords a successful remedy in certain cutaneous affections,
particularly those affecting the face, as _Gutta Rosea_. Sir G. Blane
has also seen some remarkable cures of herpetic complaints of the legs
by large doses; he has also employed it with effect as a lotion. FORMS
OF EXHIBITION. Milk disguises its flavour, without impairing its
virtues. DOSE, f℥j to f℥vj. Sugar has the curious property of rendering
lime more soluble in water. See _Saccharum_.
LIQUOR CALCIS MURIATIS. L.D.
_Solution of Muriate of Lime._
This solution is said to be tonic and deobstruent, and to have been
advantageously given in scrofula. It has also been found useful in
Urticaria, and several other forms of cutaneous disease. INCOMPATIBLES.
Sulphuric acid, and the Sulphates; the fixed alkalies and their
carbonates; ammonia produces no change in the solution, but its
carbonate decomposes it, and precipitates carbonate of lime. DOSE, ♏︎xx
to fʒij.
LIQUOR CUPRI AMMONIATI. L.
_Solution of Ammoniated Copper._
This is a simple solution of the salt in distilled water. The
preparation, although perfectly transparent when first formed, soon
becomes turbid and deposits oxide of copper; this arises from the escape
of ammonia, and may be prevented by the occasional addition of a small
quantity of the volatile alkali. See _Cuprum Ammoniatum_. The Medicinal
Dynameter will show the proportion of salt in any given quantity of the
solution.
LIQUOR FERRI ALKALINI. L.
_Solution of Alkaline Iron._
This preparation is nearly the same as Stahl’s _Tinctura Martis
Alkalina_. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is by no means ascertained.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. It is a most injudicious preparation, for it
cannot be exhibited in any form without decomposition; _water_,
especially if not distilled, and _vegetable infusions_ and _decoctions_,
produce dense precipitates; _pure acids_, _alkalies_, and _spirit_, also
decompose it. I must confess my regret at the College having retained
this preparation in their Pharmacopœia; the committee agreed to reject
it, but their judgment was reversed by the votes of the _Comitia
Majora_. Should any practitioner be unable to procure this preparation,
I will give him an easy receipt for producing it, viz. _Let him keep the
Mistura Ferri composita in an open vessel, until it is entirely spoilt_!
LIQUOR HYDRARGYRI OXY-MURIATIS. L.
This solution of corrosive sublimate is intended to facilitate the
exhibition of minute doses of the salt; f℥j contains gr. ½; when long
kept, or exposed to light, the oxy-muriate is decomposed, and _calomel_
is precipitated; (see _Hydrag: Oxymuriatis:_) or, what is more
dangerous, it is sometimes deposited in crystals, without decomposition;
a small portion of muriatic acid, or muriate of ammonia in the solution,
prevents this precipitation. DOSE, fʒss to fʒij, in an infusion of
linseed.
LIQUOR PLUMBI SUB-ACETATIS. L.
LIQUOR SUB-ACETATIS LITHARGYRI. D.
_Aqua Lithargyri Acetati_, P. L. 1767.
Solution of Sub-acetate of Lead: _olim, Extract of Saturn_.
This preparation was introduced by M. Goulard of Montpellier, hence it
has been commonly known by the name of _Goulard’s Extract_. QUALITIES.
It is of a greenish straw colour, and has an austere, sweetish taste;
when kept it deposits a quantity of oxide, and becomes lighter coloured.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a saturated solution of the sub-acetate of
lead, consisting, according to Berzelius, of one proportional of acid,
and three proportionals of oxide of lead; hence its name is correct. It
is the only instance with which we are acquainted of a real sub-salt
being soluble in water. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Alkalies_ and _their
carbonates_ precipitate a white sub-salt; _alkaline sulphates_ and
_sulphurets_; _mucilage_. _Spring Water_, from the salts which it
contains, produces with it a very milky and turbid appearance; and even
when _distilled_, in consequence of the carbonic acid diffused through
it, it occasions precipitation. The Surgeon will remember that the
_Linimentum Saponis_ cannot be mixed with it, without mutual
decomposition. _See Sapo._ MED. USES. It is only used externally, in
superficial and phlegmonic inflammations of the skin, and in herpetic
affections. It has been a question whether _Lead_, in any form, should
ever be applied to an open wound, or to an abraded surface;[556] as a
general rule, it should not certainly be applied to such as are recent,
nor to those whose character indicates a diminished state of vitality in
the parts, and exhibits a disposition to gangrene. The abuse of
Saturnine lotions has been frequently descanted upon by foreign writers,
and, among the evils which are supposed to be thus induced, impotence is
mentioned as one of not unfrequent occurrence. See _Institutioni di
Medicina Forens_: _di Tortosa, vol._ 1. p. 58. also _Fritze Compend:
sopra le Malat: Vener_: p. 189. and _Monteggia Annotat: sopra i Mali
Venerei_, p. 36. There is a paper in the third volume of the _Medical
Transactions_, by Dr. Reynolds, in which the case of a gentleman is
detailed, who brought on a temporary paralysis of the _Sphincter Ani_,
by freely using Goulard’s lotion for the cure of the Piles. The value of
Saturnine applications in common inflammation most probably arises from
a partial paralysis of the nerves of the part, produced by the sedative
agency of the lead.
LIQUOR PLUMBI SUB-ACETATIS DILUTUS. L.
As the former preparation is very rarely employed in its concentrated
form, the College has directed its dilution, and added a portion of
spirit, with a view to accelerate its evaporation, and thus to produce a
refrigerating effect; but for such a purpose the quantity of spirit is
far too small, and should therefore be increased by extemporaneous
addition.
LIQUOR POTASSÆ. L. AQUA POTASSÆ. E.
AQUA KALI CAUSTICA. D.
_Aqua kali puri._ P.L. 1787. _Lixivium Saponarium_, 1745.
QUALITIES. A limpid, dense, colourless solution; a pint should weigh
℥xvj; when rubbed between the fingers it feels soapy, in consequence of
a partial solution of the cuticle. The solution, as usually prepared,
contains small portions of muriate and sulphate of potass, silica and
lime; but these incidental impurities do not invalidate its virtues; it
ought not to effervesce with acids. MED. USES. Antacid, diuretic,
alterative, and lithonthryptic; and externally, when diluted, it acts as
a stimulating lotion,[557] and if concentrated, as a caustic; see
_Potassa Fusa_. The operation of this and other alkaline remedies, have
at different periods been celebrated as powerful lithonthriptics, and
whilst experience has in some cases confirmed the value of the practice,
it has in others proved no less decidedly its mischievous agency; these
contradictory results are at length capable of explanation, for
Chemistry has drawn aside the veil that has so long obscured the
history, origin, and cure of calculous diseases, and has demonstrated
that these extraneous bodies vary in composition, and are consequently
very differently affected by the same chemical solvents; but this
subject has already been so fully discussed in the first part of this
work, under the chapter on “_Antilithics_ and _Lithonthryptics_,” that
it is unnecessary to dwell upon it in this place.
It has also been found highly useful in the cure of several species of
cutaneous affections; as in Lepra, Psoriasis, &c. which diseases
generally appear to have some connection with a morbid state of the
digestive functions; see _Form: 149_. DOSE of the solution of potass,
♏︎x to fʒss, in veal broth[558] or table beer; this latter vehicle
disguises its nauseous flavour completely. In many cases, the infusion
of some bitter tonic will be the most eligible liquor in which it can be
exhibited, especially where our object is to promote its absorption: the
theory of such a combination has been already explained in the first
part of this work, p. 153. OFFICINAL PREP. _Potassa fusa_, L.E.D.
_Potassa cum calce_, L.E.D. _Liquor Sulphureti Kali_, D. _Antimonii
Sulphuretum Præcipitatum_, L.E.
LIQUOR POTASSÆ SUB-CARBONATIS. L.
AQUA SUB-CARBONATIS KALI. D.
_Aqua Kali præparati_, P.L. 1787.
_Lixivium Tartari._ 1745.
_Oleum Tartari per deliquium_, P.L. 1720.
QUALITIES. It is a clear, colourless, and inodorous solution; _Spec.
grav._ 1·446. DOSE, ♏︎x to fʒj. See _Potassæ Sub-carbonas_, and _Form:
39, 41_. The proportion of the salt contained in any quantity of the
solution may be learnt by referring to the _Dynameter_.
LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA.
American Tulip bearing poplar.
_Cortex._
[This is a native tree of America, and one of the most magnificent to be
found in our forests—distinguished no less by its great altitude than by
its beautiful foliage. It grows in almost every part of the United
States. The part used in medicine is the Bark. This has a rough, fibrous
appearance and is of a whitish colour. Its taste is bitter, astringent,
and somewhat acrid and aromatic. By analysis, it yields gum, resin,
muriatic acid, iron, mucus, &c. In its action on the system, it is
decidedly tonic, exhibiting at the same time, to a certain extent,
stimulant properties. If given in considerable quantities it acts also
on the skin and kidneys. It has been used with advantage and success in
intermittent fever, chronic rheumatism, gout, hysteria, and in
debilitated states of the stomach. It may be given in substance, which
is the most efficacious form of using it, in doses of from ʒss to ʒij.]
LOBELIA INFLATA.
Indian Tobacco. Herba.
[This is a plant very common in the United States. It has an acrid
taste, very similar to that of green tobacco. By analysis it is found to
contain an acrid principle, caoutchouc, and extractive. It is soluble
both in water and alcohol. In its medicinal effects, the lobelia is
analogous to common tobacco, and varies very much according to the dose
in which it is given. It may thus be made to act either as an emetic,
antispasmodic, expectorant, or diaphoretic. The diseases in which it has
been found useful are asthma, croup, hooping cough, and catarrh. The
tincture is the best preparation, and is prepared by digesting, for ten
days, ℥ij of the plant in a pint of diluted alcohol. The dose is from ʒj
to ʒiv—of the powder, the dose to prove emetic is from 10 to 20 grs.]
MAGNESIA. L. MAGNESIA USTA. D.
_Calcined Magnesia._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a white, very light, soft powder; _Specific gravity_,
2·3; it turns to green the more delicate vegetable blues. SOLUBILITY.
Although it requires 2000 times its weight of water to hold it in
solution, yet it has the property of considerably increasing the
solubility of camphor, opium, and resins in the same fluid; it is
soluble in solutions of the alkaline carbonates, but not in those of
caustic alkalies. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is an oxide of a peculiar
metal. MEDICINAL USES. Antacid, and when acidity prevails, purgative; it
is preferable to the carbonate whenever the bowels are distended with
flatus, (_Form: 150_): in other respects, its virtues are the same. See
_Magnes. Carb_. The Medicinal Dynameter will shew the equivalent doses
of the pure earth and its carbonate; it will be seen for instance that
12 grains of the former will be as efficient, as an antacid, as 25
grains of the latter. INCIDENTAL IMPURITIES. It ought not to effervesce
with acids, and if magnesia and muriatic acid be placed at one time in
separate cups, in a scale of a balance, no diminution of weight should
take place on mixing them. Lime is detected by its solution in dilute
sulphuric acid affording a precipitate with oxalate of ammonia; the
_sulphuret of lime_ betrays itself by yielding, when moistened, the
smell of sulphuretted hydrogen.[559]
MAGNESIÆ SUB-CARBONAS. L.
CARBONAS MAGNESIÆ. E. MAGNESIA. D.
Olim, Magnesia Alba.
_Carbonate of Magnesia_, vulgo, _Common Magnesia_.
This preparation was formerly considered by Mr. Phillips to be a mixture
of carbonate and sub-carbonate of magnesia, an opinion which he has
lately retracted; it is, says he, evidently a _carbonate_, i. e.
magnesia combined with one proportion of carbonic acid, or forty-eight
of carbonic acid to forty-three of magnesia. Dr. Thompson entertains a
different opinion, he observes that it seems to be a mechanical mixture
of carbonate of magnesia, caustic magnesia, and perhaps of hydrated
magnesia; he found too great a diversity in its composition to permit
the conclusion that it was a definite chemical compound; in a specimen
purchased at Glasgow, he also found six per cent. of _sulphate of lime_.
I take this opportunity of stating that in some specimens which I have
examined, I have also detected portions of _gypsum_; and from the
experiments of Dr. Percival, it appears that if _hard water_ be employed
for its preparation it will be less light, and will contain a portion of
lime. Magnesia will be also liable to contain traces of silicious earth,
derived from the alkali used in producing it. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES.
_Acids, and acidulous salts; alkalies and neutral salts; alum; cream of
tartar; nitrate of silver; acetate of mercury; oxy-muriate of mercury;
acetate of lead; sulphates of zinc, copper, and iron._ MEDICINAL USES.
Antacid, and purgative. In cases of lithic calculi, carbonate of
magnesia, in doses of ℈j to ʒj, has been proposed by Mr. Hatchett, as a
valuable substitute for alkaline remedies. Its insolubility must render
its absorption equivocal; its beneficial operation must therefore
principally depend upon its neutralizing any excess of acid in the primæ
viæ, and in this way there can be no doubt of its lithonthryptic agency;
“but,” says Dr. Marcet, “such is the tendency which the public has to
over-rate the utility of a new practice, or to take a mistaken view of
its proper application, that there is every reason to believe that the
use of magnesia has of late years become a frequent source of evil in
calculous complaints.” _See_ page 124. OFFICINAL PREP. _Hydrarg. cum
Magnesia._ D. _Magnesia._ L.E.D. ADULTERATIONS. _Chalk_ may be detected
by adding dilute sulphuric acid to a suspected portion, when, should any
be present, the solution will be loaded with a white and insoluble
precipitate; _gypsum_, by boiling a sample in distilled water, and
assaying the solution by a barytic and oxalic test.[560]
MAGNESIÆ SULPHAS. L. SULPHAS MAGNESIÆ. E.D.
Magnesia Vitriolata. Sal catharticum amarum.
_Bitter purging Salt._ _Epsom Salt._
QUALITIES. _Form_, small needle-like crystals. _Taste_, bitter and
nauseous; when pure, it effloresces. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. In its
crystallized state, it may be considered as composed of 1 proportional
of dry sulphate (Magnesia 18·5, and sulphuric acid 37·5) and 7
proportionals of water. SOLUBILITY. f℥j of water dissolves ℥j, and the
solution measures fʒxj¼; it is insoluble in alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. _Muriates of ammonia, baryta, and lime_; _nitrate of
silver_; _sub-acetate_, and _acetate of lead_. _The fixed alkalies_ and
_their carbonates_, precipitate from it magnesia and its carbonate.
_Phosphate of soda_ occasions no immediate precipitate, unless ammonia
be present, in which case the triple _ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate_
will be produced. The addition of ammonia, which in the form of
_Spiritus ammoniæ aromat_. is not unfrequently prescribed in conjunction
with a solution of this sulphate, forms also a triple salt, and a
portion of magnesia is precipitated: whenever therefore this ammoniacal
stimulant is ordered with a purgative salt, the scientific physician
will prefer a solution of the sulphate of soda. FORMS OF EXHIBITION.
Dissolved in the _Infusum Rosæ_, or in a suitable quantity of beef tea,
gruel, or any aqueous vehicle, its cathartic powers are increased by
dilution, as well as by the addition of a little common salt; _magnesia_
renders the taste of its solution less nauseous; and tartarized antimony
quickens its operation. DOSE, ℥ss to ℥ij, taken either at once, or in
divided doses. _Form. 37, 69, 72, 76._ OFFICINAL PREP. _Enema
Catharticum._ _Enema Fœtid._ D. ADULTERATIONS. _Sulphate of Soda_ is
often substituted for this salt, which it may be made to resemble by
stirring it briskly at the moment when it is about to crystallize; the
fraud may be detected by a precipitation not ensuing on adding carbonate
of potass; if only a part of the salt be sulphate of soda, the degree of
sophistication can be learnt by the quantity of the precipitate formed;
100 parts of sulphate of magnesia, if pure, will yield between 30 and 40
of the dry carbonate. Epsom salt, as it commonly occurs, contains
_muriate of magnesia_, which disposes it to deliquesce, but lately this
salt has appeared in the market in a state of great purity and beauty;
the mode of purification is founded upon the well known chemical law,
that _a saturated solution of one salt is still capable of dissolving
another_; in the present instance, therefore, the impure crystals are
washed in a saturated solution of the same sulphate, which, although
unable to act upon its kindred salt, can dissolve with facility the
muriate, and any other saline contamination. I confess, however, that I
am induced to regard this process as rather chemically ingenious than as
medicinally useful, for the usual saline impurities of Epsom salt are
not only harmless, but capable of increasing its purgative powers; the
_double refined_ sulphate is certainly less efficient as a cathartic.
The presence of the _muriate_ may be at once detected by dropping upon
the suspected sample some sulphuric acid, by which the disengagement of
muriatic acid vapour will be produced. Since the publication of the
fourth edition of the present work, I have received samples of the
sulphate of Magnesia, prepared by Mr. West of Lymington, and I can
confidently recommend the article to the profession; he contrives to
obtain them in large and beautiful crystals, which cannot be so easily
mistaken for those of oxalic acid, a circumstance of no small importance
to the drug vender; the form of these crystals is that of a square
prism, having its edges replaced, and commonly terminated by a pyramid
of four planes; the only cleavage is parallel to one of the diagonals of
the prism. The numerous accidents which so frequently occur from
mistaking Oxalic acid for Epsom Salts have given rise to many
suggestions for obtaining an easy and popular test which may at once
distinguish these bodies; it is evident that no test can be so simple as
that afforded by the taste; but if such accidents are in future to be
prevented, it must be done by imparting to the acid some external
character by which it may be at once recognised; if a test were even
discovered a hundred times more sensible than any which we possess, what
would it avail?
MANNA.[561] L.E.D.
(Fraxinus Ornus. _Succus Concretus._)
_Manna._
QUALITIES. _Form_, flakes of a granular texture; _Colour_, whitish, or
pale yellow; _Odour_, slight but peculiar; _Taste_, nauseous sweet, with
some degree of bitterness. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. This concrete vegetable
juice, besides sugar, appears to contain mucilage and extractive, to
which its taste and other peculiar properties are owing. SOLUBILITY. It
is entirely soluble in water and alcohol. MED. USES. It is now merely
regarded as a laxative for children, or for weak persons. It generally
requires some laxative adjunct, as castor oil, with which it may be
combined by the medium of mucilage. DOSE, for children, from ʒj to ʒiij,
in warm milk. OFFICINAL PREP. _Confectio Cassiæ._ L.E.D. _Enema
Cathart._ D. _Enema Fœtid._ D. _Syrup. Sennæ._ D. ADULTERATIONS. There
are several varieties in the market, the best of which is flake manna,
_manna canulata_, in a stalactitic form. An article, entirely
factitious, consisting of honey or sugar, mixed with scammony, is
sometimes sold for genuine manna, but its colour, weight, transparency,
and taste, must instantly lead to its detection.
MASTICHE. L.
(Pistachia Lentiscus. _Resina._)
_Mastich._
The use of this resinous substance is to fill the cavities of carious
teeth; a solution of it in oil of turpentine is sold as an odontalgic.
The Turkish and Armenian women use it as a masticatory for cleaning the
teeth, emulging the salivary glands, and imparting an agreeable odour to
the breath. It forms a constituent of the _Dinner Pills_. See _Aloes_.
Sonnini tells us that, in Egypt, the smoke of Mastich is supposed to
kill any sick person that inhales it.
MEL. L.E.D. Honey.
This well known substance appears to be merely collected from the
flowers, and not elaborated by the internal economy of the insect; when
properly diluted it undergoes vinous fermentation, the product of which
is the beverage well known by the name of _Mead_. The English honey is
more waxy than that from the south of Europe. _Virgin honey_ is that
wrought by young bees which have never swarmed, and permitted to run
from the comb without heat or pressure. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Sugar,
mucilage, wax, an acid, and occasionally some essential oil. _Clarified
Honey_, (_Mel Despumatum._ L.D.) has not the agreeable smell of crude
honey; it does not however ferment so readily, nor is it so apt to
gripe. USES. It is principally employed for forming several officinal
preparations, i. e. _Mellita_, viz. _Mel Boracis_. L. _Mel Ros._ L.D.
_Oxymel._ L.D. _Oxymel Colchici_. E. _Oxymel Scillæ_. L.D.[562] Sir John
Pringle considered it as useful in nephritic disorders; it possesses
also a laxative property, which renders it on many occasions preferable
to Syrup. ADULTERATIONS. _Flour_ may be detected by diffusing the honey
in tepid water, by which it will be separated, and, by subsequent
boiling, converted into a thick paste.
MELIA AZEDARACH.
PRIDE OF CHINA. _Cortex radicis._
[This plant is a native of the East Indies, from whence it was
introduced into Europe and North America. The part used in medicine is
the bark of the root. It is a powerful anthelmintic, and affects the
system in a way very similar to the Spigelia Marylandica, producing not
unfrequently confusion of the head, stupor, trembling of the hands, &c.
This is particularly the case if it be used in the months of March and
April, when the sap rises in the tree. It is chiefly against the round
worm that the Melia has been found successful, though in some cases it
has proved effectual also against the Tænia. It is generally given in
the form of decoction: to prepare this, ℥iij or ℥iv of the bark of the
fresh root are put into a quart of water and boiled down to a pint, of
which ℥ss to ℥j may be given every two or three hours till it operates.
Administered in this way, it frequently causes both purging and
vomiting.]
MENTHA PIPERITA. L.E.D.
MENTHA PIPERITIS. D. _Peppermint._[563]
All the qualities of this plant depend upon an essential oil and
camphor; it readily and strongly impregnates either water or spirit, by
infusion; its infusion, and the water distilled from the plant, are
carminative and antispasmodic; they also serve as vehicles for other
medicines, to correct their operation, or to disguise their flavour.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Aq. Menth. Piperit_. L.E.D. _Spir. Menth. Pip_.
L.D. _Ol. Menth. Pip_. L.D. If this plant be cut in wet weather, it
turns black, and is worthless.
MENTHA VIRIDIS. L. MENTHA SATIVA. D.
_Spearmint._
Cold water extracts the more agreeable and active parts of mint in a few
hours; a longer maceration extracts the grosser and less agreeable
portions; hot water more quickly extracts its virtues, but if it be
boiling it dissipates the aroma. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Aq. Menth.
virid._ L.D. _Infus. Menth. comp._ _D. Ol. Menth. virid._ L. D. _Spir.
Menth. virid._ L.
MEZEREI CORTEX. L.E.D.
(Daphne Mezereum. _Radicis Cortex._)
_Mezereon._
The inner bark of this plant, when fresh, is corrosive and even
vesicatory; the fruit is equally so, but neither have any smell; its
virulence is counteracted by camphor. It contains, besides extractive
matter, an acrid resinous substance, which, according to Plaff, bears a
strong resemblance to the active principle of Cantharides. It is now
seldom used except as an antivenereal remedy, or in cases of chronic
cutaneous disease. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In a decoction, made by boiling
℥ss of the bark, with an equal quantity of Liquorice root, in oiij of
water down to oij; of which f℥ss may be given twice a day. From its
pungency it is one of the substances used by fraudulent brewers to
communicate a strong flavour to their beer. Where a discharge from
issues cannot be kept up by the common means, it is said that the
introduction of a little of this bark, instead of the pea, will in a few
hours produce the desired effect. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Decoct.
Sarsaparill. comp_. L. _Decoct. Daphnes. Mezerei_. E. The _Daphne
Laureola_ is very generally sold for Mezereon.
MISTURÆ. L.E.D. _Mixtures._
The principles upon which this form of preparation is to be constructed,
are fully detailed in the first part of this work, page 199.
_Officinal Mixtures._
MISTURA AMMONIACI. L. This mixture is expectorant, and may be exhibited
with tincture of squills, &c. (_Form. 115, 136._) It is slightly curdled
by _vinegar_, _oxymel_, _æther_, and _oxy-muriate of mercury_.
MISTURA AMYGDALARUM. L. _Emulsio Amygdali communis_. E. _Lac Amygdalæ_.
D. It is a useful demulcent and diluent, and forms an elegant vehicle
for more active medicines. _Incompatibles_—_Acids_, _Oxymel_, _Syrup of
Squill_, _Spirit_, _and Tinctures_, unless added in very small
quantities, decompose this mixture; _tartaric acid_, _super-tartrate of
potass_, and _oxy-muriate of mercury_, also disturb it. _Form. 137._
MISTURA ASSAFŒTIDÆ. L. A nauseous preparation; and where its use is
indicated, it will be more judicious to prescribe it as an
extemporaneous mixture. See _Assafœtida_.
MISTURA CAMPHORÆ. L. This solution of camphor forms an elegant vehicle
for more active stimulants. The camphor is separated from the water by a
solution of pure potass, by sulphate of magnesia, and by several saline
bodies. See _Form. 7, 24, 25, 32, 47, 72, 116, 117, 123_.
MISTURA CORNU USTI. L. _Decoctum Cornu Cervini_. D. This is nothing more
than a simple diffusion of phosphate of lime in a thin mucilage—_Cui
bono_? It was retained in the Pharmacopœia in deference to the opinion
of some experienced practitioners.
MISTURA CRETÆ. L.D. A common and useful remedy in diarrhœa, and may be
combined with opium, catechu, or any other astringent. _Form. 52._ It is
of course incompatible with acids, and acidulous salts.
MISTURA FERRI COMPOSITA. L. This is nearly the same as the celebrated
anti-hectic mixture of Dr. Griffith; to the result of the decompositions
which take place from the mixture of its ingredients, it is wholly
indebted for its medicinal energies; thus, a _proto-carbonate of iron_
is formed, i. e. the iron combined with carbonic acid is at its
_minimum_ of oxidation, which renders it more active than the common
carbonate, and probably less stimulant than the sulphate; this product,
by means of the saponaceous compound formed by the union of the myrrh
with the excess of alkali, is _partly_ diffused and suspended in the
mixture, and _partly_ dissolved, whilst at the same time a _sulphate of
potass_ is formed, which serves to correct the astringent influence
which iron is apt to exert upon the bowels. The iron in this preparation
is disposed to combine with an additional proportion of oxygen, hence
its ingredients should be quickly mixed together, and it ought to be
considered as an extemporaneous preparation, and be preserved in a
closely-stopt vessel. Its change of colour will generally indicate its
loss of efficacy. This preparation must be regarded as permanently
serviceable in Chlorosis, and the numerous sympathetic affections
connected with it. In the painful swellings which infest the breasts of
chlorotic young women, I have found it almost a specific. DOSE,
f℥j-f℥ij. The proportion of _Proto-carbonate of iron_, contained in any
given quantity of this mixture, may be found by referring to the
Medicinal Dynameter; for instance, bring the preparation to 12, and we
shall perceive that this number of fluid-drachms contain 1 grain of
_Protoxide_, or rather more than gr. iss of _Proto-carbonate_ of iron;
and we shall, at the same time, perceive that to give an equivalent
quantity in the form of _Pil. Ferri comp_. we must prescribe ℈j. See
_Form. 96_.
MISTURA MOSCHI. This is an eligible form for the administration of Musk.
_Dose_, f℥j-f℥ij, to which may be added extemporaneously, ammonia,
æther, and other diffusible stimulants.
_The Dose_ of the above mixtures is f℥j-to f℥ij twice or thrice a day.
MOSCHUS. L.E.D. _Musk._
QUALITIES. _Form_, grains concreted together, dry, yet slightly
unctuous. _Colour_, deep brown with a shade of red; _Odour_, aromatic,
peculiar, diffusive, and durable; and it has the curious property, when
added in a minute quantity, to augment the odour of other perfumes
without imparting its own; this renders it a valuable article in
perfumery, on which account it is a usual ingredient in lavender water.
_Taste_, bitterish and heavy. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Resin combined with
volatile oil, and a mucilaginous extractive matter, with small portions
of albumen, gelatine, muriate of ammonia, and phosphate of soda.
SOLUBILITY. Boiling water dissolves it perfectly; rectified spirit takes
up most of its active parts, although the odour is only discovered upon
dilution; sulphuric æther is its most complete menstruum. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. The solutions are decomposed by _Oxy-muriate of Mercury_;
_Sulphate of Iron_; _Nitrate of Silver_; and the _Infusion of Yellow
Bark_. MED. USES. Stimulant and antispasmodic. As early as the time of
Meade it was employed in typhus fever; Pringle administered it in gout
of the stomach, a practice which received the concurrence of Cullen;
conjoined with ammonia it has been celebrated for its powers in
arresting the progress of gangrene, and of imparting fresh excitement to
the nervous system. It has been also administered with success in
epilepsy, hooping cough, and other spasmodic affections. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. The best form is that of bolus, combined with ammonia or
camphor, or some other similar remedy, (_Form. 21_); it may be also
administered in a mixture, for which purpose it requires five times its
weight of mucilage, consequently the London College has not directed a
sufficient quantity to retain the musk in suspension: by previously
triturating it with sugar, its minute division is much facilitated.
DOSE, grs. x to xxx. See _Form. 22, 30_. OFFICINAL PREP. _Mist. Mosch_.
L. _Tinct. Mosch_. D. ADULTERATIONS. The bag containing the musk should
have no appearance of having been opened: the presence of _dried blood_
may be suspected, by its emitting, as it inflames, a fetid smoke;
_Asphaltum_ is discovered by its melting and running before it inflames:
the artificial bags are known from the deficiency of the membrane which
lines the real musk bags. To increase the weight of the musk, fine
particles of lead are frequently added; this is easily detected, for by
rubbing it with water the metallic particles will subside.
MOSCHUS FACTITIUS. _Artificial Musk_, strongly resembling the real, may
be formed by digesting f℥ss of _Nitric Acid_, for ten days, upon ℥j of
fetid animal oil, obtained by distillation; to this is to be next
gradually added oj of _rectified spirit_, and the whole is then to be
left to digest for one month: or—
2. Drop fʒiiiss of nitric acid upon fʒj of rectified oil of amber;
after standing twenty-four hours, a black, resinous pellicle,
exhaling the odour of musk, will be formed.
MUCILAGO ACACIÆ. L.E.
MUCILAGO GUMMI ARABICI. D.
This preparation consists of one part of gum and two of water; in
preparing it, the dispenser is particularly recommended to pulverize the
gum, and never to employ that which is purchased in the state of powder,
as it is always impure and incapable of forming a pellucid and elegant
solution.[564] INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. Neither the _strong acids_ nor
_alcohol_, when considerably diluted, occasion any disturbance in it;
but _sulphuric æther_ and its _compound spirit_, _the tincture of
muriated iron_, and _sub-acetate of lead_, produce very dense
precipitates: the _acetate of lead_ only occasions decomposition, when
an alkaline salt is present in the formula; the _volatile alkali_
curdles the mucilage, and _hard calcareous waters_ render the mixture
difficult and often impracticable. In the pharmaceutical application of
this mucilage, it should be remembered that it contains in its
composition an astringent principle, which is perhaps of but trifling
consequence except in the exhibition of some very few active metallic
salts, which are certainly decomposed by it (e. g. grs. x of _nitrate of
mercury_ are decomposed by ʒij of gum arabic.[565]) It contains also
lime in combination with some vegetable acid. USES. Diluted with four
times its bulk of water, this mucilage forms a demulcent mixture of
appropriate tenacity, which affords a convenient vehicle for several
efficient remedies; the pharmaceutical use of this mucilage depends upon
the fact of its rendering expressed and essential oils, balsams, resins,
gum-resins, resinous tinctures, and fatty bodies, miscible with water,
but if a syrup be added, the union will be more perfect; the proportions
necessary for this purpose vary according to the nature of the
substances; thus, _oils_ will require about three-fourths their weight,
_Balsams_ and _Spermaceti_ an equal part, _Resins_ a double quantity,
and _Musk_ five times its weight; the following _Formulæ_ illustrate
this property, 9, 19, 22, 135.
MUCILAGO AMYLI. L.E.D.
_Mucilage of Starch._
This is a strong, insipid, inodorous mucilage, which is principally
employed as a vehicle for exhibiting Opium in the form of Enema, see
_Amylum._
MUCILAGO ASTRAGALI TRAGACANTHÆ. E.D.
_Tragacanth Mucilage._
Tragacanth is, strictly speaking, not soluble in water, but imbibes a
large portion of it and swells into a considerable bulk, forming a soft
but not a liquid mucilage; on the farther addition of water, a fluid
solution may be obtained by agitation, and the liquor is turbid; but on
standing, the mucilage subsides, the limpid water on the surface
retaining a little of the gum;[566] it differs from all gums in giving a
thick consistence to a larger quantity of water, its power in this
respect being to that of gum arabic as twenty to one; one part converts
twenty of hot water into a stiff mucilage. Tragacanth is not increased,
but actually diminished in solubility by the addition of any other gum,
it accordingly separates from water with much greater facility when gum
arabic is present. This preparation, according to the Edinburgh college,
consists of one part of gum and eight of water; the resulting mucilage
is stiff, and is principally employed for making _troches_. The Dublin
preparation contains four times that quantity of water.
MYRISTICÆ NUCLEI. L.E.
Nux Moschata. D. _Nutmeg._
All the properties of this well-known substance depend upon an essential
oil, filling the dark coloured veins which run through its substance,
the other components are starch, gum, wax, and a fixed oil. The oil
obtained by expression is improperly called _oil of mace_, for it would
appear to be a triple compound of fixed oil, volatile oil, and wax, and
which, although limpid when first drawn, soon acquires on cooling the
consistence of spermaceti. _Mace_ is the involucrum of the nut. MED.
USES. Stimulant, and in large doses, as from ʒij to ʒiij, narcotic,
frequently producing delirium. _See Cullen Mat. Med. ii. 201._ OFFICINAL
PREP: _Spir: Myristicæ_. L.E.D. FRAUDS. Nutmegs are frequently despoiled
of their essential oil, by being punctured and submitted to the
operation of decoction, the orifices being subsequently closed by
powdered Sassafras; the imposition is detected by the comparative
lightness of the nutmeg, and by its extreme fragility; the holes may
also be discovered by carefully examining the surface of the nut, after
having steeped it in hot water.
MYRRHA. L.E.D.
(Arboris nondum descriptæ, _Gummi-resina_.)
_Myrrh._
QUALITIES. _Form_, irregularly shaped pieces, translucent, of a reddish
yellow colour; _Odour_, peculiar and fragrant; _Taste_, bitter and
aromatic. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Resin, gum, essential oil, and some
extractive. SOLUBILITY. When triturated with soft, or distilled water,
nearly the whole appears to be dissolved, forming an opaque, yellowish
solution, but by rest the greater part is deposited, and not more than
one-third is actually dissolved; its solubility, however, in water may
be increased by trituration with camphor or an alkali; rectified spirit
dissolves it, and the resulting tincture, when diluted, becomes turbid,
although no precipitate occurs. MED. USES. Stimulant, as in _Form. 103_.
Expectorant, 132, 133, 138. Emmenagogue, 95, 98, 99. It is also tonic,
and agrees with some constitutions better than any of the bitters. FORMS
OF EXHIBITION. No form is so eligible as that of substance. DOSE, grs. x
to ʒj. The alkalies, in their crystalline state, when triturated with
myrrh, reduce it to the form of a tenacious fluid. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Tinct. Myrrh_. L.E.D. _Tinct. Aloes et Myrrh_. E. _Tinct.
Aloës Ætherea_. E. _Mist. Ferri comp_. L. (=G L=) _Pil. Aloes cum
Myrrha_. L.E.D. _Pil. Ferri cum Myrrha_. L. _Pil. Galb. comp_. L.D.
(=B=) _Pil. Assafœtid. comp_. E. (=B=) _Pil. Rhei, comp_. E. (=G=)
ADULTERATIONS. It is subject to a variety of frauds, being frequently
mixed with adventitious gums, which are to be detected by their foreign
odour, their white or dark colour, and by their opacity.
NUX VOMICA. (Strychnus Nux Vomica.)
_Nux Vomica._
This seed has not at present a place in the British pharmacopœiæ; it
presents however several points of interest to the physiologist, the
physician, and the chemist. Its virulent action upon animals has been
long known; and it has been administered in combination with gentian in
intermittents.[567] (_Ludovic. Phar._ p. 113,) and as a narcotic in
mania; it also constituted an ingredient in the famous _Electuarium de
ovo_, (_Ph. Angl. p. 263._) Nux vomica has been said to produce benefit
in the plague; the German writers have strongly commended it in mania,
epilepsy, and hydrophobia; as well as in chronic rheumatism, gout,
scrophula, lues venera, and cutaneous eruptions; in Sweden it is stated
to have displayed very beneficial effects in Dysentery. Dr. Fourquier
has lately introduced its use in the Hopital de la Charité, in cases of
partial paralysis, and it is said, with very great success.[568] The
value of the practice has been since confirmed by the experiments of
Dumeril, Majendie, Hebreard, Husson, and Asselin. The dose is four or
five grains of the powder in pills, during the day. The French codex
contains two alcoholic extracts of this substance; the one prepared with
a strong spirit (22, 32, Beaumé, i. e. from sp. gr. ·915 to ·856,) is
much more active and powerful than that made with a weak spirit. (12,
22, Beaumé, i. e. from sp. gr. ·985 to ·915.)
M. M. Pelletier and Caventou have discovered in this substance, a
peculiar proximate principle, to which its virulence is owing; it was
named _Vauqueline_, in honour of the celebrated French philosopher, but
in deference to the opinion of the French Academy of Sciences, the
discoverers have substituted the name _Strychnia_, because “a name
dearly loved, ought not to be applied to a noxious principle!”[569]
(_Annales de Chimie_, _vol._ 8 to 10.) Strychnia is highly alkaline, and
crystallizes in very small four-sided prisms, terminated by four-sided
pyramids; its taste is insupportably bitter, leaving a slight metallic
flavour, and is so powerful as even to be perceptible when a grain is
dissolved in eighty pounds of water;[570] it has no smell; is not
changed by exposure to the air, nor is it either fusible or volatile,
for when submitted to the action of heat, it only fuses at the moment of
its decomposition which takes place at a temperature inferior to that
which destroys most vegetable substances; it is so extremely active and
violent, that in doses of half a grain it occasions serious effects, and
in larger ones convulsions and death; it is perhaps the most
powerful,[571] and next to hydro-cyanic acid, the most rapid of poisons;
notwithstanding its strong taste, it is very sparingly soluble in water,
requiring 6667 parts of that fluid for its solution at 50, and 2500 at
212°. It is very soluble in alcohol, but unlike most of the other
vegetable alkalies, is nearly insoluble in æther; with acids it forms
neutral and crystallizable salts; these salts as well as their base,
have the singular property of becoming bloodred by the action of
concentrated nitric acid. The alcoholic solution of Strychnia has the
property of precipitating the greater number of metallic oxides from
their acid solutions. It is precipitated by alkalies and alkaline
earths. Strychnia exists in native combination in the Strychnus with an
acid which has some analogy with the malic, and which Pelletier and
Caventou propose to call the _Igasuric acid_, from the Malay name for
the bean of St. Ignatius,[572] (Strychnus Ignatius,) in which its
properties were first examined. In conformity with such views, the
active principle of the tribe of Strychni is an _Igasurate of
Strychnia_;—a fact which suggests the existence of a most singular and
striking analogy between the chemical constitution of these
narcotico-acrid bodies[573] and that of opium. The recent experiments of
Pelletier have shewn, moreover, that besides Strychnia, the Nux Vomica
contains _Brucia_, an alkaline body which had been previously discovered
in spurious Angustura. Its properties are similar to those of Strychnia,
but it is less active. Being much more soluble in alcohol than
_Strychnia_, if care be taken to crystallize the latter several times in
alcohol, it will be separated, the _Brucia_ remaining in the _mother
waters_. Strychnia has been given in doses of one-twelfth of a grain,
but it is a most dangerous remedy, and is liable to occasion tetanic
convulsions.[574] It has been said, however, to prove serviceable in
cases of Epilepsy that had resisted every other method of cure. Dr.
Fleming informs us that the Hindoos of upper India are in the habit of
adding Nux Vomica in the process of distilling Arrack, for the purpose
of rendering the spirit more intoxicating. The London Porter brewers
have been accused of the same pernicious practice.
OLEA DESTILLATA. L. OL. VOLATILIA. E.
OL. ESSENTIALIA. D.
_Distilled, Volatile, or Essential Oils._
The British pharmacopœiæ direct them to be obtained by distillation
only; the French codex orders several of them to be prepared by
expression. QUALITIES. _Form_, liquid, sometimes viscid; _specific
grav._ various; oil of turpentine, which is the lightest, being only
0·792, whilst the oil of cloves, cinnamon, and allspice, exceed 1·030,
and that of sassafras, which is the heaviest, amounts to 1·094; these
latter oils hold resin in solution, and of course sink in water.
_Odour_, penetrating and fragrant; _Taste_, acrid; they are volatilized
at a temperature somewhat below that of boiling water; they are very
inflammable. SOLUBILITY. Very soluble in alcohol, forming what are
termed in perfumery _Essences_; in water they are very sparingly
soluble; the solutions are known in pharmacy under the title of
_distilled waters_; they are also dissolved by æther, and the _fixed_
oils; when digested with ammonia, some of the less odorous acquire a
considerable degree of fragrance, whilst on the contrary, fixed alkalies
universally impair their odour; they are rapidly decomposed by nitric
and sulphuric acids, and their action is sometimes attended with instant
inflammation. Volatile oils, from continued exposure to the air, absorb
oxygen, and become resinous, by which they lose their volatility,
fragrance, and pungency, hence they should be preserved in small opaque
phials, completely full and well stopped. MED. USES. They act as
powerful stimulants and aromatics; they remove nausea and flatulence,
correct the griping of certain purgatives, and cover the offensive taste
of various remedies. See _Aquæ destillatæ_. They, moreover, have the
property of defending certain animal and vegetable preparations from
mouldiness. This curious fact has been already noticed, see _page 177_.
The following is a list of the species admitted into our British
pharmacopœiæ; those designated in _italics_ are principally for internal
use. OLEA _Anisi_, _Anthemidis_, _Carui_, _Juniperi_. Lavandulæ, _Menthæ
Piperitæ_, _Menthæ viridis_, Origani, _Pimentæ_, _Pulegii_, _Rosmarini_,
L. OLEA VOLATILIA, _Juniperi communis_, Juniperi Sabinæ, Lavandulæ
Spicæ, Lauri Sassafras, _Menthæ Piperitæ_, _Myrtæ Pimentæ_, _Pimpinellæ
Anisi_, Rorismarini Officinalis. E. OLEA _Juniperi_, _Pimento_, Corticis
et Ligni Sassafras, _e Seminibus Anisi_, _Carui_, _Fœniculi dulcis_,
Florum Lavendulæ, Foliorum Sabinæ, _Herbæ florescentis Menthæ Sativæ_,
Origani, _Pulegii_, _Rorismarini_, _Rutæ_, D. ADULTERATIONS. _Fixed
Oils_ may be detected by moistening writing paper with the suspected
article and holding it before the fire: if the oil be entirely
essential, no stain of grease will remain; as castor oil is more soluble
in spirit than the others, it is the one generally selected for this
fraudulent purpose, and the addition of alcohol restores the
sophisticated oil to its proper degree of consistency. _Alcohol_ is
discovered by adding water, which, if it be present, occasions a
milkiness, and at the same time, an increase of temperature; a decrease
of bulk also takes place, which may easily be ascertained by measuring
the oil and water separately, and then transferring them, in a state of
mixture, into a tube of small diameter. _Cheaper oils_, as that of
turpentine, are recognised by their peculiar odour, which may be
developed by rubbing a drop upon the hand and holding it to the fire,
or, by the dense black smoke with which they burn. The oil of aniseed,
as it crystallizes at 50°, is frequently sophisticated with wax,
spermaceti, or camphor; the fraud is detected by warming the oil, when
the crystals, if genuine, will dissolve.[575] In some cases the
refractive power of the oil affords a test of its purity. _See my work
on Chemistry in its relations to Medicine, § 318._
OLEA EXPRESSA. L.D.
OLEA FIXA, SIVE EXPRESSA. E.
_Expressed or Fixed Oils._
These are obtained from animal matter by fusion, and from vegetable by
expression, or decoction with water. QUALITIES. _Odour_, none; _Taste_,
mild; they boil at 600°, but undergo decomposition, becoming acrid and
empyreumatic; the oil, in this state, was formerly used in medicine
under the name of _philosopher’s oil_.[576] By exposure to air they
absorb oxygen and become rancid; they congeal at a temperature of 32°,
and some even above that. When the oil is expressed by heating the
plates of the press, or by previously roasting the seeds, it is more
disposed to become rancid; _cold drawn_ oils are on this account to be
preferred for the purposes of pharmacy. SOLUBILITY. They are insoluble
in water, and, except castor oil, nearly so in alcohol and æther; with
caustic alkalies they combine and form soaps; when aided by heat they
readily unite with oxide of lead, forming the solid compound well known
by the term _plaister_. They unite also very readily with each other,
and with volatile oils. SOLVENT POWERS. They dissolve sulphur, and form
a kind of balsam with it; they also possess the power of extracting and
dissolving the narcotic and acrid principles of several vegetable and
animal substances, in consequence of which, the French pharmacopœia
directs a series of preparations under the term “_Olea Medicata_;” thus
there are olea Cicutæ, Hyoscyami, Solani, Stramonii, Nicotianæ;[577]
which are made by digesting with a gentle heat, one part of the subject
in two parts of olive oil.[578]
OLEUM AMYGDALARUM. L.E.D.
_Oil of Almonds._
This fixed oil, whether procured from the _sweet_ or _bitter_ almond,
has the same properties, for the bitter principle resides exclusively in
combination with a peculiar volatile oil attached to the mucilage;[579]
that from the latter keeps longer without rancidity. It is sometimes
made from old Jordan almonds, _by heat_, in which case it very soon
grows fetid. Nut oil, _Oleum nucum Coryli_, has been proposed as a
substitute for that of almonds; in China it is drunk with tea, instead
of cream. MEDICAL USES. For forming emulsions, in coughs, and other
pulmonary complaints. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It may be formed into an
_emulsion_ by the intermedium of _mucilage_, the _yelk of an egg_, or by
that of an _alkali_.
1. BY MUCILAGE. This is in general a more convenient medium than the
yelk of an egg; one part of gum, made into mucilage, will be sufficient
for the diffusion of four parts of oil, (see _Mucilago Acaciæ_) the oil
and mucilage must be carefully triturated together, and the water then
gradually added; the emulsion thus formed is permanent, and the addition
of a moderate quantity of acid, spirit, or tincture, will not produce
decomposition. _See Form. 73._
2. BY ALKALIES. This oil, by uniting with alkalies and water, forms an
elegant and grateful mixture, for which purpose the following
proportions are to be observed, every fʒj of oil requires ♏︎viij of
liquor potassæ, and f℥iss of distilled water. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES.
_Acids_; _oxymel_; _syrups of poppies and squills_; _tartrate and
super-tartrate of potass_; _super-sulphate of potass_; _oxy-muriate of
mercury_; _resins_; _hard water_. _See Form. 166, 167._
OLEUM AMYGDALÆ AMARÆ VOLATILE.
QUALITIES. _Colour_, pale yellow; _Odour_, fragrant and pungent, having
the characteristic smell of prussic acid. _Taste_, pungent, bitter, and
peculiar. SOLUBILITY. Like other essential oils, its sensible properties
and medicinal effects are imparted to water; in alcohol it is very
soluble.[580] CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. A peculiar oil, combined with
hydro-cyanic acid. M. Vogel of Munich has lately succeeded in separating
these constituents, by agitating the whole in a concentrated solution of
potass, and distilling to dryness; the oil volatilized together with
water, while the residuum in the retort was found to contain _Cyanide of
Potassium_. The volatile oil, thus purified, is without odour, and
heavier than water. Its taste is extremely acrid and burning; by contact
with air it crystallizes rapidly; it dissolves easily in alcohol and
æther, but only in a very small proportion in water. The flame of its
combustion is very brilliant, and accompanied with much smoke. In order
to discover whether this oil, when freed from its hydro-cyanic acid, is
still poisonous, M. Vogel put a drop of it on the tongue of a sparrow;
when it died, after violent convulsions, in a few seconds; he also
poisoned a dog, two months old, with four drops of it; whence he
concludes that the volatile oil, divested of its hydro-cyanic acid, is
still a poison, although less energetic than the oil that has not
undergone such a change. _Med: Uses._ It has all the characteristic
effects of prussic acid, but is so powerful and dangerous as to preclude
its application. It is principally sold to perfumers and confectioners.
It is generally obtained by distilling the expressed cake of bitter
almonds; the operation however requires considerable pharmaceutical
address, and is, moreover, attended with unpleasant consequences.[581]
OLEUM OLIVÆ. L.E.D. _Olive Oil._
QUALITIES. _Colour_, pale yellow, somewhat inclining to green; _Taste_,
bland; _Odour_, none; it ought to congeal at 38° _Fah_. With the
exception of the oil of Almonds, it is the lightest of the fat oils, its
specific gravity being only ·915. According to the recent observations
of Dr. Clarke of Cambridge, this oil crystallizes in rectangular
four-sided prisms with square bases. USES. Although much less laxative
than Castor oil, it is a useful aperient. It was long regarded, but
erroneously, as possessing antidotal powers against the bites of
venemous snakes and insects; and it has been confidently recommended, in
the form of liniment, as a remedy against the Plague. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Linimentum Ammoniæ Fortius_. L. ADULTERATIONS. It is not
unfrequently mixed with the oil of poppy seeds, (see _Papaveris
Capsulæ_), a fraud which may be easily discovered by exposing a sample
to the freezing temperature, when the olive oil will congeal, while that
of poppies will remain fluid; and since those oils which freeze with
most difficulty are most susceptible of rancidity, the admixture of
poppy oil must be regarded as injurious: it also deserves notice that
the peculiar habitudes of _Oil of Olives_, with the _Pernitrate of
Mercury_, offer a distinguishing character, by which the adulteration of
the oil may be satisfactorily detected; for if the _pernitrate_, made by
dissolving 6 parts of the metal in 7·5 of nitric acid, of sp. grav.
1·36, at a common temperature, be mixed with olive oil, the mixture, if
kept cold, will in the course of a few hours become solid, whereas if it
has any admixture of the oil of grains, it will not undergo such a
change. The contamination derived from lead, which is frequently
immersed in the oil for the purpose of removing its rancidity, may be
detected by shaking one part of the suspected sample with three parts of
water, impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, in a stopped phial.
OLIBANUM. L.D.
Juniperus Lycia. _Gummi-resina._
Olibanum.[582]
QUALITIES. _Form_, fragments of a translucent, whitish yellow, and
generally powdered with a whitish dust, occasioned by the friction of
the pieces against each other; _Odour_, when burning is fragrant;
_Taste_, bitterish and acrid. SOLUBILITY. When triturated with water, a
milky solution results, which after some time deposits the resinous
part, and retains not more than three-eighths dissolved. Alcohol
dissolves three-fourths of it, and forms a solution perfectly
transparent. Æther dissolves more than half, leaving a white opaque
residuum soluble in water. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The latest analysis of
this substance is by _Braconnot_, who found in 100 parts of it, of
volatile oil 8, resin 56, gum 39, and of an anomalous principle
resembling gum, but insoluble in water and alcohol, 5·2 parts. The oil,
in colour and smell, very strongly resembled that of lemons. MED. USES.
It is now less used than formerly; it is however stimulant and
diaphoretic. Pulverized it enters into several popular electuaries for
gleets, fluor albus, &c. and very probably acts by finding a passage
into the urine, without undergoing any change or decomposition.
OPIUM. L.E.D. (Papaver Somniferum.) _Capsularum immaturarum Succus
concretus._ (Turcicus.)
_Turkey Opium._[583]
Two kinds are found in commerce, distinguished by the name of _Turkey_
and _East India_ Opium.
QUALITIES. _Form_, Turkey opium occurs in flat pieces, of a solid
compact texture, and possessing considerable tenacity; _Sp. gr._ 1·336,
so that, when compared with the condensed juices of other plants, it is
heavy, being exceeded only in this respect by opoponax and gum-arabic.
By long exposure to the air it becomes hard, breaks with a glimmering
fracture, owing to the presence of a few saline particles, and affords a
yellowish powder. It is opaque, tenacious, plastic, adherent to the
fingers. _Colour_, a reddish-brown, or fawn. _Odour_, peculiar, heavy,
and narcotic. _Taste_, at first a nauseous bitter, which soon becomes
acrid with some degree of warmth. It is inflammable, but yields no
narcotic odour on burning. SOLUBILITY. It is partially soluble in water,
alcohol, æther, wine, vinegar, and lemon juice; when triturated with hot
water, five parts in twelve are dissolved, six suspended, and one part
remains perfectly insoluble and resembles _gluten_. By long boiling, its
soporific powers are impaired and ultimately destroyed: the alcoholic is
more highly charged with its narcotic principle than the aqueous
solution; but spirit, rather below proof, is its best menstruum. The
watery solution when filtered is transparent, and reddens the colour of
litmus; it undergoes no change on the addition of alcohol, but
precipitates occur from _pure ammonia_ and from the _carbonates of fixed
alkalies_; from the solutions of _oxy-muriate of mercury_, _nitrate of
silver_, _sub-acetate and acetate of lead_, the _sulphates of copper,
zinc, and iron_, and from an _infusion of galls_. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
Resin, gum, bitter extractive, sulphate of lime, gluten, _Narcotine_
(_see note_) and a peculiar alkaline body, to which the soporific
virtues of opium are owing, and to which the appropriate name of
_Morphia_ has been assigned; and it appears moreover that this new
alkaline body exists in combination with an unknown acid, which has
therefore been denominated the _Meconic Acid_; so that the narcotic
principle of opium is _Morphia_ in the state of a _meconiate_, or
perhaps of a _super-meconiate_.
For these important facts we are indebted to the successive labours of
Derosne,[584] Seguin,[585] Sertuerner,[586] and Robiquet. And the French
codex contains, in its appendix, formulæ for the preparation of
morphia[587] according to the directions of these two latter chemists:
viz. _Robiquet’s_ process. Three hundred parts of pure opium are to be
macerated during five days, in one thousand parts of common water; to
the filtered solution, fifteen parts of perfectly pure magnesia
(carefully avoiding the _carbonate_,) are to be added; boil this mixture
for ten minutes, and separate the sediment by a filter, washing it with
cold water until the water passes off clear; after which, treat it
alternately with hot and cold alcohol, (12, 22, Bé.) as long as the
menstruum takes up any colouring matter; the residue is then to be
treated with boiling alcohol (22, 32, Bé.) for a few minutes. The
solution, on cooling, will deposit crystals of _Morphia_.
_Rationale of the Process._ A soluble _Meconiate of Magnesia_ is formed,
whilst the sediment consists of _Morphia_ in the state of mixture, with
the excess of magnesia; the boiling alcohol with which this residuum is
treated, exerts no action upon the magnesia, but dissolves the
_Morphia_, and on cooling surrenders it in a crystalline form. A
repetition of the treatment with boiling alcohol will procure a fresh
crop of crystals, and the process should be continued until they cease
to appear.
_Sertuerner’s_ method. It differs from the preceding, in substituting
ammonia for magnesia, and in adding to the sediment, separated as before
mentioned, as much sulphuric acid as is sufficient to convert the
_Morphia_ into a sulphate, which is subsequently decomposed by a farther
addition of ammonia; the precipitate thus produced is then dissolved in
boiling alcohol, which on cooling surrenders the _Morphia_ in a state of
crystalline purity. It appears however that the _Morphia_ produced by
this latter method, is less abundant and more impure and coloured, than
that which is furnished by the process of Robiquet.
_Characters of Morphia._ When pure, it crystallizes in very fine,
transparent, truncated pyramids, the bases of which are either squares
or rectangles, occasionally united base to base, and thereby forming
octohedra. It is sparingly soluble in boiling water, but dissolves
abundantly in heated alcohol; and the solution is intensely bitter; in
æther it is far less soluble. It has all the characters of an alkali;
affecting test papers, tinged with turmeric or violets; uniting with
acids, and forming neutral salts, and decomposing the compounds of acids
with metallic oxides. It unites with sulphur by means of heat, but the
combination is decomposed at the same instant; it is incapable of
forming soap with an oxidized oil. It fuses at a moderate temperature,
when it resembles melted sulphur, and like that substance, crystallizes
on cooling; it is decomposed by distillation, yielding carbonate of
ammonia, oil, and a black resinous residue, with a peculiar smell; when
heated in contact with air, it inflames rapidly; the voltaic pile exerts
but little action upon it, yet, when mixed with a globule of mercury,
the latter appears to become increased in bulk, and to change
consistence. When analyzed by means of the deutoxide of copper, it
yields carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; and if ammonia has been employed,
as a precipitant in its preparation, we shall also obtain some nitrogen,
but not if prepared according to the improved process of Robiquet. Its
habitudes with different bodies have not hitherto been sufficiently
investigated, but they are highly important, in as much as they will
explain the operation of those various medicinal compounds, into which
opium enters as a principal ingredient. _Sertuerner_ has given us an
account of the effect of the alcoholic solution of Morphia on himself
and three of his pupils; he found, that repeated small doses of half a
grain produced at first decided excitation; then weakness, numbness, and
tendency to fainting; after swallowing vinegar while in this condition,
violent vomiting was excited, profound sleep intervened in one delicate
individual, and next day he suffered from nausea, vomiting, head-ache,
anorexia, constipation, and heaviness (_Ann. de Chim. et de Phys_. T.
v.) This case is sufficient to shew that although Morphia possesses the
characteristic powers of opium, its strength is by no means commensurate
with its supposed concentration. When uncombined it exerts little or no
action in consequence of its insolubility. The following history of its
saline compounds may be useful.
The _Carbonate_ crystallizes in short prisms.
The _Acetate_ in needles, very soluble, and extremely active.
The _Sulphate_, in arborescent crystals, very soluble.
The _Muriate_, in plumose crystals, much less soluble; when evaporated,
it concretes into a shining white plumose mass on cooling.
The _Nitrates_, in prisms grouped together.
The _Meconiate_, in oblique prisms, sparingly soluble.
The _Tartrate_, in prisms.
Morphia is separated from the above combinations by ammonia.
Morphia is very soluble in olive oil, and according to the experiments
of M. Majendie, the compound acts with great intensity; with extractive
matter, it forms a compound which is almost insoluble in water, but very
soluble in acids.
The solubility of Morphia in acids explains why the administration of
vinegar increases the powers of opium, (_see_ page 135.) _M. Majendie_
considers Morphia to produce a more purely soporose effect than opium,
and that it is moreover exempt from the consecutive operation which so
generally renders opium objectionable. This opinion, however, has not
been confirmed by the trials made in this country; equally gratuitous is
the assertion of the same physiologist, that by ringing changes on the
salts of Morphia, its hypnotic effects may be kept up without increasing
its dose.
As _M. Majendie_ considers the _after_ effects of opium to be
independent of Morphia, it was necessary for him to point out the
particular principle from which these noxious consequences arose, and he
accordingly ascribed them to the _Salt of Derosne_, now more usually
denominated _Narcotine_, and which may be entirely removed from the
extract of opium by macerating it in sulphuric æther; and in this way,
it is said, a preparation is obtained, which, like Morphia, is exempt
from the occasional bad consequences of the common drug; but no
satisfactory trials have as yet been made with it.
The _Meconic acid_, when separated from the residuum of the magnesian
salt, as described above, does not appear to possess any medicinal
activity. Its distinguishing _chemical_ character is, that it produces
an intensely red colour in solutions of iron oxidized _ad maximum_.
EAST INDIA OPIUM is an inferior species;[588] it differs from _Turkey
Opium_, in its _texture_ being less compact, and much softer; its
_colour_ darker; its narcotic _odour_ fainter, but combined with a
strong empyreuma, and in its _taste_ being more bitter, but less
acrimonious. According to the experiments of Mr. A. T. Thomson, _Turkey
Opium_ contains three times more morphia than the _East Indian_ variety.
This latter, when triturated with water, is taken up without any
residuum; hence it contains no gluten, but the sulphate of lime is more
abundant, as appears from the relative proportion of precipitate
produced by oxalic acid. The solution of the acetate of barytes, whilst
it occasions no disturbance in the solutions of the Turkey variety,
produces a copious precipitate with the East Indian.
MED. USES. Are so well known that a few practical remarks will
suffice.[589]
Chemistry, it appears, has developed the principle of its activity, and
accumulated experience has established the value and importance of its
medicinal applications, but Physiology is still unable to demonstrate
the manner in which it produces its effects. It must be admitted that
its primary operation is that of a powerful and diffusible stimulant,
but it is immediately followed by narcotic and sedative effects, which
are far greater than could have been inferred from the degree of
previous excitement, and hence much keen controversy has arisen in the
schools concerning its _modus operandi_, (_see_ page 76.) In large
doses, the primary excitement is scarcely apparent, but the powers of
life are instantly depressed, drowsiness and stupor succeed, and when
the dose is excessive, these are followed by delirium, stertorous
breathing, cold sweats, convulsions, and apoplectic death. Its stimulant
effects are apparent only in small doses, by which the energy of the
mind,[590] the strength of the pulse, and the heat of the body, are
considerably increased, but all the secretions and excretions, except
the cuticular[591] discharge, are diminished; for example, the fæces of
persons, after the use of opium, are not unfrequently clay-coloured,
from the suspension of the biliary secretion; this circumstance suggests
some important precautions with respect to its exhibition. Opium, when
properly directed, is capable of fulfilling two great indications; 1st,
of supporting the powers of life, and 2nd, of allaying spasm, pain, and
irritation, and of blunting that morbid susceptibility of impression,
which so frequently attends fever. Its use is contra-indicated in all
cases where inflammatory action prevails, as in pulmonary affections,
attended with an accelerated circulation and a dry hard cough.[592] It
is employed by some of the oriental nations for the same purposes that
we take spirituous potations: by the Turks especially, to whom our more
generous beverages are prohibited by religious prejudice, opium is
solicited to inspire courage, or to invigorate fortitude;—to soothe
sorrow;—or to dissipate the remembrance of misfortune;—to awaken the
fancy to more brilliant exertions; or to create that mild composure and
serenity of feeling, which is desirable after the cares and solicitudes
of an active, perplexing, and arduous scene: like spirituous liquors
among other people, it is, in short, the support of the coward,—the
solace of the wretched,—and the daily source of intoxication to the
debauchee. Notwithstanding all this, spirit and opium are by no means
parallel medicines; on the contrary, the latter substance offers the
best remedy for the _Mania a Potu_, and in cases of habitual drunkenness
from alcohol, where our wish is to abstract the spirit, but are for
obvious reasons unable so to do, we may frequently alternate its use
with that of opium, with considerable advantage. Many of the beneficial
effects of this remedy are to be referred to its power of allaying
irritability; Sir G. Blane has remarked, that in ill-conditioned ulcers
in the West Indies, opium was found superior to all other internal
medicines for producing a disposition to heal. Under the free use of it,
such ulcers would in place of a sanious discharge produce a healthy puss
succeeded by granulations and cicatrization. It appears to do this by
suspending irritation, and perhaps by promoting absorption.
In combination, the medical powers of opium are wonderfully extended, so
that there is scarcely a disease in which it may not, during some of its
stages, be rendered useful. By diminishing the sensibility of the
stomach and bowels, it becomes a valuable and efficacious _corrigent_ to
many important medicines, and thus frequently favours their absorption
and introduction into the system, as for instance, in the exhibition of
mercurial alteratives, (_Form. 141,_) and in certain diuretic
combinations, (_Form. 100, 106, 107, 110,_) in combination with
antimonials, and with ipecacuan, its narcotic powers are obviated, and
sudorific results are obtained. See _Pulv. Ipecac. co_. (_Form. 117,
119, 124, 125, 127, 130._) FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In substance, or under
the form of tincture. When we wish to continue the operation of opium,
and not to obtain its full effect at once, it may be advantageously
combined with some substance capable of retarding its solution in the
stomach, as _gum resins_. See _Pilulæ_ and _Form. 10, 11, 12, 13_. A
watery infusion, made by infusing powdered opium in boiling water, will
often operate without producing that distressing nausea and head-ache
which so frequently follow the use of this substance. With respect,
however, to the best modes of correcting the operation of this remedy,
see pages 160 and 162. Dr. Porter of Bristol has introduced to our
notice a solution of opium in citric acid; his formula[593] for its
preparation is subjoined, because I am of opinion that it merits the
attention of the practitioner; I have lately submitted it to the test of
experience, and it certainly possesses the merit of a powerful anodyne,
operating with less disturbance than the more ordinary forms of this
substance. I also take this opportunity of stating, that the
_pyroligneous acid_ manufactured by Beaufoy was used as a menstruum, and
the effect of the solution was similar to that of Dr. Porter. When the
stomach rejects altogether the internal exhibition of opium it may be
successfully applied along the spine, by friction, with the camphor
liniment; a piece of solid opium introduced into the rectum, or
dissolved in some appropriate solvent, and injected as an enema, affords
also considerable relief in spasmodic affections of the bowels, and in
painful diseases of the prostate gland, or bladder, (_Form. 9._) When
thus introduced into the rectum, it cannot undergo that change which the
digestive organs produce upon it, and consequently it is more uniform in
its action than when presented to the stomach. Opium appears to be
readily absorbed into the system, when applied to the surfaces of sores;
considerable relief has been thus afforded to irritable stumps, after
amputation, on which occasions, all the characteristic effects of opium
have been produced upon the system, such as costiveness, head-ache,
nausea, &c. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Oxy-muriate of mercury_; _acetate
of lead_; _alkalies_; _infusions of galls_, and _of yellow cinchona_.
Orfila states that the decoction of _Coffee_ is less energetic as an
antidote, than the infusion. When we intend the opium to act as a
sedative, we should not combine it with stimulants. The Edinburgh
College certainly erred in this respect, when they made pepper an
ingredient in their _Pilulæ Opiatæ_. In combination with vegetable
acids, its narcotic powers are increased, in consequence of the
formation of soluble salts with _morphia_.[594] When the opium however
has passed out of the primæ viæ, vinegar and acids are then the best
remedies for counteracting its effects; (see _page 136_.) _Dose_, must
be varied according to the intention of the prescriber, the constitution
of the patient, and the nature of the disease. A quarter of a grain,
frequently repeated, will keep up its exhilarating influence; (_Form.
15_) from gr. j to ij acts as a narcotic; its power on the system soon
becomes weaker; and from habitual use it is so much impaired that very
large doses are required to produce its usual effects. Russell observes
that the effects of opium on those addicted to its use, are at first
obstinate costiveness, succeeded by diarrhœa and flatulence, with loss
of appetite and a sottish appearance; the teeth decay, the memory fails,
and the unhappy sufferer prematurely sinks into the grave. OFFICINAL
PREP. Gr. j of opium is contained in _Confect. Opii_. L. grs. 36.
_Elect. Opii_. E. grs. 43. _Elect. Catechu_. E. grs. 193. (=F.=) _Elect.
Catechu. comp_. D. grs. 199. (=F.=) _Pil. Saponis cum opio_. L. grs. 5.
_Pil. Opiat_. E. grs. 10. _Pil. e Styrace_. D. grs. 5. _Pulv. Corn. ust.
cum Opio_. L. grs. 10. _Pulv. Cret. comp, cum Opio_. L. grs. 40. _Pulv.
Ipecac. comp_. L.E. grs. 10. (=H.=) _Pulv. Kino. comp_. L. grs. 20.
(=F.=) _Tinct. Opii_. L. ♏︎19. _Tinct. Camphor. comp_. L. f℥ss. _Tinct.
Opii ammon_. E. fʒj. _Troch. Glycyrr. cum Opio_. E. ʒj. _Vinum Opii_. L.
♏︎17. The Medicinal Dynameter will at once shew the quantity of opium in
any proportion of the above preparations. ADULTERATIONS. The _Turkey
Opium_, when good, is covered with leaves, and the reddish capsules of
some species of _rumex_; the inferior kinds have none of these capsules
adhering to them. It is frequently adulterated with the extract of
liquorice; it should be regarded as bad when it is very soft and
friable, of an intensely black colour, or mixed with many impurities,
when it has a sweetish taste, or marks paper with a brown continuous
streak when drawn across it, or when it melts like wax, and makes a
yellow solution in water. It frequently happens that in cutting a mass
of opium, bullets and stones have been found imbedded in it, a fraud
which is committed by the Turks, from which the retailer alone suffers.
It is also adulterated with the extract of poppy capsules, or of the
whole plant; with that of _chelidonium majus_, with gum arabic or
tragacanth, with the oil of linseed, and even with the dung of oxen.
OVUM. L. (Phasianus Gallus. _Ovum._)
_The Egg of the Domestic Fowl._
VITELLUS, The _Yolk_ or _Yelk_, is principally employed in
pharmaceutical operations, for rendering oils and balsams miscible with
water. It is gently laxative.
_Oleum e vitellis_, Oil of Eggs. Obtained by boiling the yelks, and then
submitting them to pressure; fifty eggs yield about 5 oz. of oil. It is
introduced into the Paris Pharmacopœia, being much employed on the
Continent for _killing_ mercury.
ALBUMEN. Used principally for clarifying turbid liquors.
TESTA. Similar to other absorbents.
OXYMEL SIMPLEX. L.D. MEL ACETATUM. P.L. 1787.
_Simple Oxymel._[595]
This composition of honey and acetic acid has been long valued on
account of its detergent qualities, and has accordingly been much used
as the basis of gargles, and expectorant remedies.
OXYMEL SCILLÆ. L. D. OXYMEL SCILLITICUM. P.L. 1720. 1745.
OXYMEL OF SQUILLS.
This preparation certainly possesses considerable powers as an
expectorant; especially if allowed to pass slowly over the fauces, as
when applied in the form of a linctus, (_Form: 135,_) which by
stimulating the top of the trachea may possibly act, by a kind of
“_contiguous sympathy_,” upon the pulmonary structure,[596] and thereby
increase the activity of the exhalant vessels, and so dilute the mucus
contained in the follicles as to cause it to be poured out in a less
viscid form, and consequently in a state to be more easily brought up by
expectoration. Its action will also admit of another explanation, but
for this see page 102. DOSE from fʒss to fʒij. In larger doses it is
given for the purpose of exciting vomiting, especially in hooping cough.
PAPAVERIS CAPSULÆ. L.E.D.
(Papaver Somniferum. _Capsulæ Maturæ._)
_Poppy Capsules_, or _Poppy heads_.
These capsules are employed in medicine for the purpose of affording a
decoction, to be applied as an anodyne fomentation, see _Decoctum
Papaveris_, and as a syrup of hypnotic qualities, see _Syrupus
Papaveris_.
The seeds of the poppy capsules are not directly used for any medicinal
purposes, but they yield a fixed oil which is daily met with in the
market, and is frequently used to adulterate _Olive Oil_, which see. As
an article of trade it is considered very inferior to the other fixed
oils; it burns very badly, and yields a great quantity of smoke. To the
pharmaceutic chemist it is an article of interest from the controversies
to which it has given origin.[597]
PILULÆ L.E.D. _Pills._
For general instructions respecting the formation and administration of
pills, the practitioner must refer to the _first part_ of this work,
_page 193_.
OFFICINAL PILLS.
PILULÆ ALOES COMPOSITÆ. L. Extract of Aloes, _two parts_, extract of
gentian, (=G=) _one part_, with oil of carraway; (=E=) to which syrup is
unnecessarily added. It is a useful pill in habitual costiveness.
_Dose_, grs. x to ℈j.
PILULÆ ALOES ET ASSAFŒTIDÆ. E. Powdered aloes, assafœtida (=G=) and
soap, (=L=) _equal parts_. Anodyne and cathartic; a very useful
combination in dyspepsia attended with flatulence. _Dose_, grs. x.
PILULÆ ALOES CUM MYRRHA. L. _Pilulæ Rufi._ P.L. 1745. Extract of Aloë,
_two parts_, saffron and myrrh, (=E=) _one part_, syrup, q. s. This is a
very ancient form of preparation, and is described by Rhazes. It is
stimulant and cathartic. (_Form: 11, 81, 98, 99._) _Dose_, grs. x to
℈j.[598]
PILULÆ ALOES CUM COLOCYNTHIDE. E. This pill is known by the popular name
of _Pil. Cocciæ_, κοκκὶον signifies a seed, and the term was first
applied to this preparation by Rhazes. It consists of _eight parts_ of
aloes and scammony; _four_ of colocynth; and _one part_ of oil of
cloves, (=E=) and of sulphate of potass with sulphur, olim _Sal
Polycrest_. It is more powerful in its operation than the simple aloetic
pills.
PILULÆ CAMBOGIÆ COMPOSITÆ. L. Gamboge, extract of aloe, and compound
powder of cinnamon _one part_; soap _two parts_; see _page 172_, and
_Form: 88_.
PILULÆ FERRI COMPOSITÆ. L. This combination is analogous to that of
Griffith’s mixture. _Dose_, gr. x to ℈j. _Form: 99._ They become
extremely hard by keeping. If the practitioner consult the MEDICINAL
DYNAMETER, he will observe that in order to give the same quantity of
Proto-carbonate of Iron as is contained in f℥iss of _Mist: Ferri comp:_
he must direct ℈j of this pill mass; which quantities will be seen to
contain, respectively, a grain and seven tenths of this of the
proto-carbonate, or, one grain of Protoxide, which is equivalent. It is
doubtful whether the former preparation will not prove more active, in
consequence of the saponaceous vehicle formed by the Myrrh and alkali in
a state of solution.
PILULÆ GALBANI COMPOSITÆ. L. _Pil. Gummosæ_, _P.L._ 1745. We are here
presented with a combination of fœtid gums, in which assafœtida is the
most potent article. Antispasmodic, and emmenagogue. _Dose_, grs. x to
℈j. See _Form: 10, 27, 98_.
PILULÆ HYDRARGYRI. L.E.D. _Pil. Mercuriales_. P.L. 1745, vulgo, The
_Blue Pill_. The mercury in this preparation, is not, as it was formerly
considered, in a state of mere mechanical division, but in that of a
black oxide, upon which its activity as a remedy undoubtedly depends;
for mercury in its metallic state is entirely inert with regard to the
living system. Various substances have at different times been
triturated with the mercury, for the purpose of _extinguishing_ or
_killing_ it, by effecting the mechanical division and subsequent
oxidation of its particles, as manna, melasses, &c. _Conserve of Roses_
is now generally preferred for this purpose, although Swediaur suspects
that the astringent principle of this conserve invalidates the effects
of the mercury, “I have,” says he, “given these pills to several
patients for a long time, without any symptom of salivation.” Mr.
Abernethy observes in his surgical works, that the _Pilulæ Hydrargyri_
are uncertain in their effects; and that some of the students at the
hospital on examining them, and different parcels of the conserve of
roses, say that the sulphuric acid may be discovered in each. Nor is it
improbable that in making the conserve for sale, some of this acid may
be added to brighten the colour; and if so, the mercurial pill which is
made from it may contain in varying proportions, some of that highly
deleterious compound, the _sub-sulphate of mercury_. When any of the
gums are employed for _killing_ the metal, the pills soon become hard
and brittle, and after some time the mercury is liable to run into its
metallic state. The pill-mass, when rendered thinner by the addition of
a little water, and extended on a piece of paper, ought not to exhibit
any metallic globules; in this examination, however, we must be careful
not to be betrayed by the fallacious appearance which is frequently
presented by small crystals of saccharine matter. The relative
proportion of mercury contained in the mass can be ascertained only by
its weight. The _blue pill_ is made at Apothecaries’ Hall by a very
ingenious machine actuated by steam, and which rubs as well as rolls the
materials, and it is said the pill thus made is more active than that
produced in the ordinary way. MED. USES. It is by far the best form for
the internal exhibition of mercury; where it is intended to act upon the
system as an alterative, it should be administered in doses of from grs.
iv to vj; if it occasion any action on the bowels, it may be conjoined
with opium; sometimes a few grains of rhubarb, exhibited every morning,
will impart such a tone to the intestines, as to enable them to resist
the mercurial irritation. In cases where the form of pill is
objectionable, it may be readily suspended by the aid of mucilage, in
some aqueous vehicle; when exhibited in doses of grs. x to ℈j, it acts
as a mild but efficient purgative. _Form: 79, 106._ One grain of mercury
is contained in three grains of the mass; the proportion of metal, or
oxide, in any other given quantity, is shewn at once by the Dynameter.
For the specific effects of mercury, see _Ung. Hydrarg_.
PILULÆ HYDRARGYRI SUB-MURIATIS COMPOSITÆ. L.E. Olim _Plummer’s Pills_.
They consist of _one part_ of calomel and precipitated sulphuret of
antimony (=H=) and _two parts_ of guaiac (=E=) made into form with
spirit. It is a very useful alterative, especially in cutaneous
eruptions and in secondary syphilitic symptoms, particularly when
affecting the skin. _Dose_, grs. v to x. Should their exhibition affect
the bowels, the addition of a small proportion of Opium may be added.
PILULÆ OPIATÆ. E. Opium _one part_; extract of liquorice, _seven parts_;
Jamaica pepper, _two parts_. It is however a compound of questionable
propriety.
PILULÆ RHEI COMPOSITÆ. E. Rhubarb, Aloes, and myrrh, with oil of
peppermint. When such a combination is indicated, it is better to
prescribe it extemporaneously: for the mass, by being kept, will become
less efficacious.
PILULÆ SAPONIS CUM OPIO. L. _Pil. Opii_. P.L. 1787. By substituting soap
for extract of liquorice, these pills are now rendered more soluble in
the stomach, and are consequently more efficient. Five grains contain
one of opium.
PILULÆ SCILLÆ COMPOSITÆ. L. A stimulating expectorant: but as squill is
always impaired by keeping, it ought to be considered as an
extemporaneous combination. It is surely injudicious thus to multiply
our officinal formulæ, but it is difficult, on such occasions, to run
counter to popular opinion. _Form: 104._
PIMENTÆ BACCÆ. L.E. Pimento. D.
Myrtus Pymenta. _Baccæ._
_Pimenta Berries._ _Jamaica Pepper._ _All-spice._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, aromatic and agreeable, combining that of cinnamon,
cloves, and nutmegs; hence the term _all_-spice. _Taste_, warm and
pungent, resembling that of cloves. These qualities reside principally
in the cortical part of the berry. CHEMICAL COMP: It contains a volatile
oil, very like that of cloves, resin, extractive, tannin, and gallic
acid. SOLUBILITY. Water, alcohol, and æther, extract its virtues. MED.
USES. Principally to cover the disagreeable taste of other remedies; it
is also a very useful adjunct to dyspeptic medicines. OFFICINAL PREP.
_Aq. Piment_. L.E.D. _Ol. Piment_. L.E.D. _Pil. Opiat_. E. _Syrup.
Rhamni_. L. (=E=)
PIPERIS LONGI BACCÆ. L.E.D.
_Long Pepper._
The chemical and medicinal properties of this substance are similar to
those of black pepper; _which see_. The varieties in the market are
distinguished by the names _short_ long pepper, and _long_ long pepper.
The native practitioners of India prescribe it in infusion, mixed with a
little honey, as a remedy in catarrhal affections, when the chest is
loaded with phlegm.
PIPERIS NIGRI BACCÆ. L.E.D.
_Black Pepper._
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. An oily matter, fecula, and extractive; the acrid
principle of Pepper has been separated by Oersted in an alkaline form.
The following was the process by which it was procured. The pepper
having been digested in alcohol, muriatic acid and afterwards water were
added to the tincture, by which the resin was precipitated, while a
_muriate of Pipera_ remained in solution. The solution was then, after
having been submitted to a certain evaporation, decomposed by pure
potass, when a precipitation of _Pipera_ took place. This salifiable
base is nearly insoluble in cold, and only very slightly soluble in
boiling water. It dissolves in alcohol, and the solution has a
greenish-yellow colour, which by the addition of nitric acid is rendered
green. The capacity of the base for saturation appears very small.
SOLUBILITY. The virtues of pepper are entirely extracted by æther and
alcohol; and partially by water, 550 pints being required to extract all
the sapidity of ℔j of pepper. MED. USES. It appears to be a more general
and permanent stimulus than other species of equal pungency on the
palate; it may be combined with bitters, and exhibited in nausea,
dyspepsia, retrocedent gout, or as a stimulant in paralysis; it is also
a valuable coadjutor to bark, in obstinate intermittents. An infusion
made with black pepper that has been toasted, is often prescribed by the
natives of India in cases of cholera morbus; and I have known it, says
Dr. Ainslie, put a stop to the vomiting when many other remedies had
failed. DOSE, grs. v to ℈j, or more. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Emplast.
Meloes vesicat. comp_. E. _Unguent. piper. nig_. D. _White_ pepper is
made by separating the first skin of the berry, by soaking it in salt
and water. ADULTERATIONS. The powdered husk of the mustard seed is
universally mixed with powdered pepper, and is regularly sold for this
purpose by the mustard manufacturer, under the technical title of P.D.
(_Pepper Dust_;) there are besides other admixtures less
innocent.—_Whole Pepper_ is also frequently factitious; artificial
pepper-corns, composed of peas-meal, both white and black, are mixed
with real pepper-corns, and sold as genuine pepper; the method of
detecting the fraud is very simple; throw a suspected sample into water;
those that are artificial will fall to powder, or be partially
dissolved, while the true pepper-corns will remain whole.
PIX ABIETINA.[599] L. (_Pinus Abies. Resina Præparata._)
PIX BURGUNDICA. E.D. _Burgundy Pitch._
This substance is procured by making incisions through the bark of the
Norway Spruce fir, and afterwards boiling the flakes so obtained in
water, and then straining the resin through coarse cloths under a press;
whereas _frankincense_ (Abietis resina) is a spontaneous exudation from
it. It is now entirely confined to external use, as a rubefacient spread
on leather; it is very adhesive. _Emplast: Picis comp_. L. _Emplast:
Picis Burgund_. D. ADULTERATIONS. A factitious sort, manufactured in
England, is often met with; it is to be distinguished by its friability,
and its want of viscidity and unctuosity, and by the absence of that
peculiar odour which characterises the genuine specimens.
PIX LIQUIDA. L.E.D. (Pinus Sylvestris.) _Tar._
This fluid is formed from the decomposition of the resinous juice of the
pine, during the slow and smothered combustion of its branches, and as a
summary definition of the substance, that by Pliny cannot be surpassed,
“_Pix nihil aliud quam combustæ resinæ fluxus._” _Lib. 23. c. 1._
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is found to consist of empyreumatic oil, resin,
acetic acid, and some salts. SOLUBILITY. Water readily dissolves a
portion of Tar, and forms a solution of the colour of Madeira wine, with
a sharp empyreumatic taste. MED. USES. Tar water, under the auspices of
Bishop Berkley, was formerly considered a remedy of extraordinary
powers;[600] this opinion however has at length passed away, (_see page
27_.) and Tar is now particularly indebted for a place in the Materia
Medica, to an essay by Sir Alexander Crichton, entitled, “_An Account of
some Experiments made with the Vapour of boiling Tar,[601] in the cure
of Pulmonary Consumption_.” At the request of Sir Alexander, I was
induced to make a trial of its effects, and I do not feel any hesitation
in stating that the result has led me to believe that it may, in some
cases, be attended with benefit. In the application of the remedy
several precautions are necessary for its success. The Tar employed
should be that used in the cordage of ships; to every pound of which
half an ounce of sub-carbonate of potass must be added, in order to
neutralize the pyroligneous acid generally found mixed with the tar, the
presence of which will necessarily excite coughing; the tar thus
prepared is to be placed in a suitable vessel over a lamp, and to be
kept _slowly_ boiling in the chamber during the night as well as the
day; the vessel however ought to be cleaned and replenished every
twenty-four hours, otherwise the residuum may be burnt and decomposed, a
circumstance which will occasion increased cough and oppression on the
chest. The ancients entertained a high opinion of the efficacy of Tar in
pulmonary diseases, when internally administered; supposing it to
promote expectoration, relieve dyspnæa, and check spitting of blood;
Dioscorides particularly speaks of its utility in such cases; he also
recommends it to be applied to ulcers, which he says it fills up and
heals, whether they be situated on the surface of the body, or in the
ears, throat, and other internal parts. See the chapter on
“_Inhalations_,” _page 202_. OFFICINAL PREP. _Unguent._ _Picis Liquidæ._
L.
PLUMBI SUB-CARBONAS. L.
CARBONAS PLUMBI, vulgo _Cerussa_. E.
CERUSSA, _Sub-acetas Plumbi_. D.
_Cerusse_, or _White Lead_.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The composition of this substance has not until
lately been well understood, and hence the different appellations
bestowed upon it by the different colleges. SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble
in water, but soluble in pure potass. USES. It is only employed
externally, by sprinkling on excoriated parts; the safety of such a
practice however is questionable. OFFICINAL PREP. _Unguent._ _Ceruss._
D. _Plumbi Acetas_ L.E.D. (=K=) ADULTERATIONS. _Chalk_ may be detected
by assaying its solution in cold acetic acid with oxalate of ammonia;
_Carbonate of barytes_, by adding to a portion of the same solution,
sulphate of soda very largely diluted with distilled water; and
_Sulphate of barytes_, or _Sulphate of lead_, by the insolubility of the
white lead in boiling distilled vinegar.
PLUMBI OXYDUM SEMI-VITREUM. L.E.
LITHARGYRUM. D. _Litharge_.[602]
It is a yellow protoxide of lead, which has been melted and left to
crystallize by cooling. It is only employed in pharmacy for forming
other preparations of lead, and the following officinal plasters,
_Emplast._ _Plumbi_, L. E.D. _Ceratum Saponis_. L. It is added to wines
to remove their acidity; for the detection of which, evaporate the
suspected liquor to a thick fluid, add charcoal, and calcine in a
crucible: in the space of an hour metallic points will be obtained,
consisting of lead surrounded by a quantity of yellow protoxide.
PLUMBI ACETAS. L.
_Cerussa Acetata._ P. L. 1787. _Saccharum Saturni._ 1745.
ACETAS PLUMBI. E. Acetas Plumbi. D.
vulgo, Sugar of Lead.
QUALITIES. _Form_, irregular masses resembling lumps of sugar, being an
aggregation of acicular four-sided prisms terminated by dihedral
summits, which are slightly efflorescent; by careful crystallization, it
may be obtained in quadrangular prisms. _Taste_, sweet and astringent.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Although it has been termed a _Super_-acetate, it
appears to be a neutral salt, and that its power of reddening valuable
blues is attributable to a partial decomposition; for when dissolved in
water containing the least portion of carbonic acid, a white carbonate
of lead is precipitated, and a corresponding portion of acetic acid is
necessarily disengaged. The College have therefore now designated it as
an _acetate_. According to the experiments of Berzelius, this salt, in
its anhydrous state, consists of one proportional of acetic acid, and
one proportional of oxide of lead; so that the proportion of the
metallic base is one-third of that in the _sub_-acetate. SOLUBILITY. It
is dissolved in 25 parts of water, hot or cold; it is also soluble in
alcohol. When common water is employed the solution is quite turbid,
unless a small proportion of acetic acid be previously added.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _The alkalies, alkaline earths and their
carbonates_; _most of the acids_; _alum_; _borax_; the _sulphates, and
muriates_; _soaps_; _all sulphurets_; _ammoniated, and tartarized iron_;
_tartarized antimony_; _undistilled water_. The solution of _acetate of
ammonia_ decomposes that of this salt, in consequence of the carbonic
acid which is generally diffused through it. It has lately been
discovered that _Gallic acid_ and _Tannin_ are capable of combining with
lead in solution, and of forming a perfectly insoluble substance, which
falls to the bottom of the vessel; hence all vegetable astringents must
be considered as incompatible with this medicine. On this account,
liquors which have been kept in oak casks,[603] for a certain time, must
be freed from lead. This explains a fact, with respect to the effect of
new rum in the West Indies, of some importance. This spirit, when newly
distilled, is found to contain traces of lead, derived from the leaden
rims of the coppers, and the leaden worm, used for its condensation;
but, by being kept about twelve months in oaken casks, it loses its
deleterious properties, and no longer exhibits any traces of this
metal.[604] Certain bodies appear likewise to be incompatible with the
compounds of lead, not from the _chemical_ changes they induce, but from
the contrary effects they produce upon the body; thus mercury appears to
invalidate their powers and to counteract their effects, as we may have
observed in treating saturnine cholic. I suspect also that antimony
operates in the same manner; M. Merat relates the case of an apothecary
who was cured of a desperate saturnine cholic, after having taken, in
the course of eight days, eighty grains of tartarized antimony. MED.
USES. I feel no hesitation in pronouncing this salt of lead to be one of
the most valuable resources of physic; from the results of numerous
cases, I state with confidence that it is more efficient in stopping
pulmonary and uterine hemorrhage, than any other known remedy—“_nil
simile, nec secundum_,”—and that its application is equally safe and
manageable; but it must not be combined with substances capable of
decomposing it, nor must it be simultaneously administered with the
medicines which are frequently prescribed in conjunction with it, as an
_Infusion of Roses_, _Sulphate of Magnesia_, &c. Alum has also been in
some cases added to it, with the intention of increasing its
astringency. It is evident that under such circumstances an insoluble
and inert _Sulphate of Lead_ will be produced. The experiments of Orfila
confirm the truth of these views, and shew that such substances act as
counter-poisons for the salts of lead. According to my experience, those
vegetable acids which decompose the acetate of lead, and form insoluble
salts with its base, are not _medically_ incompatible, when administered
simultaneously with it, although no scientific physician would prescribe
such a mixture; this fact is shewn by the circumstance of potations,
containing malic and tartaric[605] acids, not having been found to
invalidate the efficacy of this salt. Whether the stomach in the first
instance prevents the decomposition, and its necessary results, or
allows the operation of the usual affinities, and then subsequently
decomposes the insoluble compound which results from them, by the
abstraction and _digestion_ of its vegetable constituent, are questions
for future inquiry, when the laws of gastric chemistry shall be better
understood, and more justly appreciated. I have also seen much benefit
accrue from this medicine in protracted diarrhœa, when it has checked
the bowels more effectually even than opium. M. Gaspard has communicated
to the public, through the medium of _Majendie’s Journal de
Physiologie_, (3 numéro Juillet, 1821,) a paper upon the operation of
_Acetate of Lead_, entitled “_Experiences Physiologiques et Medicales
sur L’Acetate de Plomb_,” in which he asserts that this metallic salt
cannot be administered without risk in any dose, unless indeed it be
given in vehicles which decompose it, and which, he adds, appears
generally to have happened in the prescriptions of those who have given
it extensively. He observes, that “it produces a slow and peculiar
inflammation of the bowels, as well as of the lungs; and that it,
moreover, occasions _Cholica Pictonum_.” No one, I apprehend, will deny
the poisonous quality of acetate of lead, any more than that of arsenic;
and yet both may, by proper management, be rendered therapeutical agents
of value and safety. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In that of pill, guarded by
opium; it will be prudent to recommend an abstinence from all potation,
except that of cold water, or draughts, composed of diluted acetic acid,
for at least an hour after the ingestion of the pill.[606] DOSE, gr. ½
to gr. j. _Form. 57._ OFFICINAL PREP. _Cerat. Plumb. acetat_. L.[607]
PODOPHYLLUM PELTATUM.
_May Apple._ _Radix._
[This plant is found in almost every part of the United States in low
and moist situations. It flowers in May and June, and the root is the
only part used in medicine. By analysis this is found to contain resin,
bitter extractive, fœcula, and a slight proportion of a gummy substance.
The root of the May Apple is an excellent active cathartic, operating in
a manner very similar to the common Julap. It is given in powder, in
doses of about grs. xx. The proper period for collecting the root for
medicinal purposes is the autumn, when the leaves of the plant have
turned yellow. It should be carefully dried and then pulverized.]
POTASSA CUM CALCE. L.E.
KALI CAUSTICUM CUM CALCE. D.
The addition of lime to potass renders it less deliquescent, and more
manageable, as an escharotic.
POTASSA FUSA. L.
POTASSA. E. KALI CAUSTICUM. D.
_Lapis infernalis_. P.L. 1720.
QUALITIES. _Form_, a white brittle substance, extremely caustic and
deliquescent, and possessing in an eminent degree all the properties
denominated _alkaline_. SOLUBILITY. f℥j of water dissolves ʒvij; it is
also soluble in alcohol. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. This preparation,
independent of its impurities, is the _hydrated protoxide of potassium_,
although in the state in which it is cast into sticks it generally
contains a little _Peroxide_,[608] and therefore evolves oxygen when
dissolved in water. MED. USES. It is a most powerful caustic (_causticum
commune acerrimum_), and is frequently employed to establish an ulcer;
or, instead of incision, to open a tumour. It has the advantage of other
caustics, from the circumstance of our being able to neutralize its
powers by touching it with vinegar, and thus to arrest its progress in
an instant; it is however more liable to produce a large eschar than
nitrate of silver, in consequence of the chemical action of the alkali
upon the skin. Within the last few years, surgeons have greatly
preferred the use of this caustic to that of _nitrate of silver_, in
cases of organic stricture of the urethra, as acting more powerfully,
and yet occasioning less irritation than the latter substance; it is
also said that the part which it destroys is sooner detached and more
easily eliminated. Its disposition, however, to extend its sphere of
action has occasioned such a destruction of the membrane as to allow the
urine to pass into the cellular substance, by which very serious effects
have been produced. For this reason there are cases in which the
_nitrate of silver_ is still to be preferred. As an internal remedy it
is only employed in solution. See _Liquor Potassæ_.[609]
POTASSÆ ACETAS. L. ACETAS POTASSÆ. E.
ACETAS KALI. D. _Kali Acetatum._ P.L. 1787.—_Sal diureticus._ P.L.
1745.—_Terra foliata Tartari._—_Sal Sennerti._—_Magisterium Purgans
Tartari._—_Sal Essentiale vini._ _Oleum Tartari Sennerti._—_Sal
digestivus Sylvii, &c._
QUALITIES. _Form_, masses of a foliated, laminar texture, extremely
deliquescent; _Odour_, slight and peculiar; _Taste_, sharp and pungent.
SOLUBILITY. f℥j of distilled water at 60° dissolves 404 grains, or 100
parts of it are soluble in 105 parts of water; the solution soon
undergoes spontaneous decomposition; it is soluble in four times its
weight of alcohol.—CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It consists of one proportional
of each of its components, or 48 potass and 50 acetic acid. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. It is decomposed by _tamarinds_ and _most sub-acid fruits_;
by almost every acid, as well as every variety of neutral salt, whether
_alkaline_, _acid_, or _metallic_. MED. USES. In small doses, diuretic;
in larger ones, mildly cathartic. Dose, ℈j to ʒj to produce the former,
ʒij to ʒiij to excite the latter of these effects. FORMS OF EXHIBITION.
On account of its deliquescent property it is not admissible in powders
or pills, but should be always exhibited in solution. (_Form. 108, 110,
111._) In the former editions of this work, I introduced under the
present article, those views regarding the operation of saline bodies
upon the kidneys, and their decomposition by the digestive organs, which
I considered as capable of throwing some light upon the medicinal
operation of these bodies. Having, however, in the present edition of my
work devoted a chapter to the consideration of Diuretics, I have
necessarily removed all my general observations upon this subject to
that part of the work; I therefore entreat the reader to refer to the
first part, page 93. Alibert, in speaking of the diuretic virtues of
this salt, says that it is so well suited to the sensibility of the
Absorbents that its administration is frequently followed by very
salutary effects. (_Elémens de Thérapeutique_, _vol._ i. _p. 327_.)
ADULTERATIONS. _Tartrate of potass_ is discovered by adding a solution
of tartaric acid, which will occasion with it a copious precipitate; the
_sulphates_, by their forming with acetate of lead, or muriate of
baryta, precipitates insoluble in acetic or muriatic acid. The brown
tinge which it frequently exhibits depends upon the same cause as that
which usually imparts colour to the _Liquor. Ammon. Acet._ This salt is
also sometimes contaminated with _lead_, which arises from its having
been prepared by decomposing the _acetate of lead_ by means of
_carbonate of potass_.
POTASSÆ CARBONAS. L.E.
_Carbonate of Potass._
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals which are four-sided prisms with dihedral
summits, permanent in the air; _Taste_, slightly alkaline without
acrimony. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a _bi-carbonate_, consisting of
two proportionals of carbonic acid and one proportional of potass; and
in its crystalline form, it also contains water equal to one
proportional. SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in 4 parts of cold, and in ⅚ths
of its weight of boiling water, in which it is partially decomposed,
carbonic acid being emitted during the solution; it is quite insoluble
in alcohol. MED. USES. In cases where an alkali is indicated, this
preparation offers an agreeable and efficient remedy; and experience has
shewn that its additional proportion of carbonic acid does not in the
least invalidate its alkaline agency. In disordered states of the
digestive functions, alkalies frequently act with surprising effect; in
calculous affections their value has been already noticed (see _Liquor
Potassæ_), and the stomach appears to bear the protracted exhibition of
the carbonate of potass or soda, with more temper than it does that of
any other alkaline combination; and on account of the increased quantity
of carbonic acid which this salt contains, it is preferable for
effervescing draughts. (See _Acid. Citric._ and _Form. 123, 168_.)
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Acids_ and _acidulous salts_; _borax_;
_muriate of ammonia_; _acetate of ammonia_; _alum_; _sulphate of
magnesia_; _lime water_; _nitrate of silver_; _ammoniated copper_;
_muriate of iron_; _sub-muriate and oxy-muriate of mercury_; _acetate of
lead_; _tartarized antimony_; _tartarized iron_; _the sulphates of
zinc_, _copper_, _iron_, &c. DOSE, grs. x to ʒss.
POTASSÆ NITRAS. L.E. NITRUM. D.
_Nitre_ or _Salt Petre_.
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals which are six-sided prisms usually
terminated by dihedral summits. _Taste_, bitter and sharp with a
sensation of cold. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It consists of one proportional
of nitric acid, and one proportional of potass. SOLUBILITY. It dissolves
in seven parts of water at 60°, and in its own weight at 212°. Its
solubility is considerably increased by adding muriate of soda to the
water; its solution is attended with a great reduction of temperature;
it is quite insoluble in alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Alum_;
_sulphate of magnesia_; _sulphuric acid_; _the sulphates of zinc,
copper, and iron_; according to the usual laws of affinity, it should be
also decomposed by _sulphate of soda_; this however only takes place at
the temperature of 32°, and then but partially. MED. USES. Refrigerant,
in which case the draught should be swallowed immediately after the
solution of the salt is complete, for if it be allowed to stand for some
time, its effect with regard to cooling is not nearly so evident (see
_Form. 138, 144_); as a diuretic, its powers are too inconsiderable to
be employed, except in combination (_Form. 102, 109, 115, 170_); a
solution of ʒj to f℥vj of rose water forms a good detergent gargle, and
a small portion allowed to dissolve slowly in the mouth, will frequently
remove an incipient inflammation of the tonsils: for its _modus
operandi_ as a diuretic, see _Potassæ Acetas_. DOSE, grs. x to xv, as a
diuretic or refrigerant; grs. xxv to xl are aperient, and in large doses
it excites vomiting, bloody stools, convulsions, and even death. The
best antidotes are opium and aromatics. IMPURITIES. As it occurs from
the hand of nature it is far from pure, and even by art it is freed with
difficulty from sea salt; the presence and quantity of which in any
specimen, may be learnt by adding nitrate of silver to its solution as
long as any precipitate is produced.
POTASSÆ SUB-CARBONAS. L.E.
SUB-CARBONAS KALI. E.
_Kali Præparatum_, P.L. 1787. _Sal Absinthii._
_Sal Tartari._ 1745.
Before the nature of this salt was well understood, it received various
appellations according to the different methods by which it was
procured, and it was supposed to possess as many different virtues, as
_Salt of Wormwood_, _Salt of Tartar_, _Salt of Bean Stalks_, &c.
QUALITIES. _Form_, coarse white grains, so deliquescent, that by
exposure to air they form a dense solution, (_Oleum Tartari per
deliquium_, P.L. 1720.) _Taste_, alkaline and urinous.[610] CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. This salt, although far from being pure, is sufficiently so
for every pharmaceutical purpose. It consists of one proportional of
acid and one proportional of potass, with variable quantities of
_sulphate of potass_, _muriate of potass_, _siliceous earth_, _alumina_,
together with the _oxides of iron_, and _manganese_. SOLUBILITY. It is
dissolved by twice its weight of water; the residue, if any, may be
considered as impurity; it is insoluble in alcohol; with oils it
combines, and forms soaps. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. They are enumerated
under _Potassæ Carbonas_. MED. USES. Antacid, and diuretic, (_Form. 101,
107, 129_), but it is far less pleasant than the carbonate; it is
principally used for making saline draughts, see _Acid. Citric._ and
_Form. 107_. DOSE, grs. x to ʒss. OFFICINAL PREP. _Potassæ Acetas_,
L.E.D. (=I=) _Liquor Potassæ_ L.E.D. (=K=) _Potassæ Sulphuretum_ (=I=)
L.E.D. _Potassæ Tart._ L.E.D. (=I=) _Liquor Arsenicalis_ (=I.L.=)
ADULTERATIONS. Its degree of purity may be estimated by the quantity of
nitric acid, of a given density, requisite for the saturation of a given
weight. The purest _sub-carbonate_ is that obtained by incinerating
_cream of tartar_, since most of the impurities are decomposed by the
heat during the process, (_Sub-carbonas Potassæ Purissimus._ E.); it
however generally contains lime.
POTASSÆ SULPHAS. L.E. SULPHAS KALI. D.
_Kali Vitriolatum_, P.L. 1787.
_Tartarum Vitriolatum, 1745, and 1720._
_Sal de duobus_, &c.
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals which are right rectangular (but not square)
prisms, modified on the edges and angles; or double six-sided pyramids
with short intervening prisms, which are macles, or hemitrope crystals;
they are slightly efflorescent, and when heated they decrepitate.
SOLUBILITY. f℥j of water dissolves only grs. 24: the salt is insoluble
in alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. It is partially decomposed by the
nitric and muriatic acids, in which case, a portion of the base being
saturated, a corresponding portion of _bi-sulphate_ results; this fact
illustrates a chemical law of some importance, viz. _that a substance
less weakly attracted by another than a third, will sometimes
precipitate this third from its combination with the second, in cases
wherein a_ super, _or_ sub-_salt is readily formed_.[611] The history of
tartrate of potass will furnish farther illustrations. See _page 183_.
Sulphate of potass, when in solution, is entirely decomposed by _lime_
and _its compounds_; by _oxy-muriate of mercury_; _nitrate of silver_;
and by _acetate_ and _sub-acetate of lead_. MED. USES. On account of its
insolubility, it does not possess much activity as a purgative, but is
said to be powerfully deobstruent; it should be exhibited in the form of
powder, and in conjunction with rhubarb, or some other purgative
medicine. DOSE, grs. x to ℥ss. _Form. 94._ From its hardness and
insolubility, it is a most eligible substance for triturating and
dividing powders. OFFICINAL PREP. _Pulv. Ipecac. co._ L.E.D. (=M=) Under
the name _Sulphas Potassæ cum Sulphure_, the Edinburgh college retains
the preparation formerly known by the name _Sal Polycrest_ (_Salt of
many virtues_); and as it is produced by deflagrating nitre with
sulphur, the product, besides sulphate of potass, contains _bi-sulphate_
and _sulphuret of potass_. It possesses no superiority over the common
sulphate.
POTASSÆ SUPER-SULPHAS. L.
_Sal Enixum_ of Commerce.
QUALITIES. _Crystals_, long hexangular prisms; _Taste_, sour and
slightly bitter. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a bi-sulphate, consisting
of two proportionals of acid, and one proportional of base. SOLUBILITY.
It is soluble in twice its weight of water, as well as in alcohol. MED.
USES. It affords a convenient mode of exhibiting sulphuric acid combined
with a saline purgative, in a solid form; as it is more soluble, so is
it more active than the sulphate. DOSE, grs. x to ʒij. It forms a
grateful adjunct to rhubarb. See _Form. 85._
POTASSÆ SULPHURETUM. L.E.
SULPHURETUM KALI. D.
_Kali Sulphuretum_, P.L. 1787. _Hepar Sulphuris._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a hard brittle mass; _Colour_, liver brown, hence the
old name of _hepar_; _Taste_, acrid and bitter; _Odour_, none when dry,
but if moistened, it yields the stench of sulphuretted hydrogen.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. I consider this substance as a mixture of Sulphate
of Potass, with variable quantities of Sulphuret and Bi-Sulphuret of
Potassium.[612] INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. It is instantly decomposed by
water, the oxygen of which forms Potass with the Potassium; while its
hydrogen, combining with the sulphur, produces Sulphuretted hydrogen,
part of which escapes, and another part forms, with the excess of
Sulphur, Bi-Sulphuretted hydrogen; this latter body uniting with the
base, produces what has been termed an _Hydroguretted Sulphuret_, but
which might be more properly called an _Hydro-bi-Sulphuret_; upon adding
an acid to the solution, a quantity of Sulphur is thrown down,
Sulphuretted hydrogen is evolved, and a salt of Potass remains in
solution. Metallic salts also decompose it, the metal falling down as a
Sulphuret, or Hydro-sulphuret. MEDICINAL USES. It presents us with a
form in which sulphur is soluble in water; it is diaphoretic, and has
been found advantageous in cutaneous affections, (_Form. 118_,) and in
arthritic and rheumatic complaints; while, from its known chemical
action on metallic salts, it has been proposed as an antidote to such
poisons. Its solution has been lately recommended as a lotion for the
itch of infants, and in some cases it has been known to succeed after
the sulphur ointment had failed.[613]
POTASSÆ SUPER-TARTRAS. L.E.
TARTARUM CRYSTALLI. E.
_Super-Tartrate of Potass._ _Crystals of Tartar._
QUALITIES. _Form_, small irregular brittle crystals, which when reduced
to powder are termed _cream of tartar_. _Taste_, harsh and acid.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is a _bi-tartrate_, consisting of two
proportionals of acid and one proportional of potass. _Solubility._ It
requires 120 parts of water at 60°, and 30 parts at 212°, for its
solution; it is slightly soluble in alcohol. The watery solution of this
salt was first observed by Berthollet to undergo a spontaneous
decomposition by keeping, during which a mucous matter is deposited, and
there remains a solution of carbonate of potass coloured with a little
oil. It has long been regarded a pharmaceutical desideratum to increase
the solubility of _cream of tartar_; Vogel discovered that it might be
accomplished by combining it with boracic acid, and accordingly a
formula has been introduced into the Codex Medicamentarius of Paris, for
preparing a “_Tartras Acidulus Potassæ Solubilis, admixto Acido
Boracico_.” The following is the process. Let thirty parts of boracic
acid, and twenty parts of distilled water be heated together in a silver
dish; as soon as this has been effected, add, in divided portions, 120
parts of super-tartrate of potass, taking care to shake the mixture
continually; the whole will soon liquefy, (“_mire liquescent_,”) and by
continuing the heat, a pulverulent mass will result. As it is extremely
deliquescent it must be carefully preserved from the contact of the air;
it dissolves in its own weight of water at 55°, and in half its weight
at 212°. It is probable that the result is a new salt, in which the
boracic and tartaric acids exist in combination,[614] but grant even
that the chemical identity of the super-tartrate is preserved inviolate
in the compound, I would ask what medical advantage can possibly attend
the discovery? The peculiar value of cream of tartar depends doubtless
upon its comparative insolubility, as I have already stated at page 173;
modify this, and you will instantly change the medicinal effects of the
salt; for like the neutral tartrate it will act upon the bowels, and
therefore cease to undergo those changes _in transitu_ which are
essential to its characteristic operation. Alum also has been observed
by Berthollet to have in some measure the same effect in increasing the
solubility of cream of tartar. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Alkalies_ and
_alkaline earths_; the _mineral acids_, &c. MED. USES. In doses of ʒiv
to ʒvj, it acts as a hydragogue cathartic, producing a considerable
discharge of serous fluid into the intestines; when however it is often
repeated, it is liable to occasion debility of the digestive organs, and
consequent emaciation: in smaller doses it acts as a diuretic. (_Form.
112._) ʒj in oj of boiling water, flavoured with lemon peel and sugar,
forms when cool an agreeable beverage well known by the name of
_Imperial_. A _Cream of Tartar Whey_ may be made, by adding to a pint of
milk (when it begins to boil) ʒij of _Cream of Tartar_; the pan must
then be removed from the fire, the whole suffered to cool, and the
_whey_ separated from the curd by straining; this whey, diluted with
warm water, furnishes an excellent drink in Dropsy. As it decomposes the
carbonate of potass, the union of these salts will afford a very
pleasant purgative draught. (_Form. 82._) OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Pulv.
Jalap. comp._ E. (=BM=) _Pulv. Scammon_. E. _Pulv. Sennæ comp._ L.
_Ferrum Tartarizatum_, L. (=I=) _Antimonium Tartarizatum_ L.E. D. (_I_)
_Soda Tartarizata_, L.E.D. (=I=) ADULTERATIONS. Super-sulphate of potass
(_Sal Enixum_,) is the substance with which tartar is usually
adulterated; it may be detected by its superior solubility, and by the
solution affording with muriate of baryta a precipitate insoluble in
muriatic acid.[615]
POTASSÆ TARTRAS. L. TARTRAS POTASSÆ.
Olim, Tartarum Solubile. E. TARTRAS KALI. D.
_Kali Tartarizatum._ P.L. 1787.
_Tartarum Solubile_. P.L. 1745.
QUALITIES. _Form_; this salt, although ordered to be crystallized, is
generally kept in its granular form. _Taste_, bitter and cool. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. It consists of one proportional of acid, and one
proportional of base. SOLUBILITY. When in its crystalline form it is
soluble in its own weight of water, but in its ordinary granular form, 4
parts are required for its solution; hence, compared with the insoluble
super-tartrate, it has justly acquired the name of _soluble_ tartar;
when long kept in solution, its acid is decomposed, and its alkali
remains in a state of a _sub-carbonate_. It is also readily soluble in
alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Magnesia_, _baryta_, and _lime_;
_acetate_ and _sub-acetate of lead_, and _nitrate of silver_ decompose
it. All acids, even the _carbonic_,[616] and _acidulous salts_,
_tamarinds_, and other _sub-acid vegetables_, by neutralizing a
proportion of the base, convert it into the state of super-tartrate;
this fact offers another illustration of the chemical law of affinity,
explained under the head of _sulphate of potass_. The practitioner
should bear this in his recollection, for I have frequently seen a dose
of _soluble tartar_ directed in the acidulated _infusion of roses_; the
result was of course very different from that which the author of the
prescription intended to produce. MED. USES. It is a mild and efficient
purgative, and forms a very valuable adjunct to resinous purgatives or
to senna, the griping properties of which it corrects by accelerating
their operation. _Form. 70._ DOSE, ʒj to ℥j, in solution.
PULVERES. L.E.D. _Powders._
For the administration and advantages of this form of preparation, see
page 190. The following Officinal Formulæ offer some valuable
combinations.
PULVIS ALOES COMPOSITUS. L. Pulvis Aloes cum Guaiaco. D. It consists of
aloes _three parts_, guaiacum _two_ (=G=), and compound powder of
cinnamon _one part_ (=O=). It combines sudorific and purgative effects.
_Dose_, grs. x to ℈j. See _Form. 80_.
PULVIS ALOES CUM CANELLA. D. and P.L. 1807. Aloes _four parts_, white
canella (=E=) _one part_. It is known in the shops by the name of _Hiera
Picra_. The compound is more adapted for the form of pills than that of
powder. It is very generally used by the lower classes, infused in gin.
_Dose_, grs. x to ℈j.
PULVIS ANTIMONIALIS. L.D. Oxidum Antimonii cum phosphate Calcis. E. This
preparation was introduced into the Pharmacopœia, as the succedaneum of
the celebrated _fever powder of Dr. James_, the composition of which was
ascertained by Dr. George Pearson. (_Phil. Trans._ lxxxi. 317.) It
consists of 43 parts of the phosphate of lime, mixed, or perhaps
chemically combined, with 57 parts of oxide of antimony, of which a
portion is vitrified; and it is probable, that the difference of the two
remedies depends principally upon the quantity of oxide which is
vitrified: the specification of the original medicine is worded with all
the ambiguity of an ancient oracle, and cannot be prepared by the
process as it is described.[617] Experience has established the fact,
that _James’s Powder_ is less active than its imitation; it affects the
bowels and stomach very slightly, and passes off more readily by
perspiration; in general however the difference is so inconsiderable,
that we need not regret the want of the original receipt.[618] As it is
quite insoluble in water, it should be given in powder, or made into
pills. It is diaphoretic, alterative, emetic, or purgative, according to
the extent of the dose and the state of the patient; in combination it
offers several valuable resources to the intelligent practitioner. (See
_Form. 119, 121, 125, 129, 134_.) But it may be fairly questioned
whether this remedy has not been far too highly appreciated. Dr. James
was certainly very successful in its use, but it must not be forgotten
that he usually combined it with some mercurial, and always followed it
up with large doses of bark.
PULVIS CINNAMOMI COMPOSITUS. L. Cinnamon bark _four_, cardamom seeds
(=B=) _three_, ginger root (=B=) _two_, long pepper (=B=) _one part_. It
is principally used to give warmth to other preparations, e. g. _Pulv.
Aloes. comp_. L.D.
PULVIS CONTRAYERVÆ COMPOSITUS. L. Contrayerva, _five_, prepared shells,
_eighteen parts_ (=M=). Dose, grs. x. to xl. It is said to be stimulant
and diaphoretic.
PULVIS CORNU USTI CUM OPIO. L. Opium _one part_, burnt hartshorn
_eight_, powdered cochineal _one part_. Ten grains contain one of opium.
PULVIS CRETÆ COMPOSITUS. Prepared chalk twelve parts, tormentil root
(=G=), acacia gum (=M=), of each _six_, cinnamon bark _eight_ (=E=),
long pepper (=E=) _one part_. It is antacid, astringent, and
carminative. _Dose_, grs. v to ℈j.
PULVIS CRETÆ COMPOSITUS CUM OPIO. L. Compound powder of chalk
_thirty-nine parts_, opium _one part_. _Form. 151._
Pulvis Ipecacuanhæ Compositus. L.E.D. Ipecacuan _one part_, opium (=H=)
_one part_, sulphate of potass (=M=) _eight parts_. This combination has
been long established in practice, as a valuable sudorific, under the
name of _Dover’s Powder_. It affords one of the best examples of the
power which one medicine possesses of so changing the action of another,
as to produce a remedy of new properties; in this combination the opium
is so modified, that it may be given with perfect safety and advantage
in inflammatory affections accompanied with increased vascular action:
it would seem that whilst the opium increases the force of the
circulation, the ipecacuan relaxes the exhalant vessels, and causes a
copious diaphoresis: the sulphate of potass is also an important
ingredient, for experience has fully proved that ipecacuan and opium, in
the same proportions, have not so powerful an effect without it; its
action must be purely mechanical, dividing and mixing the active
particles more intimately, and it appears that the success of the remedy
depends very much upon its being finely powdered. _Dose_, grs. v. to ℈j,
diffused in gruel, or in the form of a bolus. (See _Form. 120, 121,
122_.) The saline constituent in the original _Dover’s Powder_, was the
result of the deflagration of nitre, and was therefore deliquescent; its
dose was as much as from 40 to 70 grains. In the _Codex_ of Paris, this
compound is directed to be prepared by melting together _four parts_ of
sulphate of potass, with an equal proportion of nitrate of potass; to
which when nearly cold is to be added, and well mixed by triture, _one
part_ of pulverized extract of opium; the powders of ipecacuan and
liquorice root, of each _one part_, are to be added last. It is evident
that the proportions of opium and ipecacuan in this combination, are
less than those in ours, and yet it is said to be more powerfully
diaphoretic on account of the nitre. An arrangement, which is indebted
for its medicinal virtue to a similar mode of operation, is presented in
_Form. 130_.
PULVIS SCAMMONIÆ COMPOSITUS. L. Scammony and hard extract of jalap, of
each _four parts_, ginger root (=E=) _one part_. The Edinburgh
preparation of the same name differs very materially in composition, its
ingredients being scammony and cream of tartar in _equal parts_.
PULVIS TRAGACANTHÆ COMPOSITUS. L. Powdered Tragacanth, acacia gum, and
starch, of each _one part_; refined sugar, _two parts_. From what has
been already stated under the head of mucilage of tragacanth, it appears
to be a superfluous, if not an injudicious demulcent; and since starch
is insoluble in cold water, the object for introducing it is not very
obvious. _Form. 120._
Powders should be preserved in opaque green bottles, as they are
materially affected by the action of light and air. Many of the compound
ones should be considered as extemporaneous, and ought to be prepared
only when they are required. The practitioner is also cautioned against
purchasing any medicine in its powdered form, for so universal is the
system of adulteration, that regular formulæ are observed in the
wholesale houses for sophisticating powders, and Mr. Gray, in his
“_Supplement to the Pharmacopœias_,” has given several specimens, under
the title of “_Pulveres Reducti_.”
PYRETHRI RADIX. L.E.D.
(Anthemis Pyrethrum. _Radix._)
_Pellitory Root._
QUALITIES. The dried root is inodorous, but upon being chewed, it soon
produces a pungent and peculiar sensation. SOLUBILITY. Alcohol, æther,
and boiling water extract its virtues. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. _M.
Gautier_ has lately shewn that the peculiar pungency of the root depends
on a fixed oil, which resides in vesicles in the bark. MED. USES. As a
sialagogue, especially in cases of tooth-ache, and in paralysis of the
tongue and muscles of the throat. (_Form. 143._) It also constitutes the
basis of a very valuable gargle, in use at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital,
for relaxation of the uvula and soft palate, as well as in certain cases
of deafness depending upon an enlarged state of the tonsils. It is made
by boiling ℥ss of the bruised root in oj of distilled water, until the
fluid is reduced to one half; to which, when strained and cold, fʒij of
_Liquor Ammoniæ_ are to be added.
PYROLA UMBELLATA.[619] _Ground Holly._
Although this plant has not yet found its way into the materia medica of
the Pharmacopœia, its credited virtues entitle it to some notice in the
present work. It was first brought into repute in this country by Dr.
Somerville (_Med: Chirug: Trans: Vol. 5_). It is bitter, and consists of
Resin, gum-resin, tannin, and bitter extractive. Alcohol and proof
spirit are its best menstrua, but the watery infusion appears to contain
all the virtues of the plant. MED. USES. It is said to be diuretic,
tonic, and deobstruent; there is, however, no evidence to shew that it
acts, specifically, on any other than the urinary organs. Dr. Ives, in
the American edition of the present work, says, that as a diuretic
medicine it has unquestionable merit, and that it will frequently
mitigate symptoms of gravel, and strangury proceeding from other causes;
he does not, however, agree with Dr. Barton, in considering it
_Antilithic_. He has also given it, alternately with the _Uva Ursi_, in
hæmaturia; the effects of severe and long continued gonorrhœal
inflammation, with the most obvious benefit, and he considers it very
analogous in its operation to the _Uva Ursi_. In some instances it has
appeared to afford great relief in chronic cutaneous diseases. Further
observation is necessary to define the mode and extent of its medicinal
operation, but there is no hazard in saying that it is a medicine
possessing considerable activity. Dr. Barton observes that this plant,
like Uva Ursi, occasionally imparts a black tinge to the urine. DOSE ʒi
to ʒij of the tincture; f℥ij to f℥iv of the infusion, prepared by
pouring a pint of boiling water upon ℥j of the stalks and leaves.
QUASSIA. L.E.D. (Quassia Excelsa. _Lignum._)
_Quassia._
This wood owes all its properties to a peculiar bitter principle, which
has been examined by Dr. Thomson and named _Quassin_; it is solid,
slightly transparent, and of a yellowish-brown colour. (_See Infusum
Quassiæ_.) It is said to owe its name to a West Indian negro, called
Quassi, who first used it in fevers.
QUERCUS CORTEX. L.E.D.
(Quercus Pedunculata. _Cortex._)
_Oak Bark._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, none; _taste_, rough and astringent. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. We are indebted to Sir H. Davy for a knowledge of this
subject; he found that an ounce of the inner cortical part of young oak
bark afforded by lixivation 111 grains of solid matter, of which 77 were
_tannin_; and the cellular integument, or middle-coloured part, only
yielded 43 grains of solid matter, of which 19 were _tannin_; and the
epidermis furnished scarcely any quantity of _tannin_ or extractive;
hence the bark should be selected from the smaller branches of the oak
where the epidermis is still thin. Experience has, moreover, shewn that
the quantity of _tannin_ varies considerably, not only according to the
age and size of the trees, but according to the season at which they are
_barked_; thus, the bark cut in spring contains, according to
_Beguin_,[620] four times more of the astringent principle, than that
which is obtained in winter. MED. USES. All its properties depend upon
the presence of _tannin_, it is therefore only valuable as a powerful
astringent; it is accordingly employed to check inordinate discharges,
see _Decoctum Quercus_. Oak bark is sometimes administered in the form
of powder, combined with ginger and other aromatics, and bitters, for
the cure of intermittents, and it has frequently succeeded, but see page
167. Dose, ℈j to ʒss. In the form of poultice this powder is said to
have proved highly useful to gangrenous sores. Its inhalation has also
been supposed to prove beneficial in consumption; a striking case is
related by Dr. Eberle of a man who had laboured under the usual symptoms
of confirmed Phthisis, and who, at the time he went to grind in a
bark-mill, was extremely weak and emaciated; in a short time, however,
the cough, night sweats, and other hectic symptoms, began to abate
sensibly, and in less than three months he was perfectly restored to
health.
RHEI RADIX. L.E.D. _Rhubarb._[621]
Two varieties of this root are known in the shops, viz. _Turkey_ or
_Russian_, and _East Indian_ or _Chinese_.
1. TURKEY or RUSSIAN. (_Rheum Palmatum._)
QUALITIES. _Form_, small round pieces, rather compact and heavy,
perforated in the middle; _Colour_, lively yellow with streaks of white;
it is easily pulverized, affording a powder of a bright buff-yellow
colour. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Gum, resin, extractive, tannin, gallic
acid, and a peculiar colouring matter, with traces of alumina and silex;
the white or flesh-coloured streaks pervading its substance, consist of
sulphate and oxalate of lime: according to the experiments of Mr. John
Henderson, there is besides a peculiar vegetable acid, to which he has
given the name of _Rheumic_ acid, but M. de Lassaignes has
satisfactorily proved that this is no other than the oxalic acid: the
purgative powers of the root appear to be intimately connected with its
extractive and resinous elements, but the subject is still involved in
considerable obscurity. SOLUBILITY. Water at 212° takes up 24 parts in
60, see _Infusum Rhei:_ by decoction, its purgative qualities are lost,
and it becomes more bitter and astringent; alcohol extracts 2·7 from 10
parts, (see _Tinct. Rhei_.) MED. USES. In this substance, Nature
presents us with a singular and most important combination of medicinal
powers, that of an astringent, with a cathartic property; the former of
which never opposes or interferes with the energy of the latter, since
it only takes effect when the substance is administered in small doses,
or if given in larger ones, not until it has ceased to operate as a
cathartic; this latter circumstance renders it particularly eligible in
cases of diarrhœa, as it evacuates the offending matter before it
operates as an astringent upon the bowels. It seems to act more
immediately upon the stomach and small intestines, and therefore in
relaxed and debilitated states of these organs, it will prove an easy
and valuable resource; it may, for such an object, be exhibited in
conjunction with alkalies, bitters, and other tonics. Its cathartic
property is most efficient when given in substance. It was formerly
supposed that by toasting rhubarb we increased its astringency, but this
process merely diminishes its purgative force, so that a larger dose may
be taken. The colouring matter of rhubarb may be detected in the urine
of persons to whom it has been exhibited; it does not however appear to
possess any specific powers as a diuretic. DOSE, grs. vj to x as a
tonic; ℈j to ʒss as a purgative; the operation of which is considerably
quickened by the addition of neutral salts; the super-sulphate of potass
forms also a very useful adjunct, and its acidulous taste completely
covers that of the rhubarb. _Form. 83, 85._ Its powder, when sprinkled
upon ulcers, is found to promote their healthy granulation. OFF. PREP.
_Infus: Rhei_. L.E. _Vinum Rhei Palmati_. E. _Tinct. Rhei_. L.E.D.
_Tinct. Rhei. comp_. L. _Tinct. Rhei cum Alöe_. E. _Tinct. Rhei cum
Gentian_. E. _Pil. Rhei comp_. E.
2. EAST INDIAN, OR CHINESE. (_Rheum Undulatum?_)[622]
QUALITIES. _Form_, long pieces, sometimes flat, as if they had been
compressed; they are heavier, harder, and more compact than those of the
preceding species, and are seldom perforated with holes; _Odour_,
stronger; _Taste_, more nauseous; white streaks less numerous, and they
afford a powder of a redder shade than those of _Turkey_ rhubarb.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It differs from the _Turkey_ in containing less
tannin and resin, and according to the experiments of Mr. A. T. Thomson,
less oxalate of lime, in the ratio of 18 to 26. It contains however more
extractive and gallic acid. SOLUBILITY. Water takes up one half of its
weight, but the infusion, although more turbid, is not so deep coloured
as that of Russian rhubarb; alcohol extracts 4 parts in 10. It habitudes
with acids, alkalies, and neutral salts, differ likewise from those of
the Russian variety, as Mr. A. T. Thomson has exhibited in a very
satisfactory manner. (_London Dispensatory, Edit. 3, p. 474._)
ADULTERATIONS. The inferior kinds of _Russian_, _East Indian_, and even
_English_ rhubarb, are artfully dressed up and sold under the name of
Turkey rhubarb. I am well informed that a number of persons in this
town, known in the trade by the name of _Russifiers_, gain a regular
livelihood by the art of dressing this article, by boring, rasping, and
then colouring the inferior kinds; for which they charge at the rate of
eighteen-pence per pound. The general indications of good rhubarb are,
its whitish or clear yellow colour, and its possessing the other
characteristic properties as above mentioned; it ought also to possess
in an eminent degree the peculiar odour, for when this is dissipated,
the powers of the medicine are nearly destroyed. In the form of powder,
rhubarb is always more or less mixed with foreign matter; the detection
of which can be alone effected by a trial of its efficacy.
RICINI[623] OLEUM. L.E.D. (_Ricinus Communis._)
_Castor[624] Oil._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a viscid and colourless, or pale straw-coloured oil;
it is nearly inodorous, but on being swallowed, excites a slight
sensation of acrimony in the throat. It has all the chemical habitudes
of the other expressed oils, except those which relate to its solubility
in alcoholic and ethereal menstrua. MED. USES. It is mildly cathartic,
and is particularly eligible in cases where stimulating purgatives would
prove hurtful, but in obstinate constipation, where copious evacuations
are required, this oil cannot be trusted, it will insinuate itself
through the intestinal canal, bringing with it a small portion of the
more fluid contents, but leaving behind it the collection of indurated
fæces. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. The most efficacious mode of administering
it is by floating it upon tincture of senna, or peppermint water, or
some other similar vehicle; it is also sometimes given with success in
coffee or mutton broth, or suspended in water by the intervention of
mucilage, yelk of egg (_Form. 75_,) or by honey, which at the same time
contributes to its laxative operation: alkalies, although they form an
emulsion with it, convert it into a saponaceous compound, and impair its
cathartic force. DOSE, f℥ss to f℥iss. ADULTERATIONS. It is usually
adulterated with olive oil or poppy oil, and when to a considerable
extent, scammony is added to quicken its operation. There is however a
peculiarity in castor oil which serves to distinguish it from every
other fixed oil, viz. its great solubility in rectified spirit; for
instance, f℥iv of alcohol of ·820 will mix uniformly with any proportion
of castor oil, whereas it will not dissolve more than fʒj of _Linseed
Oil_; and a still less proportion of the expressed oils of almonds and
of olives; when the spirit is diluted, its action on all these oils is
equally diminished, so that _common spirit of wine_ has but little power
even over castor oil; but here chemistry again interposes its aid, for
by the addition of camphor, in the proportion of one part to eight of
spirit, spirit of ·840 is enabled to dissolve castor oil, whilst it has
no influence upon the other fixed oils; castor oil is also soluble in
any proportion, in sulphuric æther of the specific gravity ·7563, while
four fluid-ounces of the same liquid will only dissolve a fluid-ounce
and a quarter of the expressed oil of _Almonds_; a fluid-ounce and a
half of that of _Olives_; and two fluid-ounces and a half of _Linseed
oil_. Vogel introduced a composition as a substitute for this oil, which
some practitioners have greatly extolled; it consisted of nine grains of
the extract of Jalap, and three grains of Venetian soap, triturated in a
mortar with an ounce and a half of Olive oil.
SABINÆ FOLIA. L. (Juniperus Sabina.)
_Savine Leaves._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, heavy and disagreeable; _Taste_, bitter, hot, and
acrimonious. CHEM. COMP. Essential oil, which may be obtained by
distillation with water; fixed oil, bitter extractive, and resin.
SOLUBILITY. Both water and alcohol extract its active principles. MED.
USES. It possesses highly stimulating properties, and has been used as a
diaphoretic, anthelmintic, and emmenagogue. Rave, a German writer of
great respectability, speaks of its use in chronic rheumatism in the
highest terms; Alibert commends its anthelmintic powers, but its
reputation has principally rested upon its generally acknowledged
influence over the uterus. The testimony of Dr. Home of Edinburgh is
strong in favour of its emmenagogue powers, but the adverse opinion of
Dr. Cullen brought it into disrepute. It occasions a manifest flow of
blood to the uterus, but this is probably sympathetically produced by
its direct action on the large intestines; for if given in large doses
it occasions great heat in the primæ viæ, hæmorrhage, and inflammation
of the bowels. It is therefore inadmissible in all cases which are
attended with fever, or much vascular action. When amenorrhœa depends
upon a relaxed state of the general system, or on an inactive and torpid
condition of the uterine system, it may often be employed with
advantage. Wedekind, a German writer, extols it in the treatment of that
atonic or relaxed state of the uterus, attended with an unnatural
secretion and soft swelling of the uterus, which is sometimes met with
in women who have suffered much from repeated childbearing, and which is
so generally attended with a train of hysteric disturbances. Dr. Eberle
says that he has occasionally employed it in cases of Amenorrhœa, in
females of a relaxed habit of body; and although sometimes without
success, he has had sufficient evidence of its powers to establish its
claim to attention. In several cases, similar to those above stated, I
have employed the Savin with much success, but I have found it very
liable to disturb the stomach, and to produce head-ache. FORMS OF
EXHIBITION. Some practitioners have recommended that of powder, but it
is almost impossible to pulverize it without previously drying it at a
temperature which will dissipate the essential oil, upon which its
activity depends. The tincture affords a more convenient form, and a
compound tincture formerly occupied a place in the Pharmacopœia, but has
been abandoned. A decoction of an ounce of the leaves to a pint of
water, with the addition of syrup, has been also recommended; an
infusion, however, would be preferable. DOSE, of the powdered leaves
from grs. v to x; of the tincture fʒj; of the decoction f℥ss to f℥j. As
an external local stimulant, or escharotic, the dried leaves in powder
are applied to warts, flabby ulcers, and carious bones; and the
expressed juice diluted, or an infusion of the leaves, as a lotion to
gangrenous sores, scabies, and _tinea capitis_; or mixed with lard and
wax as an issue ointment. The German writers speak very highly of its
effects as a poultice to old and obstinate sores. OFFICINAL PREP. _Oleum
Volatile Juniperi Sabinæ_. E.D. (the dose of which is from one to three
minims.) _Extractum Sabinæ_. D. (a very inert preparation.) _Ceratum
Sabinæ_. L.
The experiments of Orfila have shewn that Savine exerts a local action,
but that its effects depend principally on its absorption; through which
medium it acts on the nervous system, the rectum, and the stomach. It
still enjoys amongst the vulgar the reputation of being capable of
producing absorption.
SACCHARUM. L.E.D. _Sugar._[625]
Sugar, as a pharmaceutical agent, is employed for accelerating the
pulverization of various resinous substances, and when exhibited with
the most acrid of them, it prevents their adhesion to the coats of the
intestines, by which they might irritate and inflame them; it is also
extensively used on account of its power in preserving animal[626] and
vegetable substances. (See _Conservæ_.) Milk boiled with fine sugar will
keep for a great length of time, and might be very conveniently employed
during a long voyage. Dr. Darwin also observes that fresh meat cut into
thin slices, either raw or boiled, might be preserved in coarse sugar or
treacle, and would furnish a very salutary and nourishing diet to our
sailors. Sugar exerts also some chemical affinities which are highly
interesting to the pharmaceutic chemist. Vogel has published a paper to
shew, that when sugar is boiled with various metallic oxides, and with
different metalline salts, it has the property of decomposing them;
sometimes reducing the oxide to the state of a metal, and at others
depriving the oxide only of one of the proportionals of oxygen; thus
_sulphate of copper_ and _nitrate of mercury_ are precipitated in a
metallic form, whilst _peroxide of mercury_ and _acetate of copper_ are
converted into protoxides; _corrosive_ sublimate is changed into
_calomel_, but _calomel_ is not susceptible of any further
decomposition. All those metallic salts which have the power of
decomposing water are not affected by sugar, as those of _iron_, _zinc_,
_tin_, and _manganese_. It appears, moreover, that sugar has the
property of rendering some of the Earths soluble in water. Sugar in
water, at the temperature of 50°, is capable of dissolving one half of
its weight of lime; the solution thus produced is of a beautiful
white-wine colour, and has the smell of fresh-slacked quick-lime. It is
precipitated from the solution by the _carbonic_, _citric_, _tartaric_,
_sulphuric_, and _oxalic_ acids; and it is decomposed, by double
affinity, by _caustic_ and _carbonated potass_ and _soda_, and by the
_citrate_, _tartrate_, and _oxalate of potass_, &c. The union of sugar
with the alkalies has been long known, and in the decomposition of the
solution of lime in sugar by the salts above mentioned, the acid unites
with the lime, and the alkaline base forms a compound with the sugar.
SAPO. L.E.D. _Soap._
I. Durus. (_Hispanicus._) _Hard_, or Spanish Soap.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Oil 60·94, soda 8·56, water 30·50; the water is
partially dissipated by being kept, and the soap therefore becomes
lighter. Muriate of Soda is also an essential ingredient[627] of _hard_
soap. SOLUBILITY. Water dissolves about one-third of its weight of
genuine soap, and forms a milky solution; alcohol also dissolves it, and
affords a solution nearly transparent, although somewhat
gelatinous.[628] INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. 1. All acids and acidulous
salts, which combine with the alkali, and develope the oil. 2. Earthy
salts, e. g. _Alum_; _muriate_ and _sulphate of lime_; _sulphate of
magnesia_. 3. Metallic salts. _Nitrate of silver_; _ammoniated copper_;
_tincture of muriated iron_; _ammoniated iron_; _acetate_,
_sub-muriate_, and _oxy-muriate of mercury_; _sub-acetate of lead_;[629]
_tartarized iron_; _tartarized antimony_; _sulphate of zinc_, _copper
and iron_. 4. All astringent vegetables. 5. Hard water. MEDICINAL USES.
In large doses it is purgative; in smaller ones, it is decomposed _in
transitu_, and its alkali is carried to the kidneys; in this way it may
act as a lithonthriptic; or it may produce its effects by correcting any
acidity which may prevail in the _primæ viæ_, for the weakest acid is
capable of decomposing soap, and of uniting with its alkaline base; a
solution of soap in lime water was long regarded as one of the strongest
solvents of urinary calculi that could be administered with safety, but
the result of such a mixture is an insoluble soap of lime, and a
solution of soda; in habitual constipation, and in biliary obstructions,
it is frequently prescribed in conjunction with rhubarb, or some bitter;
in which cases it can only act as a laxative, or as a chemical agent, in
increasing the solubility of the substance with which it is united. It
has been also given in solution as an antidote to metallic poisons, and
it is often successfully injected as a clyster, in unrelenting and
habitual costiveness; as an external application, it is used in the form
of liniment, (see _Linimenta_.) Its pharmaceutical value, in forming
pill-masses, has already been considered (_page 196_), and the following
_formulæ_ afford examples of such an application, viz. 14, 80, 105, 118,
165. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Pil. Saponis cum Opio_. L. (=L=). _Pil.
Scillæ comp_. _L._ (=M=). _Pil. Aloet_. E. (=L=). _Pil. Aloes et
Assafœtidæ_. E. (=I=). _Pil. Aloes cum Zinzib_. D. (=L=). _Pil.
Colocynth. comp_. D. (=L=). _Emplast. Saponis_. L.E. _Ceratum Saponis_.
L. _Liniment. Saponis. comp_. L. _Liniment. Saponis cum Opio_. L.
ADULTERATIONS. Pulverized Lime, Gypsum, or Pipe clay, are sometimes
added; but the fraud is easily detected by solution in alcohol, when the
earthy matters fall down.
II. SAPO MOLLIS. _Soft Soap._
This differs from _hard_ soap chiefly in its consistence, which is never
greater than that of hog’s lard: it is transparent, yellowish, with
small seed-like lumps of tallow diffused through it; the alkali employed
for its formation is a ley of potass, instead of that of soda.
SARSAPARILLA. L.E.D.
(Smilax Sarsaparilla. _Radix._)
_Sarsaparilla._
QUALITIES. _Form_, long and slender twigs, covered with a wrinkled brown
bark; _Odour_, none; _Taste_, mucilaginous and slightly bitter. CHEMICAL
COMP. Its virtues appear to reside in fecula; it also contains a very
large proportion of vegetable albumen. SOLUBILITY. It communicates its
active principle most completely to boiling water. (See _Decoct.
Sarsaparillæ_). MED. USES. According to Monardes, it was imported by the
Spaniards into Europe in 1549, as a specific remedy for the venereal
disease; but it soon fell into disrepute, and so continued until about
the middle of the last century, when it was again brought into esteem by
Hunter and Fordyce, as a medicine calculated to assist the operation of
mercury, as well as to cure those symptoms which may be called the
_sequelæ_ of a mercurial course. DOSE, of the powdered root ℈j to ʒj,
three times a day. In selecting the roots, it will be right to choose
such as are plump, not carious, nor too dusty on breaking; but rough,
and which easily split longitudinally. OFFICINAL PREP. _Decoctum
Sarsaparillæ_. L.E.D. _Decoct. Sarsaparillæ comp:_ L.D. _Extractum
Sarsaparillæ_. L. _Syrupus Sarsaparillæ_. L. There are several species
of _Carex_ which are substituted for Sarsaparilla. The _C. villosa_
(German Sarsaparilla) is very commonly employed for this purpose.
SASSAFRAS. L.E.D.
(Laurus Sassafras. _Lignum, Radix, et Cortex._)
_The Wood, Root, and Bark of Sassafras._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, fragrant; _Taste_, sweet and aromatic. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. The qualities of this plant depend upon an essential oil
and resin. SOLUBILITY. Its active parts are soluble in water and
alcohol. MED. USES. It is said to be diaphoretic, and diuretic; and has
been employed in cases of scurvy, rheumatism, and in various cutaneous
affections; it also formerly enjoyed the reputation of being an
antisyphilitic remedy. Its powers are very questionable. OFFICINAL PREP.
_Oleum Sassafras_. L.E.D. _Decoct: Sarsaparillæ comp_. L.D. _Decoct:
Guaiae:_ L.E.D. _Aqua Calcis comp:_ D.[630]
SCAMMONIA. L.E.D.
(Convolvulus Scammonia _Gummi-resina_.)
SCAMMONIUM. D. _Scammony._
QUALITIES. _Form_, blackish-grey cakes; _Taste_, bitter and sub-acrid;
_Odour_, heavy and peculiar; when rubbed with water, the surface lathers
or _lactifies_. _Specific gravity_ 1·235. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Resin is
the principal constituent; 16 parts of good _Aleppo_ Scammony yield 11
parts of resin, and 3½ of watery extract. That from _Smyrna_ contains
not more than half the quantity of resin, but more extractive, and gum.
SOLUBILITY. Water, by trituration, takes up one-fourth, alcohol
two-thirds, and proof spirit dissolves all, except the impurities.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. Neither acids, metallic salts, nor ammonia,
produce any change in its solutions, but the fixed alkalies occasion
yellow precipitates; and yet they do not appear to be _medicinally_
incompatible with it; thus Gaubius, “_Scammoneum acidi commixtio[631]
reddit inertius; alcali fixum, contra, adjuvat_.” The mineral acids
appear to destroy a part of the substance, without in the least altering
the rest. The discrepancy which exists in authors respecting the power
of this drug, seems to have arisen from its operation being liable to
uncertainty, in consequence of peculiar states of the alimentary canal;
for instance, where the intestines are lined with an excess of mucus, it
passes through without producing any action, but where the natural mucus
is deficient, a small dose of scammony may irritate and even inflame the
bowels. In this latter case, my practice has been to administer the
purgative in a mucilaginous draught, or emulsion. MED. USES. It is an
efficacious and powerful cathartic, very eligible in worm cases, and in
the disordered state of the bowels which so commonly occurs in children.
DOSE, grs. iij to xv, in the form of powders triturated with sulphate of
potass, sugar, or almonds; when given alone, it is apt to irritate the
fauces; it may be also administered as a solution, effected by
triturating it with a strong decoction of liquorice, and straining.
(_Form. 78, 83._) OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Confect: Scammon:_ L.D.
_Pulv: Scammon: co._ L.E. _Extract: Colocynth: co._ L. (=F=) _Pulv.
Sennæ, co_. L.[632] (=F=) ADULTERATIONS. Two kinds of Scammony are
imported into this country, that from _Aleppo_, which is the best; and
that from _Smyrna_, which is more compact and ponderous, but less pure:
it is commonly mixed with the expressed juice of the _cynanchum
monspeliacum_; it is also sophisticated with _flour_, _sand_, and
_ashes_; their presence may be detected by dissolving the sample in
proof spirit, when the impurities will sink, and remain undissolved;
carbonate of lime is moreover frequently added to Scammony, in which
case the sample will effervesce in acids: there is however a compound
bearing the name of Scammony, to be met with in the market, which is
altogether factitious, consisting of jalap, senna, manna, gamboge, and
ivory black. Good Scammony ought to be friable, and when wetted with the
finger, it should _lactify_, or become milky: and the powder should
manifest its characteristic odour, which has been compared to that of
old ewe milk cheese.
SCILLÆ RADIX. L.E.D. (Scilla Maritima.)
_Squill Root._ (Bulb.)
QUALITIES. _Odour_, none; _Taste_, bitter, nauseous, and acrid; when
much handled, it inflames, and ulcerates the skin. By drying, the bulb
loses about four-fifths of its weight, and with very little diminution
of its powers, provided that too great a heat has not been applied.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. According to Vogel, gum 6—tannin 24—sugar 6—bitter
principle (_Scillitin_, which is white, transparent, and breaks with a
resinous fracture) 35—woody fibre 30. SOLUBILITY. Squill gives out its
virtues so perfectly to any of the ordinary menstrua, as to render the
form of its exhibition, in that respect, a matter of indifference.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Alkalies_ diminish their acrimony and
bitterness, and are probably _medicinally_ inconsistent with their
diuretic qualities, but farther experiments are required to decide this
question: _vegetable acids_ produce no effect upon their sensible
qualities, but are said to increase their expectorant power. MED. USES.
According to the dose, and circumstances under which it is administered,
it proves expectorant, diuretic, emetic, or purgative; as an
expectorant, it can never be employed where pulmonary inflammation
exists, for in such cases, instead of promoting, it will check any
excretion from the lungs; its combination with a diaphoretic will
frequently increase its powers, and generally be a measure of judicious
caution. See _Form, 133, 134, 135, 139_. For the philosophy of its
action, the reader must refer to the classification of Expectorants,
page 102. As a diuretic, it seems to act by absorption, and we
accordingly find, on the authority of Dr. Cullen, that _when the squill
operates strongly on the stomach and intestines, its diuretic effects
are less likely to happen_; he therefore found that by accompanying it
with an opiate, (_Form. 100)_ the emetic and purgative operation may be
avoided, and the squill be thereby carried more entirely to the kidneys.
Experience, moreover, has taught us the value of combining this medicine
with some mercurial preparation, by which its diuretic powers are very
considerably augmented; and it has been farther stated, that such a
combination is particularly efficacious in Hydrothorax, especially when
it produces inflammation of the gums, and of the glands about the
throat, by which action it is supposed to cause a derivation from the
exhalants of the pleura, and thereby to diminish the dropsical effusion.
(_Form: 102, 103, 106, 107, 109, 112, 115_,) but we must take care that
the remedy does not occasion purging. In the exhibition of squill, it
has been often delivered as a rule, to give it to the extent necessary
to induce nausea, as affording a test of the medicine being in a state
of activity; such a state of the system, moreover, may assist the
absorption of the remedy. Dr. Home, in opposition to the opinion of
Cullen, maintained that the powers of Squill as a diuretic, were
increased by combining it with bodies capable of promoting its full
emetic operation: after what has been observed, however, it is
unnecessary to dwell upon the mischievious tendency of such a practice.
By referring to our tabular arrangement of Diuretics, page 102, the
reader will find that I consider its action upon the urinary organs to
depend upon its bitter principle (_Scillitin_) being developed, and
carried, by the medium of the circulation, to the secreting vessels of
the kidneys, which it thus stimulates by actual contact. As an emetic,
it has been advised in solution, in cases of hooping cough, but its
extreme uncertainty renders it unfit for exhibition, unless as an
adjunct to emetic combinations, as in _Form: 65_. _Plenck_ makes mention
of a child which had convulsions in consequence of taking some Squill.
DOSE. Of the dried root gr.; to iv. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Acetum
Scillæ._ L.E.D. _Pil: Scill: comp:_ L.E.D. _Pulv: Scill:_ E.D. _Syrup.
Scill: maritim:_ E. _Tinct: Scill:_ L.D.
SECALE CORNUTUM.
(Spurred Rye, or Ergot of Rye.)
[Various opinions have been entertained in relation to the nature of
Ergot. The most probable is that it is a parasitic fungus, attached to
several species of the gramina, but more especially to the rye. It is
generally found most abundant in moist situations and in wet seasons.
Its taste, at first scarcely perceptible, becomes shortly disagreeable
and sub-acrid. By the analysis of Vauquelin, the ergot has been
ascertained to contain, 1. A fawn-yellow colouring matter, soluble in
alcohol, and having a taste resembling that of fish oil. 2. A white oily
matter, of a sweetish taste, which appears to be very abundant. 3. A
violet colouring principle, of the same shade as that of orchil, but
differing from it by its solubility in alcohol, and which can be readily
fixed on aluminated wool and silk. 4. A free acid, supposed to be partly
phosphoric. 5. A very abundant vegeto-animal substance, much disposed to
putrefaction, and which furnishes a considerable quantity of thick oil
and of ammonia by distillation. 6. A small quantity of free ammonia,
which can be obtained at the temperature of boiling water. As a
medicinal substance, ergot exerts a specific effect upon the uterus, and
is very generally used in this country for the purpose of facilitating
the process of parturition. From the powerful effects produced by the
ergot, it is obvious that it should be used with much caution. Dr.
Stearns, to whom the profession is indebted for the first introduction
of this article into practice, and who must be considered as our highest
authority on this subject, has laid down the following rules by which
its administration should be regulated: 1. It should never be
administered where nature is competent to a safe delivery. 2. It should
never be administered until the regular pains have ceased, or are
ineffectual, and there is danger to be apprehended from delay. 3. It
should never be administered until the rigidity of the os tincæ has
subsided, and a perfect relaxation has been induced. 4. It should never
be administered in the incipient stages of labour, nor until the os
tincæ is dilated to the size of a dollar. 5. It should never be
administered in any case of preternatural presentation that will require
the fœtus to be turned. 6. It should never be administered during the
continuance of one labour, in larger quantities than thirty grains by
decoction in half a pint of water. A table spoonful of this given every
ten minutes, generally succeeds better than a larger dose. While this
quantity produces its most favourable effects upon the uterus, it does
not affect the stomach with nausea or vomiting, which sometimes
interrupts its successful operation.
The ergot is indicated, and may be administered, 1. When, in lingering
labours, the child has descended into the pelvis, the parts dilated and
relaxed, the pains having ceased, or being too ineffectual to advance
the labour, there is danger to be apprehended from delay, by exhaustion
of strength and vital energy, from hemorrhage or other alarming
symptoms. 2. When the pains are transferred from the uterus to other
parts of the body, or to the whole muscular system, producing general
puerperal convulsions. After premising copious bleeding, the ergot
concentrates all these misplaced labour-pains upon the uterus, which it
soon restores to its appropriate action, and the convulsions immediately
cease. 3. When in the early stages of pregnancy, abortion becomes
inevitable, accompanied with profuse hemorrhage and feeble uterine
contractions. 4. When the placenta as retained from a deficiency of
contractions. 5. In patients liable to hemorrhage immediately after
delivery. In such cases the ergot may be given as a preventive, a few
minutes before the termination of the labour. 6. When the hemorrhage or
lochial discharges are too profuse immediately after delivery, and the
uterus continues dilated and relaxed without any ability to contract.]
SENEGÆ RADIX. L.E.D.
(Polygala Senega.) _Radix._
QUALITIES. _Form_, the dried root is internally white; externally it is
covered with a brownish grey, corrugated, transversely cracked cuticle.
_Odour_, none. _Taste_, at first sweetish, but afterwards hot and
pungent, producing a very peculiar tingling sensation in the fauces.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Its virtues reside in resin. SOLUBILITY. Alcohol
extracts the whole of its active matter; hot water only partially.
MEDICINAL USES. As a stimulant; but it is rarely used. In America it is
used against the bite of the rattlesnake.[633] OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS.
_Decoctum Senegæ_. L.E.
SENNÆ FOLIA. L.E.D. (Cassia Senna.)
_Senna Leaves._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, faint and sickly; _Taste_, slightly bitter,
sweetish, and nauseous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Extractive, resin,
mucilage, and saline matter; it contains within itself a purgative
principle and a bitter element; and although the latter is _per se_
inert, yet in combination, its presence aids and exalts the efficacy of
the former. M. M. Lassaigne and Fenuelle have lately announced the fact
of their having procured the purgative principle of Senna in a separate
form, and to which they have given the name of _Cathartine_. It is said
to be an uncrystallizable substance, of a reddish-yellow colour, and of
a particular smell, and bitter nauseous taste, soluble in alcohol and
water, in all proportions; but farther experiments are required upon
this subject. SOLUBILITY. Both water and spirit extract the virtues of
Senna; to water and proof spirit the leaves communicate a brownish
colour, more or less deep according to the proportions employed; to
rectified spirit they impart a fine green colour. The powdered leaves of
senna are very apt to undergo a change by exposure to a humid
atmosphere, becoming covered with a kind of mouldiness which contains a
small proportion of potass. MEDICINAL USES. See _Infus: Sennæ_.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Confectio Sennæ_;, L.E.D. _Extract: Cassiæ
Sennæ. E. Infus: Sennæ._ L.D. _Infus: Tamarind: cum Senna._ E.D. _Pulv.
Sennæ comp:_ L. _Tinct: Sennæ._ L.D. _Tinct: Sennæ comp:_ E. _Syrup:
Sennæ._ L.D. ADULTERATIONS. The leaves of Senna are imported from
Alexandria in a state of adulteration, being mixed by the merchants of
Cairo with the leaves of _Cynanchum Oleafolium_, (Arguel) and with those
of _Colutea Arborescens_; the former are distinguished by their greater
length as well as by their structure, which differs from the leaves of
Senna in having a straight side, and being regular at their base, and in
not displaying any lateral nerves on the under disk; the latter are so
different from Senna leaves, that there is no difficulty in at once
recognising them. The _Tripoli Senna_ contains a much larger proportion
of _Cynanchum_, and of the other adulterations; as a general rule, those
leaves which appear bright, fresh, free from stalks and spots, that are
well and strongly scented, smooth and soft to the touch, thoroughly dry,
sharp pointed, bitterish, and somewhat nauseous, are to be preferred.
SERPENTARIÆ RADIX. L.D.
(Aristolochia Serpentaria, _Radix._)
_Serpentaria Root._ _Virginian Snake root, or Birthwort._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, of the dried root, aromatic, and somewhat resembling
that of Valerian; _Taste_, pungent and warm, with a degree of
bitterness, not very unlike that of camphor, or of the _pinus
canadensis_. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Resin and an essential oil constitute
its active ingredients. SOLUBILITY. Its virtues are extracted by water,
as well as by alcohol. The tincture has a bright green colour, which is
rendered turbid by water. It neither affects Tannin nor Gelatine, nor
does it precipitate the salts of iron. MEDICINAL USES. It has been
regarded as serviceable in cases that required the combined powers of a
diaphoretic and tonic, as in some of the stages of typhus and other low
fevers; it has also been found to exalt the febrifuge powers of the bark
in cases of protracted intermittents. It is likewise valued on account
of its efficacy in certain cases of dyspepsia, attended with a dry skin.
Its stimulating properties will of course prevent its application in the
inflammatory diathesis. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In substance, or in an
infusion, made by macerating ʒiv of the bruised root in f℥xij of boiling
water in a covered vessel for two hours, and straining. Decoction will
necessarily dissipate its essential oil, and impair its powers; whenever
therefore it is directed in combinations which require this process, it
should not be added until after the other ingredients have been boiled,
as illustrated by _Form: 40_. DOSE, of the powdered root ℈j to ʒss or
more; of the infusion f℥j-f℥ij. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Tinct:
Serpentariæ._ L.E.D.[634] _Tinct: Cinchonæ comp:_ L.D. _Electuarium
Opiatum._ E.
The roots of the _Collinsonia præcox_ are frequently found mixed with
those of Serpentaria in the market.
SIMAROUBÆ CORTEX. L.E.D.
(Quassia Simarouba _Cortex_.)
_Simarouba Bark._
QUALITIES. _Form_, long pieces a few inches in breadth, and folded
lengthwise; fibrous, rough, and scaly; and, when fresh, of a pale yellow
colour on the inside. _Odour_, none; _Taste_, bitter, without any
astringency. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Its virtues are principally connected
with extractive matter; it does not contain any tannin or gallic acid.
SOLUBILITY. Alcohol and water take up all its active matter. MEDICINAL
USES. It has been considered tonic, and has been used with advantage as
such in intermittent fevers. To _Dr. Wright_ we are principally indebted
for a knowledge of its powers. It has been much commended in the latter
stages of dysentery, after the fever has abated, and the tenesmus
continues with a sinking pulse. Alibert says that it has been used with
much success at the hospital of St. Louis, in diarrhœa, following
scurvy, and intermittent fever. DOSE, ℈i to ʒss, but it is more
conveniently given in the form of infusion, which see. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Infus: Simaroubæ._ L.
The Dublin college has admitted the wood of this tree into their materia
medica, but it is perfectly inert.
SINAPIS SEMINA.
(_Sinapis Nigra._ L. _Alba._ E.D.)
_Mustard Seeds._
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Fecula, mucilage, an acrid volatile oil on which
their virtues depend, and which on standing deposits a quantity of
sulphur, a bland fixed oil, which considerably obtunds the acrimony of
the former constituent;[635] and an ammoniacal salt. SOLUBILITY.
Unbruised mustard seeds, when macerated in boiling water, yield only an
insipid mucilage, which like that of linseed, resides in the skin; but
when bruised, water takes up all the active matter, although it is
scarcely imparted to alcohol. MEDICINAL USES. It is a beneficial
stimulant in dyspepsia; chlorosis, and paralysis; for which purpose, a
tea spoonful of the bruised seeds may be administered; or a _whey_ may
be made, by boiling a table spoonful of the bruised seeds in oj of milk,
and straining; of which a fourth part may be taken three times a day,
(see _Form._ 46.) or it may be given in infusion. (_Form. 45._) The
farina made into a paste with crumbs of bread and vinegar, affords one
of the most powerful external stimulants which we can apply, and is
technically termed a _Sinapism_; it produces intense pain, and excites
an inflammation entering much more into the true skin than that which is
excited by the Lyttæ; it is therefore worthy attention in all internal
inflammations where bleeding is limited: if necessary it may be
quickened by the addition of oil of turpentine. If a table spoonful of
powdered mustard be added to oj of tepid water, it operates briskly as
an emetic. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Cataplasm: Sinap_. L.D. _Emplast:
Meloes com:_ E.[636] (_B_) _Infusum Armoraciæ comp:_ L. (=B=)
ADULTERATIONS. Fine powder, or flower of mustard, as it occurs in
commerce, contains only one-sixth part of genuine mustard, the remainder
consists of flour, coloured by turmeric, and made pungent by the
addition of powdered capsicum.
SODA TARTARIZATA. L. TARTRAS SODÆ ET POTASSÆ. E. TARTARUS SODÆ ET KALI.
D. olim. _Sal de Seignette._ _Sal Rupellensis_, or _Rochelle Salt_.
QUALITIES. _Form_, a right prism, with rhombic terminations, very
slightly efflorescent. _Taste_, rather bitter and saline. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. It is a triple salt, formed by neutralizing the excess of
acid in super-tartrate of potass, with soda, and consisting of 2 atoms
of acid + 1 of soda + 1 of potass. By a strong heat it is resolved into
a mixture of carbonate of potass and carbonate of soda. SOLUBILITY. It
is soluble in five parts of water at 50°. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. Most
_acids_, and _acidulous salts_ (except the Super-tartrate of potass)
which convert the tartrate of potass into bi-tartrate, or
super-tartrate. The _acetate_ and _sub-acetate_ of lead; _barytic
salts_, and the _salts of lime_ are decomposed by it. MED. USES. Similar
to those of _Potassæ Tartras_. See _Form. 77_, and 86, the latter of
which presents a very grateful and efficacious purgative. DOSE, ʒij to
℥j as a purgative.
SODÆ CARBONAS. L.E. _Carbonate of Soda._
This salt, when properly prepared, is a _bi-carbonate_, but so
delicately are the affinities of its constituent parts balanced, that
the application of a very moderate temperature is sufficient to subvert
them, and to occasion partial decomposition. Mr. Phillips states that
although he has seen what he believes to be real bi-carbonate in the
state of the moist crystals, yet he has never met with any that was dry
which had not lost one-fourth of its carbonic acid by exposure to heat;
it is then a white gritty powder, less soluble in water than the
sub-carbonate, like which it possesses an alkaline taste, and turns
vegetable yellows brown, but both in a less degree. This salt, which is
generally sold, as the carbonate of the pharmacopœia, and the
bi-carbonate of chemists, Mr. Phillips considers as a compound of an
atom of carbonate, (_sub-carbonate_) and an atom of bi-carbonate,
combined with four atoms of water. It is therefore, according to the
phraseology of some chemists, a _Sesqui-carbonate_,[637] as being equal
to an atom and a half of acid and one atom of base. The chemical
habitudes of this salt, as connected with its medicinal applications,
are similar to those of the _carbonate of potass_, which see. MED. USES.
As it is less nauseous, so is it more eligible than the _sub_-carbonate
of the same alkali; in other respects its effects are the same; _vide
Sodæ Sub-carbonas_. DOSE, grs. x to ʒss.[638] ADULTERATIONS. If the
salt, after super-saturation with dilute nitric acid, give a precipitate
with nitrate of baryta, it contains some sulphuric salt; and if with
nitrate of silver, we may infer the presence of a muriate.
SODÆ MURIAS. L.E.
SAL COMMUNE, MURIAS SODÆ. D.
_Muriate of Soda._ _Common Salt._
QUALITIES. _Form_, that of regular cubes, which do not deliquesce unless
contaminated with muriate of magnesia.[639] CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It
consists, according to Berzelius, of 46·55 of muriatic acid, and 53·45
of soda; according to the new theory, however, this salt must be
considered as a true _muriate of soda_, only while it remains in aqueous
solution; for when it is reduced to dryness, the muriatic acid and the
soda become both decomposed, and the hydrogen of the former uniting with
the oxygen of the latter, they pass off in the form of water, while the
chlorine of the muriatic acid unites with the metallic base of the soda,
to form _chloride of sodium_, which consists of an atom of each
constituent. It is perhaps difficult to believe that the same salt
should be chloride of sodium in the hand, and muriate of soda in the
mouth! but it is not the less true, nor is it more incredible than the
change which Sulphuret of potass undergoes by solution, the
decomposition of which is rendered evident to the senses by the evolved
sulphuretted hydrogen. Late researches have also detected both in _rock_
and in other salt, the presence of _muriate of potass_, and _muriate of
magnesia_.[640] SOLUBILITY. It is equally soluble in cold and in hot
water, one part of the salt requiring rather more than 2½ parts. MED.
USES. The effects of salt upon the animal and vegetable kingdoms, are
striking and important,[641] and have furnished objects of the most
interesting enquiry to the physiologist, the chemist, the physician, and
the agriculturist; it appears to be a natural stimulant to the digestive
organs; and that animals are instinctively led to immense distances in
pursuit of it; for proof of this fact the reader is referred to “_Parkes
on the repeal of the Salt Laws_,” and to an interesting work by my late
lamented friend, Sir Thomas Bernard, entitled, “_Case of the Salt
Duties, with Proofs and Illustrations_.”[642] Salt, when taken in
moderate quantities, promotes,[643] while in excessive ones, it prevents
digestion; it is therefore tonic and anthelmintic, correcting that
disordered state of the bowels which favours the propagation of worms.
In Ireland, where, from the bad quality of the food, the lower classes
are greatly infested with worms,[644] a draught of salt and water is a
popular and efficacious anthelmintic. _Form: 162_, is a prescription by
Rush, who says that in this manner he has administered many pounds of
common salt with great success in worm cases. In the first volume of the
Medical Transactions we shall find an interesting account of a cure of
this disease by salt, after the failure of other remedies; I beg also to
refer the practitioner to another case illustrative of its anthelmintic
powers, published by Mr. Marshall, (_London Medical and Physical
Journal_, vol. xxxix. No. 231,) which is that of a lady who had a
natural antipathy to salt, and was in consequence most dreadfully
infested with worms during the whole of her life. In very large doses
_Salt_ proves purgative; it is also absorbed, and carried to the
kidneys, but it undergoes no decomposition _in transitu_, nor does it
appear to possess any considerable powers as a diuretic; its solution in
tepid water, in the proportion of ℥ss-℥j in oj of water, forms the
common domestic enema. DOSE, when intended to act as a cathartic,
from℥ss to ℥j very largely diluted; when to answer the other intentions,
from grs. x. to ʒj.
SODÆ SUB-BORAS. L.D. BORAS SODÆ. E.
_Borax._
QUALITIES. _Form_, irregular hexahedral prisms, slightly efflorescent.
_Taste_, alkaline and styptic; when heated it loses its water of
crystallization, and becomes a porous friable mass (_calcined borax_).
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Boracic acid, 34—soda, 17—water, 49. SOLUBILITY.
It is soluble in 20 parts of water at 60°, and in 6 parts at 212°.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. It is decomposed by _acids_; _potass_; by the
_sulphates_ and _muriates_ of the _earths_, and by those of _ammonia_.
MEDICINAL USES. It is only applied in the form of powder mixed with 8 or
10 parts of honey, as a detergent linctus in aphthæ, &c. The Chinese
employ it in inflammatory sore throats; for which purpose they first
reduce it to an extremely fine powder, and then blow it through a reed
upon the inflamed surface. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Mel Boracis_. L.
ADULTERATIONS. _Alum_, and _fused muriate of soda_, are substances with
which it is sometimes sophisticated; to discover which, dissolve it in
distilled water, and after saturating the excess of the base with nitric
acid, assay the solution with nitrate of barytes and nitrate of silver.
SODÆ SUB-CARBONAS. L.E.D.
_Sub-carbonate of Soda._
QUALITIES. _Form_, octohedrons, truncated at the summits of the
pyramids; it effloresces when exposed to the air, and at 150° Fah.
undergoes watery fusion, its crystals containing as much as seven
proportionals of water; _Taste_, mild, alkalescent. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Soda 29·5—carbonic acid 20·7. SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in
two parts of water at 60°, and in considerably less than its weight of
boiling water; it is insoluble in alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES are
enumerated under _Potassæ Carbonas_. MED. USES, are similar to those of
the sub-carbonate of potass, but it is preferable to it for internal
use, as being more mild and less nauseous; and moreover Fourcroy states
it as his opinion that soda is more eligible for medicinal purposes than
potass, on account of its analogy with animal substances, which always
contain it, while on the contrary, no portion of potass is found in
them. Sir Gilbert Blane assumes an opposite opinion, and observes that,
as far as he can judge of the comparative powers of the two fixed
alkalies, he should greatly prefer Potass to Soda, as a remedy for
gravel, one reason of which he thinks may be found in the fact that the
Soda is an element of the animal fluids, since it enters largely into
the composition of bile, so that it is more likely to be arrested in the
course of the circulation and diverted from the urinary organs. A
gentleman, says Sir Gilbert, who was subject to frequent fits of gravel,
and in the habit of making experiments on the small concretions which he
passed, found that Soda dissolved them, but that Potass did not;
nevertheless he experienced sensible relief, and even temporary cure,
from the internal use of the latter alkali, but no benefit from the
former. Are then the absorbents more disposed to take up soda than
potass? The results of experience do not appear to sanction such a
conclusion. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It may be administered in solution, in
an electuary, or in pills; when exhibited in the latter form, it must be
previously deprived of its water of crystallization, (_Sodæ Sub-carbonas
exsiccata_. L.) or the pills will fall into powder as they dry; unless
where the water of crystallization is essential to the formation of the
pill, as to that of _Pill: Ferri comp_. DOSE, gr. x to ʒj, twice or
thrice a day. See _Form. 28, 143, 144_.
SODÆ SULPHAS. L.E.D.
_Natron Vitriolatum_, P.L. 1787. _Sal Catharticus Glauberi_. P.L. 1745.
QUALITIES. _Form_, transparent prismatic crystals, which effloresce;
when exposed to heat, they undergo watery fusion, that is, they melt in
their own water of crystallization. _Taste_, saline and bitter. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Sulphuric acid 24·64,—soda 19·36—water 56. SOLUBILITY. f℥j
of water at 60° dissolves ʒiiiss; in boiling water it is considerably
more soluble; it is quite insoluble in alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES.
The same as those which decompose _sulphate of magnesia_. MED. USES. A
common and useful purgative; its nauseous taste may be in a great degree
disguised by the addition of a small quantity of lemon juice, or _cream
of tartar_. DOSE, ℥ss to ℥ij. In an effloresced state it is just equal
in efficacy to double the weight of that which is in a crystalline form.
It is rendered more active by being combined with other purgative salts,
especially with sulphate of magnesia, and the compound is more soluble
and less nauseous; (_Form. 69, 72_.) A portion of triple salt, a
_magnesio-sulphate of soda_, probably results from the combination, a
salt which may be frequently detected in parcels of sulphate of
magnesia, and may be known by its crystals, which are regular rhomboids;
it is also contained, according to Dr. Murray, in the brine or _mother
liquor_ of sea-water; and it constitutes the whole of that salt which
was formerly sold under the name of “_Lymington Glauber’s Salts_”.[645]
SPARTIUM. L.E. GENISTA. D.
Spartii _Cacumina_. L. _Summitates_. E.
_The Tops of Broom._
QUALITIES. When bruised they yield an unpleasant _odour_, and a nauseous
bitter _taste_. Solubility. Water and alcohol alike extract their active
matter. MED. USES. They certainly act as a powerful diuretic, and even
prove so to animals that browse upon them. I have frequently exhibited
them in the Westminster Hospital, with very great success in the form of
decoction. By referring to my classification of diuretics, page 93, it
will be seen that the _Broom_ is placed under the second division of the
first class; for analogy sanctions the theory, that the bitter element
is separated by the powers of digestion, and carried to the kidneys by
the medium of the circulation. (See _Form. 113_.) The ashes of this
plant were extolled by Sydenham as a powerful diuretic, but the chemist
has shewn that it is merely a fixed alkaline salt. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Extractum Cacuminum Genistæ_. D.
SPIGELIA MARYLANDICA.
_Pink Root._ _Radix._
[This is an herbaceous plant, growing native in the Southern states. It
flourishes in rich, dry soils, and flowers from May to July. The root,
which is composed of numerous slender fibres, when fresh, is of a
yellowish colour, and has an insipid and nauseous taste. As it contains
on analysis no resin, its proper menstruum is water. It is exclusively
as an anthelmintic that the Pink Root is resorted to, and as such it
possesses unquestionable power. When given to any extent it proves
narcotic, and at the same time purgative. It is probably to this
combination of properties that its efficacy as a vermifuge is to be
attributed. It is chiefly against the Lumbrici that it has been used
with success. It may be given in powder, in doses of from grs. x to xx,
repeated every two hours. The more common and preferable mode of giving
it, however, is that of infusion, made by putting ℥j of the root into a
pint of boiling water. Of this, when cold, from ℥j to ℥iv may be given
every two or three hours, according to the age of the patient. It should
be recollected, that in its fresh state the Pink Root is much more
active than when dried and kept for any length of time.]
SPIRÆA TRIFOLIATA.
_Indian Physic._ _Radix._
[This plant abounds in the woods of hills and mountains, in every part
of the United States. The root, which is the part used in medicine, is
of a bitter taste, and yields by analysis extractive matter and resin.
In its medicinal properties the Spiræa resembles the ipecacuanha of the
shops. The full dose in powder is 30 grs.]
SPIRITUS. L. SPIRITUS STILLATITII.
_Distilled Spirits._
These are solutions of the essential oils of vegetables in diluted
alcohol or proof spirit; they are obtained by distilling spirit with
recent vegetables; or, according to the recent directions of the
Pharmacopœia, with their essential oils; sometimes however they are
extemporaneously made by at once dissolving the oils in the spirit,
without distillation. (See _Spiritus Tenuior_.) Med. Uses. Like the
_distilled waters_, they serve as vehicles for the exhibition of more
active medicines; they are also occasionally employed as grateful
stimulants. It is unnecessary to dwell on each of these simple spirits,
as their virtues are the same as those of the substances from which they
are extracted, united to the stimulus of the alcohol. The following are
officinal:—_Spirit: Anisi_. L. _Spir: Anisi comp:_ L.D. _Armoraciæ
comp:_ L. _Carui_. L.E.D. _Cinnamomi_ L.E.D. (_Form. 5, 40._) _Juniperi
comp:_ L.D. _Lavandulæ_. L.E.D. _Lavandulæ comp:_ L.E.D. _Menth:_ Pip:
L.D. _Menth: Virid:_ L. _Myristic:_ L.E.D. _Pimentæ_. L.D. _Pulegii_. L.
_Raphani comp:_ D. _Rosmarini_.[646] L.E.D.
SPIRITUS AMMONIÆ. L.D.
ALCOHOL AMMONIATUM. E.
_Spiritus Salis Ammoniaci dulcis._ P.L. 1745. _Spiritus Salis
Ammoniaci._ P.L. 1720.
This is a solution of ammoniacal gas in spirit; in which a small portion
of the sub-carbonate is also generally present. It is not easy to
compare the strength of this preparation with that of the _Liquor
Ammoniæ_, or _Liquor Ammoniæ Sub-carbonatis_, so as to give their
medicinal equivalents, because the ammonia exists in a very different
state of combination. The first is a mere solution of ammoniacal gas in
water; in the second, as already stated, the ammonia exists as a
_sesqui-carbonate_, while in the one now under consideration the alkali
is in the state of a _carbonate_. This fact will explain the reason of
the present preparation being superior in pungency to the _Liquor
Ammoniæ Sub-carbonatis_. The Incompatibles are the same as those
enumerated under the head of _Ammoniæ Sub-carbonas_. It is a powerful
stimulant, but it is principally employed as the basis of the following
compounds; viz. _Spirit: Ammoniæ Aromat_. L.E.D. _Spirit: Ammoniæ
Succinatus_. L. _Tinctura Castorei Comp:_ E. _Tinct: Guaiaci comp:_ E.
_Tinct: Opii Ammoniat:_ E.
SPIRITUS AMMONIÆ AROMATICUS. L.D.
ALCOHOL AMMONIATUM AROMATICUM. E.
_Spiritus Ammoniæ Compositus._ P.L. 1785. _Spiritus Volatilis
Aromaticus._ P.L. 1745. _Spiritis salis volatilis oleosus._ P.L. 1720.
This is a solution of several essential oils, (_Cinnamon_, _Cloves_, and
_Lemon_. L.—_Rosemary_ and _Lemon_. E. _Lemon_ and _Nutmeg_. D.) in the
spirit of ammonia. It is a valuable stimulant, and an agreeable adjunct,
and efficacious corrective to other remedies, see _Form._ 42, 45. DOSE,
fʒss to fʒj. INCOMPATIBLES. Acids, Acidulous Salts, Earthy and Metallic
Salts, and Lime Water. _Officinal Prep: Tinct. Guaiac: Ammoniat:_ L.D.
_Tinct. Valerian: Ammoniat:_ L.D. Its ammoniacal pungency is rather
inferior to that of the preceding preparations.
SPIRITUS AMMONIÆ FŒTIDUS. L.D.
TINCTURA ASSAFŒTIDÆ AMMONIATA. E.
This is a solution of the fœtid volatile oil of the Assafœtida in the
spirit of ammonia; as little else than the odour and flavour of the
gum-resin is taken up by the menstruum, it cannot be expected to possess
many virtues. Dose, fʒss to fʒi.
SPIRITUS AMMONIÆ SUCCINATUS. L.
This preparation was probably introduced as a substitute of the _Eau de
luce_. It is stimulant and antispasmodic. It will be found, if properly
prepared, to retain its milkiness for a considerable time, a
circumstance by which its value is appreciated. The substances
enumerated under the head of _Spir: Ammoniæ Aromat:_ are also
incompatible with this preparation.
SPIRITUS COLCHICI AMMONIATUS. L.
We have in this preparation the specific virtues of the Colchicum, with
the stimulant property of the Ammonia; a medicinal combination, which is
frequently indicated in practice. Dose fʒss to fʒi, in some aqueous
vehicle. The substances enumerated under the history of _Spiritus
Ammoniæ Aromaticus_, are likewise incompatible with this spirit.
SPIRITUS ÆTHERIS AROMATICUS. L.
ÆTHER SULPHURICUS CUM ALCOHOLE AROMATICUS. E.
_Elixir Vitrioli dulce._ P.L. 1745.
This preparation, which was excluded from the London Pharmacopœia of
1787, is now restored. It consists of Sulphuric Ether _one part_,
rectified spirit _two parts_, impregnated with aromatics; the presence
of spirit is necessary in this preparation, since the volatile oils
would be insoluble in the æther without it. MED. USES. A grateful
stimulant.
SPIRITUS ÆTHERIS NITRICI. L.
SPIRITUS ÆTHERIS NITROSI. E.
SPIRITUS ÆTHEREUS NITROSUS. D.
_Spiritus Nitri dulcis._ P.L. 1745.
QUALITIES. A colourless fluid of the _specific gravity_ ·850. _Odour_,
extremely fragrant; _Taste_, pungent and acidulous; it is very volatile
and inflammable. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. A portion of nitric æther and
nitric acid, combined with alcohol. SOLUBILITY. It is soluble both in
water and alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. With a solution of _green
sulphate of iron_ it strikes a deep olive colour, owing probably to its
holding a portion of nitrous gas in solution; with the _tinctures of
guaiacum_ it produces a green or blue coagulum. MED. USES. When properly
diluted, it is refrigerant and diuretic; and has been long employed as a
grateful draught in febrile affections; as a diuretic, it frequently
proves a valuable auxiliary in dropsy, (see _Form. 113, 116_.) DOSE, ♏︎x
to xl. in any aqueous vehicle. By age and exposure to the air, it is
gradually decomposed, and gives rise to the reproduction of nitrous
acid.
SPIRITUS ÆTHERIS SULPHURICI. L.
ÆTHER SULPHURICUS CUM ALCOHOLE. E.
LIQUOR ÆTHEREUS SULPHURICUS. D.
_Spiritus Ætheris vitriolici._ P.L. 1787. _Spirit. Vitrioli dulcis_.
1745.
QUALITIES. A fluid of the _specific gravity_ ·816, consisting of _two
parts_ (by measure) of rectified spirit, and _one part_ of sulphuric
æther. MED. USES. It has all the properties of æther, but in an inferior
degree. DOSE, fʒj to fʒiij.
SPIRITUS ÆTHERIS SULPHURICI COMPOSITUS. L.
This is intended as a substitute for the _Liquor Anodynus_ of Hoffmann,
although its composition was never revealed by him. In addition to its
stimulating properties, it is supposed to add those of an anodyne
nature. DOSE, fʒss to fʒij. See _Form. 7_.
SPIRITUS CAMPHORÆ. L.
_Spirit of Camphor_; vulgo, _Camphorated Spirits_.
This preparation is principally useful as an external application. As an
embrocation to chilblains it is often of essential service; and it has
been found useful when thus applied to parts affected with chronic
rheumatism and paralytic numbness. It is instantly decomposed by water,
which precipitates the camphor. It furnishes an easy mode of forming
camphor mixture extemporaneously, and if a few drops be rubbed with
mucilage, we are thus enabled to form a stronger preparation than by the
ordinary process.
SPIRITUS RECTIFICATUS. L.
ALCOHOL FORTIUS. E. SPIRITUS VINOSUS RECTIFICATUS. D.
In this preparation, alcohol is nearly in the highest state of
concentration, in which it can be easily prepared in the large way for
the purposes of trade; its specific gravity however varies in the
different pharmacopœias, viz. the London and Edinburgh preparation is
stated to have that of ·835, while the rectified spirit of Dublin is
ordered to be only ·840. The former at the temperature of 60° _Fah._
consists of 85 parts of pure alcohol and 15 of water, the latter only of
83 per cent. of alcohol. It is a most powerful stimulant, but is rarely
employed except in combination; as a pharmaceutical agent, its use is
highly valuable and extensive. (See _Tincturæ_.) During the evaporation
of spirit, a considerable reduction of temperature takes place, which
renders it a useful ingredient in refrigerating lotions. See _Form. 147,
148_. It has lately been ascertained by Mr. Ritchie of Perth, that “_the
degree of cold induced by the evaporation of spirit of different degrees
of strength are proportional to the strength of these spirits, reckoning
from the degrees of cold induced by the evaporation of water_.” The
application of this theorem will enable us to ascertain the strength of
a spirit by the “DIFFERENTIAL THERMOMETER” of Leslie.
SPIRITUS TENUIOR. L.
ALCOHOL DILUTUM. E.
SPIRITUS VINOSUS TENUIOR. D.
_Weaker or Proof Spirit._
This is rectified spirit diluted with a certain proportion of water, and
it is to be regretted that the quantity ordered for this purpose, should
vary in the different Pharmacopœias; thus, according to the London and
Dublin Colleges, its specific gravity is ·930, while the College of
Edinburgh directs it to be of ·935. The former consists of 44 per cent.
of pure alcohol, and may be formed by mixing _four_ parts, by measure,
of rectified spirit, with _three_ of water; the latter contains only 42
_per cent._ of pure alcohol, and may be made by adding together _equal
parts_ of rectified spirit and distilled water. Alcohol in this state of
dilution, is better adapted for taking up the principles of vegetables
than rectified spirit; indeed, diluted alcohol acts upon bodies as a
chemical compound, and will dissolve what neither the same proportion of
water nor of alcohol would, if separately applied; we perceive therefore
the importance of ensuring uniformity of strength in our spirits. (See
_Tincturæ_.) It is necessary to remark that almost all the spirit sold
under the name of “_Proof Spirit_,” is contaminated with empyreumatic
oil, and is unfit for the purposes of pharmacy; it ought therefore to be
extemporaneously prepared by mixing together rectified spirit and water,
in the proportions above stated. This however is rarely done, except the
liquors are intended for the toilet, and hence it has been observed,
that the cordials of the apothecary are generally less grateful than
those of the distiller, the latter being extremely curious in rectifying
and purifying his spirit. If common water be employed for the dilution
of alcohol, the resulting spirit will be turbid, owing principally to
the precipitation of sulphuric salts; this circumstance lately
occasioned considerable embarrassment to the Curators of the Hunterian
Museum at the College of Surgeons, who were compelled to prepare their
own spirit, in consequence of an excise regulation preventing the
distiller from sending out any spirit of that strength which is required
for their anatomical purposes. A curious fact has just been noticed in
the Laboratory of the Royal Institution, which is, that diluted spirit
_becomes stronger_ by being kept in vessels that are carefully closed by
bladder! whence it would seem, that alcoholic vapour transpires through
this animal membrane less freely than aqueous vapour; we are at present
unable to offer a satisfactory explanation of this anomalous case of
distillation, but it is probably connected with the different solvent
powers of these two liquids, in relation to the animal membrane. MED.
USES. Alcohol, although diluted to the degree of proof spirit, is still
too strong for internal exhibition; indeed, where its use is indicated,
it is more generally given in the form of wine, malt liquors, or ardent
spirits, which must be regarded only as diluted alcohol, although each
has a peculiarity of operation, owing to the modifying influence of the
other elements of the liquid; thus _Brandy_[647] is said to be simply
cordial and stomachic;[648] _Rum_,[649] heating and sudorific; _Gin_ and
_Whiskey_, diuretic; and _Arrack_,[650] styptic, heating, and narcotic;
it seems also probable that a modified effect is produced by the
addition of various other substances, such as sugar and acids, which
latter bodies, besides their anti-narcotic powers, appear to act by
favouring a more perfect combination and mutual penetration of the
particles of spirit and water. Foreign brandy derives its colour from
the oak cask, the intensity of which, therefore, affords some criterion
of its age. The English have been in the habit of colouring their
spirits with burnt sugar until lately, but now since the cause of the
foreign colour is discovered, the scrapings of gall-nuts are employed
for that purpose, whence the sulphate of iron is no longer a test of
brandy being genuine.[651] The effects, also, which are produced by the
habitual use of fermented liquors, differ essentially according to the
kind that is drunk; thus Ale and Porter, in consequence of the nutritive
matter, and perhaps the invigorating bitter with which they are charged,
and the comparatively small proportion of alcohol which they contain,
dispose to a plethora, which is not unfrequently terminated by apoplexy;
Spirits, on the other hand, induce severe dyspepsia, obstructed and
hardened liver, dropsy, and more than half of all our chronical
diseases; and Dr. Darwin moreover remarks that when they arise from this
cause, they are liable to become hereditary, even to the third
generation, gradually increasing, if the cause be continued, till the
family become extinct; with regard to Wine, Rush has truly observed that
its effects, like those of tyranny in a well formed government, are
first felt in the extremities, while spirits like a bold invader, seize
at once upon the vitals of the constitution; the different kinds of
wine, however, produce very different and even opposite effects, as
stated under the history of that article, (see _Vinum_.) The excise
officers frequently avail themselves of the peculiar power of the
sub-acetate of lead to precipitate colouring matter, in order to remove
from seized Holland Gin, the colour which it contains by being long kept
in the tubs in which it is smuggled over. This practice, however,
renders the gin liable to gripe.
SPIRITUS TEREBINTHINÆ.
See _Terebinthinæ Oleum_.
SPONGIA USTA. L. See _Carbo Ligni_.
STANNI LIMATURA. L.E.D.
_The filings of Tin._
The anthelmintic properties of Tin have been explained by three
different hypotheses, viz. 1. _That it acts mechanically by dislodging
the mucus from the intestines_; if this be true, it is difficult to
explain the fact of its activity being increased by pulverization. 2.
_That its efficacy depends upon the presence of arsenic_; if so, why
should the _purest_ specimens act with equal efficacy?[652] 3. _That it
operates by generating hydrogen gas in the intestinal canal:_ it has
been observed that this opinion is rendered probable by the fact, that
sulphur increases its powers.[653] Dose, ʒj or ʒji, mixed with honey,
treacle or conserve, and exhibited for several successive mornings, a
purgative medicine being occasionally interposed, (see _Form. 150_.) The
use of this remedy however is entirely superseded by the more
efficacious exhibition of oil of turpentine.
STATICE LIMONIUM.
_Marsh Rosemary._ _Radix._
[This is a perennial plant found in all parts of the United States. It
flowers in the months of July and August. The root, which is the part
used in medicine, is astringent, and contains large proportions of
tannin and gallic acid. As a medicine it has been much used in this
country, and is prescribed with advantage in a number of diseases in
which astringents are required. In chronic dysentery, diarrhœa, and
cholera infantum, more especially, it has been found exceedingly
beneficial. It may be given in infusion or decoction, made by adding ʒij
of the root to ℥xij of water.]
SUCCI SPISSATI. E. See _Extracta_.
SULPHUR SUBLIMATUM. L.E.D.
_Sublimed Sulphur._ _Flowers of Sulphur._
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is probably a triple compound of oxygen,
hydrogen, and some unknown base. SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble in water
and alcohol, but soluble in oils, especially in that of linseed, which
is a powerful solvent of all sulphureous substances. In boiling oil of
turpentine it is entirely soluble. MEDICINAL USES. It is laxative and
diaphoretic; it acts principally upon the large intestines, and very
mildly, whence it proves useful in hæmorrhoidal affections (_Form. 74_);
and in consequence of the diaphoresis which it also excites, it is
useful in chronic rheumatisms, catarrhs, and in some cutaneous
affections.[654] To promote its purgative effects, _magnesia_ will be
found a serviceable adjunct in hæmorrhoids; it may be given in the form
of an electuary, or suspended in milk; its solution in oil (_Oleum
Sulphuratum_) is a most nauseous and acrid preparation. When sulphur is
combined with metallic remedies, it generally lessens their activity.
Its effects in curing psora are universally admitted, and the only
objection to its use is the disgusting smell which accompanies its
application; see _Unguent: Sulphuris_. Dr. Clarke of Dublin recommends a
lotion which he says contains a sufficient impregnation of sulphur for
the cure of psora in children, to be made by adding an ounce of broken
sulphur to a quart of boiling water, and allowing it to infuse for
twelve hours. In this process, the water probably takes up a small
portion of sulphurous acid; it is difficult to explain the efficacy of
the lotion in any other manner. When sulphur is internally administered,
it transpires through the skin in the state of sulphuretted hydrogen,
and blackens the silver in the pockets of those who take it. DOSE ʒj to
ʒiij. OFFICINAL PREP. _Sulphur Lotum._ L.E.D. _Sulphur Præcipitatum._ L.
_Unguent. Sulph._ L.E.D. _Unguent. Sulph. comp._ L.
SULPHUR LOTUM. When sulphur is kept in loosely covered drawers its
surface is soon acidified, when it is said to operate with griping,
hence the common _flowers_ are directed to be washed with water to get
rid of any sulphurous acid; it is however rarely performed, and would
seem to be a useless subtlety.
SULPHUR PRÆCIPITATUM. L. _Lac Sulphuris_, P.L. 1720. This, when pure,
differs in no other respect from sublimed sulphur than in its superior
whiteness, which it owes to the presence of a small proportion of water;
in consequence however of its mode of preparation, it always contains a
small quantity of sulphate of lime, and not unfrequently other
impurities; it may be assayed by pouring upon a suspected sample a
sufficient quantity of _liquor potassæ_ to cover it, and setting it
aside in a warm place to digest, when the sulphur will be dissolved and
the impurities remain; or it might be at once subjected to the operation
of heat; which would volatilize the sulphur, and thus separate it from
its contaminations.
SYRUPI. L.E.D. _Syrups._
These are solutions of sugar in water, watery infusions, or in vegetable
juices; the proportion of sugar is generally _two parts_ to one of the
fluid; if it exceeds this, the solution will crystallize, if it be less,
ferment, and become acescent.[655] The most certain test of the proper
consistence of a syrup is its specific gravity; a bottle that holds
three ounces of water at 55 _Fah._ ought to hold four ounces of syrup.
Syrups are introduced into medicinal formulæ for several purposes, viz.
I. _To correct or disguise the flavour of disagreeable remedies._ Syrup:
Aurantiorum. L.D. (_Form, 48, 51, 107_.)—Limonum, L.E.D.—Simplex (124,
145).—Zingiberis (88, 95, 105.) Bitter infusions, and saline solutions
are rendered more nauseous by the addition of syrups.
II. _To produce Medicinal Effects._ Syrup: Allii. D.—_Altheæ_. L.E.
(135)—_Acidi Acetosi._ E.—Colchici. E.—Sennæ. E.D. (70)—Scillæ Maritimæ.
E.—Rhamni. L. _Papaveris_. L.E.D. (5, 7, 75, 169, 170.)—Rosæ
(74)—Zingiberis (47, 150)—Sarsaparillæ. L.
III. _To communicate peculiar forms._
Every syrup answers this purpose; for the necessary proportions, see
_Electuaria_.
IV. _To communicate an agreeable colour._ Syrup. Croci: L.—Rhæados. L.D.
(166, 168.)—Caryophylli Rubri. D.—Violæ. E. Except that of Saffron,
these syrups are rendered green by alkalies, and red by acids.
GENERAL REMARKS. The practitioner should never introduce syrups into
those medicines which are liable to be injured by the generation of
acids: I have frequently seen the _cretaceous mixture_, when charged
with syrup. Increase, instead of check, a diarrhœa; and the syrup of
poppies, from its disposition to become acescent, will often aggravate
rather than allay the cholic of infants. The syrup of Senna furnishes
the practitioner with a convenient purgative for children; that of
buckthorn is more violent, and is on that account but rarely used;
besides which, in preparing it the chemist not unfrequently substitutes
the berries of the _Cornus Sanguinea_, the Dogberry-tree, or those of
the _Rhamnus Frangula_, the Alder-buckthorn, for the Rhamnus
Catharticus; a circumstance which necessarily renders the efficacy of
this syrup variable and uncertain; it is moreover often sophisticated
with treacle and jalap. The syrup of the rose, when made with the leaves
of the _Damask_[656] rose, is gently laxative, and is well adapted for
weak children; it is however not unusual, _coloris gratia_, to
substitute the leaves of the _red_ rose, in which case the syrup will
possess astringent instead of laxative properties. In the preparation of
the syrup of poppies,[657] the directions of the College are frequently
not obeyed; it is sometimes made by dissolving the extract in syrup,
formed with coarse sugar, or even with treacle; at others, by adding
tincture of opium to a coarse syrup, in the proportion of ♏︎x to every
f℥j. In the preparation of the syrups of violets, the juice of red
cabbage is generally substituted; this is at least a harmless fraud.
NOTE. The syrups which are printed in _Italics_, are very susceptible of
decomposition, and should be kept in cool places.
TABACI FOLIA. L.E.
(Nicotiana Tabacum. Folia Siccata. _Virginiana._)
NICOTIANÆ FOLIA. D.
_Tobacco._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, strong, narcotic, and fœtid; _Taste_, bitter, and
extremely acrid; _Colour_, yellowish green, (its brown appearance is
artificial, being produced by the action of _sulphate of iron_.)
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Mucilage, albumen, gluten, extractive, a bitter
principle, _an essential oil_, nitrate of potass, which occasions its
deflagration, muriate of potass, and a peculiar proximate principle upon
which the properties of the plant are supposed to depend, and which has
therefore been named _Nicotin_.[658] Vauquelin considers it as
approaching the volatile oils in its properties; it is colourless, has
an acrid taste, and the peculiar smell of tobacco, and occasions violent
sneezing; with alcohol and water, it produces colourless solutions, from
which it is thrown down by tincture of galls. SOLUBILITY. Tobacco yields
its active matter both to water and spirit, but more perfectly to the
latter; long coction weakens its powers. An oil of tobacco of a most
powerful nature, may be obtained by distilling the leaves and separating
it from the water, on the top of which it will be found to float.[659]
MED. USES. Tobacco is endued with energetic poisonous properties,
producing generally a universal tremor which is rarely the result of
other poisons; the experiments of M. Orfila moreover demonstrate, that
the action of Tobacco is much more energetic when the soluble portion is
injected into the anus, than when it is applied to the cellular texture,
and for a still stronger reason, than when introduced into the stomach.
Mr. Brodie, from the result of a well devised experiment, has deduced
the conclusion that the infusion of Tobacco acts upon the heart,
occasioning syncope, through the medium of the nervous system. USES. As
a powerful sedative, it is sometimes valuable in medical practice; the
leaves, when applied in the form of a cataplasm to the pit of the
stomach, produce an emetic operation; (_Form. 67._) In cases of
obstinate constipation, depending upon violent spasmodic constriction,
or in _ileus_, or _incarcerated hernia_, clysters of the smoke of
Tobacco, or of an infusion made according to the London College, produce
almost immediate relief, (_Form. 26._); the practice is not unfrequently
attended with severe vomiting, extreme debility, and cold sweats,
circumstances which render its administration highly dangerous in cases
wherein the patient has been already exhausted by previous suffering. I
remember witnessing a lamentable instance of this truth some years ago;
a medical practitioner, after repeated trials to reduce a strangulated
hernia, injected an infusion of Tobacco, and shortly afterwards sent the
patient in a carriage to the Westminster Hospital, for the purpose of
undergoing the operation; but the unfortunate man arrived only a few
minutes before he expired. Clysters of Tobacco were some years ago
recommended in America, for the purpose of forwarding difficult
parturition, by inducing relaxation and consequent dilatation of the _os
uteri_, but the alarming symptoms which followed the single case in
which Tobacco was thus employed, ought, says _Dr. Merriman_, to prevent
a repetition of the experiment.[660] It was also formerly proposed to
inject infusions of Tobacco, for the purpose of recovering persons in a
state of _asphyxia_ from drowning; it is difficult to explain how such
an idea could have entered into the mind of the rational physiologist.
Smoking or chewing Tobacco has been also advised in cases of spasmodic
asthma, and as a general sedative to relieve suffering; in the process
of _smoking_, the oil is separated, and being rendered empyreumatic by
heat, it is thus applied to the fauces in its most active state. As a
diuretic it was successfully exhibited by Dr. Fowler, but as its
operation is uncertain and violent, and appears to be very analogous to
that of Digitalis, which is far more safe and manageable, it has been
very judiciously discarded from practice. The external application of
Tobacco in the form of cataplasm or infusion, has been applied to
several species of cutaneous disease, but even in this state it is
liable to exert its virulent effects. A woman applied to the heads of
three children afflicted with _tinea capitis_, a liniment consisting of
powdered tobacco and butter, soon after which they experienced vertigo,
violent vomiting, and fainting. (_Ephemerides des Curieux de la Nature_,
Dec. ii. An: i. p. 46.) A case has just occurred in this country of a
child whose death was occasioned by her having swallowed a portion of
half-smoked tobacco, which was taken from the pipe of her father, and in
which there no doubt existed a quantity of essential oil, which had been
separated by the act of smoking. It is a curious fact, that the juice of
the green leaves instantly cures the stinging of nettles.
ADULTERATIONS. When it exhales a fetid odour, we may infer that it has
been badly prepared, and not deprived of all its mucus; when pungent,
the presence of some deleterious drug is indicated: Cascarilla is very
usually added to impart a peculiar flavour; Nitre is also employed for
the sake of making it kindle more rapidly, and to impress a lively
sensation on the tongue; its vapour is of course very injurious to the
lungs: its presence may be detected by treating a suspected sample with
hot water, and after filtering the solution through charcoal, setting it
aside in order that it may yield its crystals by evaporation. Traces of
_Lead_, _Copper_, or _Antimony_, may be discovered by boiling the
Tobacco in strong vinegar, and, after filtering it as before, by
assaying it with appropriate tests. _Black Hellebore_, _Alum_, _Sugar_,
and _Corrosive sublimate_ are amongst the more usual sophistications.
_Dried Dock_ leaves are also sometimes substituted. OFFICINAL PREP:
_Infus: Tabacci_. L. _Vinum Nicotian: Tabac:_ E.
SNUFF. This well known errhine is prepared from the dried leaves of
Tobacco; in its manufacture however, numerous additions are made which
are kept secret. _Salt_ is added for the purpose of increasing its
weight; _Urine_, Muriate of ammonia, and powdered Glass, to heighten its
acrimony. The varied flavour of different _Snuffs_ is owing to the leaf
being in greater or less perfection; or to its having undergone some
degree of fermentation; thus, for instance, the _Macouba Snuff_ of
Martinique is principally indebted for its acknowledged superiority to
the fermentation which the Tobacco undergoes, from being moistened with
the best cane juice; other kinds are excited into fermentation by
moistening them with melasses and water.
Snuff possesses all the powers of Tobacco; the celebrated Santeuil
experienced vomiting and horrible pains, amidst which he expired, in
consequence of having drank a glass of wine, into which had been put
some Spanish snuff.[661]
TAMARINDI PULPA. L. (TAMARINDUS INDICA.)
TAMARINDUS: FRUCTUS. D.
FRUCTUS CONDITUS. E.
The Pulp or preserved Fruit of the _Tamarind_.[662]
QUALITIES. _Taste_, sweetish acid; _Odour_, none. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.
℥j of Tamarinds is composed of Citric acid grs. 45, Malic acid grs. 2,
Super-tartrate of potass grs. 15, together with sugar, gum, jelly,
fecula, and woody fibre. USES. A pleasant febrifuge may be formed by
infusing Tamarinds in water or milk; they improve the taste of the more
nauseous cathartics. OFFICINAL PREP: _Confectio Cassiæ_. L.E.D. _Infus:
Tamarind: cum Senna_. E.D. CAUTION. Copper vessels should never be
employed for the preparation of any compound which contains _Tamarinds_.
TARAXACI RADIX. L.E.
(Leontodon Taraxacum.) Dens Leonis.
_Dandelion._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, none; _Taste_, bitter, and somewhat sweet and
acidulous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The active principles appear to consist
of extractive, gluten, a bitter principle (_not resinous_), and tartaric
acid. SOLUBILITY. Water extracts its virtues much better than spirit.
INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Infusion of Galls_, _Nitrate of Silver_,
_Oxy-muriate of Mercury_, _Acetate of Lead_, and _Sulphate of Iron_
occasion precipitates in its solutions. MED. USES. It has long enjoyed
the reputation of proving beneficial in obstructions of the liver, and
in visceral diseases; Bergius extols its use in these complaints, and
recommends the recent root to be boiled in whey or broth. Dr. Pemberton
has more recently added his testimony to its value; he observes that he
has seen great advantage result from using the extract in chronic
inflammation, and incipient schirrhus of the liver, and in chronic
derangement of the stomach. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In that of extract, or
in decoction made by boiling ℥j of the sliced root in oj of water down
to oss, adding to the strained liquid ʒj of Cream of tartar; the recent
full grown root only should be used. DOSE f℥jj, twice or thrice a day.
OFFICINAL PREP: _Extract: Taraxaci_. The roots are roasted and used at
Gottingen by the poorer people for coffee, from which a decoction of
them properly prepared can hardly be distinguished.[663] The leaves of
this plant are blanched, and very commonly used on the continent as a
salad.
TEREBINTHINA. L.E.D. _Turpentine._
Most species of Pinus[664] may be made to yield (and many of them
produce spontaneously) a remarkable resinous juice, usually called
_Turpentine:_ an appellation, however, which more properly belongs to
the product of a different genus, called by Linnæus _Pistachia_, which
contains the true _Terebinthus_[665] of the ancients.
QUALITIES. _Consistence_, semifluid and tenacious, but becoming more or
less concrete by age; _Odour_, aromatic; _Taste_, pungent, austere, and
astringent. It is inflammable. SOLUBILITY. It is entirely soluble in
rectified spirit, but not at all in water; although it becomes miscible
with that fluid, by the mediation of the yelk or the white of an egg,
but more elegantly by that of vegetable mucilage, and forms a milky
liquor. It is capable of entering into union with fixed oils. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Resin, and an essential oil, the proportions of which vary
according to the species of Pine from which it is obtained. They all,
however, possess the same general chemical, as well as medicinal
properties, viz. When internally taken, says Dr. Maton, they seem to
warm the _viscera_, raise the pulse, and impart additional excitement to
the vascular system; applied externally, they increase the tone of the
part, counteract indolence of action, and deterge, as it were,
ill-conditioned ulcers. _Internal_ ulcerations indeed, especially of the
urinary passages, as well as laxities of the seminal and uterine
vessels, are supposed to be diminished by the exhibition of preparations
of this nature. They certainly appear to act in a peculiar manner on the
urinary organs, impregnating the water with a violet smell, and there
are strong grounds for believing that its volatile element, developed by
the powers of digestion, passes into the circulation, and is eliminated
by the kidneys, whose secreting vessels are thus stimulated _by its
contact_. (_Page 93._) Pulmonary complaints, as obstinate coughs and
asthmatic affections, have been said to give way to medicines of this
class; yet, in modern practice, recourse is rarely had to them in such
cases, and their exhibition is even considered hazardous. The ancients
were accustomed to medicate their wines with various Terebinthinate
substances, for the effect of which, see _Vinum_.
The particular preparations of Turpentine most employed in medicine,
will be noticed under the different species.
1. TEREBINTHINA CANADENSIS. L. (Pinus Balsamea. _Resina Liquida._)
_Canada Turpentine_, or _Canada Balsam_.[666] This is a transparent
whitish juice, brought to this country from Canada, and apparently, says
Dr. Maton, not very different in its qualities from the celebrated _Balm
of Gilead_,[667] so high in esteem among the eastern nations, and so
strongly recommended in a variety of complaints. Hitherto, however, it
has not been much employed in England. Its odour is agreeable, and its
taste strong and pungent.
2. TEREBINTHINA CHIA. L. (Pistachia Terebinthus.) _Chio_, or _Cyprus
Turpentine_. The superiority of this species to all the products of the
pine tribe, was well known to, and described by, most of the ancient
writers on the materia medica. It is pellucid, with a bluish-green cast.
3. TEREBINTHINA VULGARIS. L. (Pinus Sylvestris. _Scotch Fir._) _Common
Turpentine._ _Horse Turpentine._ This species is more coarse and dense
than any other kind, and has an opaque light brown colour; its
consistence may be compared to that of honey; the taste is very acrid,
hot, and disagreeable, and the smell much less pleasant than either the
_Venice_ or the _Strasburg_ turpentine. It is the kind which, as its
name implies, is most commonly employed, and although inferior in
quality to that of the turpentine tree, _Pistachia Terebinthus_ (Chio or
Cyprus), the Larch, _Pinus Larix_ (Venice Turpentine), and the Silver
Fir, _Pinus Picea_ (Strasburgh Turpentine), especially for internal use,
yet it is too often substituted for them in the shops of the druggist.
The Colleges of London and Edinburgh direct the common turpentine to be
used chiefly in external applications, for which it was also much
employed by the ancients. Celsus mentions, “_Resina liquida pinea_,” as
entering into the composition of many of his “_Malagmata_,” and the
“_Resina liquida_,” of other writers would appear to be of the same
kind. The _Unguentum Elemi compositum_ contains this resinous juice as a
principal ingredient.
4. TEREBINTHINA VENETA. (Pinus Larix.)[668] _The Larch._ _Venice
Turpentine._ The resin is by most writers, and in the shops, esteemed
the best, after that of _Pistachia Terebinthus_, of those juices
commonly called _Turpentines_. It is usually thinner than any other
kind, of a pale yellowish colour, and of a hot, pungent, bitterish
taste; the smell is strong, and far from being agreeable. Although it
bears the name of _Venice Turpentine_, very little of it is exported
from the Venetian territories; but it is probable that the merchants of
that country were the first who substituted it for the genuine
Turpentine of Cyprus. The resinous juice of the Larch is said to remain
always, or at least a very long time, in a state of liquidity; a
property which is particularly adverted to by Pliny.[669] As a Diuretic,
the _Venice_ Turpentine has been generally preferred to all the other
kinds; and it is said to relax the bowels more, for which reason
_Riverius_[670] considers it as being safer than other irritating
diuretics.
5. TEREBINTHINA ARGENTORATENSIS. (Pinus Picea.) _Strasburg Turpentine._
This resin is generally of a middle consistence between that of the
_Terebinthus_ and the _Larix_; more transparent and less tenacious than
either; in colour yellowish brown; in smell more agreeable than any
other turpentine, except the Cyprian; in taste the bitterest, yet the
least acrid.
_Form of Exhibition._ The Turpentines may be either made into Pills with
powdered liquorice root, or suspended in water by the intervention of
egg or mucilage; for which purpose, ℥j requires the yelk of one egg, or
ʒiss of gum arabic. _Dose_, gr. x to ʒj.
TEREBINTHINÆ OLEUM. L.E.D.
_Oil of Turpentine._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a limpid and colourless liquid, whose specific
gravity is only ·792; _Odour_, strong, penetrating, and peculiar;
_Taste_, hot, bitter and pungent. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is an
essential oil, possessing, however, peculiar habitudes with respect to
alcohol, being readily dissolved by _hot_ alcohol, but separating again
in drops, as the spirit cools; in the cold it is sparingly soluble in
the strongest alcohol, and separates from it on standing; but it
dissolves completely in six parts of sulphuric æther. It is not acted
upon by the alkalies, except by long triture, when it is converted into
a species of resin.[671] MED. USES. It acts according to the dose,
either on the _primæ viæ_ producing catharsis, or on the kidneys,
exciting diuresis; thus its operation offers another illustration of the
views which I have so frequently urged during the progress of the
present work; it furnishes a striking example of the important influence
of quantity, or _dose_, in determining the specific operation of a
remedy; thus _two fluid-drachms_ of the oil may so excite the urinary
organs as to produce even bloody urine, and the other ill effects
described by Boerhaave and Lange; whereas _six fluid-drachms_, or a
_fluid-ounce_, will stimulate the bowels, and produce scarcely any
apparent effect upon the kidneys.
As a medicine acting powerfully on the first passages, its value seems
only to have been lately appreciated; in Tænia, it may be said to act
almost as a specific remedy, discharging it in all cases, _dead_. In
obstinate constipation, depending on affections of the brain, I have
lately had several opportunities or witnessing its beneficial effects;
in an unfortunate instance of _Hydrocephalus acutus_ in a boy of
thirteen years of age,[672] it brought away an accumulation of feculent
matter almost incredible as to quantity, after the total failure of the
strongest doses of ordinary purgatives; and, I believe, if its dose be
sufficiently large, that it may generally be administered with perfect
safety and confidence. Dr. Latham has long regarded it as a valuable
medicine in Epilepsy, in which cases it may in the first instance prove
beneficial by unloading the bowels, and subsequently in producing an
affection of the head peculiar to its use; and, which generally succeeds
a large dose, it is an approach to intoxication, but is unaccompanied
with that hilarity and elevation of thought that so usually follow the
potation of spirituous liquors. In small doses it produces diuresis, and
is used with much advantage in sciatica and lumbago.[673] Its use in
diseases of the kidneys originating from ulcerations and obstructions in
those organs has been very highly extolled. Cheyne, in his Essay on the
gout, recommends it as a specific in Sciatica; upon this subject my own
experience so completely confirms the truth of Dr. Maton’s observations,
that I shall here insert them. “If,” says he, “I may be allowed to offer
the result of my own practice, its effects are in a few instances
successful in the removal of that disease; and even those cases which I
have seen cured under its use, appeared to be rather of the symptomatic
than idiophatic kind; it is reasonable to presume that the sciatic
nerve, from its origin and course, may owe some of its morbid affections
to an obstructed ureter, as well as to a rheumatic diathesis.” _Form:
50._ Hunter spoke of oil of turpentine as a styptic, and it has been
administered in the Almond emulsion in cases of internal hemorrhage of
an active nature. We should however be very careful how we make such an
experiment. This oil has the effect of communicating the odour of
violets to the urine of those who take it, and what is still more
extraordinary, to those even who merely expose themselves for a short
time to its effluvia:[674] a mixture of ♏︎x of this oil with f℥j of
almond oil, introduced upon cotton into the ears, is serviceable in
cases of deafness resulting from a diseased action of the ceruminiferous
glands; it is also employed as a local stimulant in a variety of cases:
and in cholic, and obstinate constipation, it is sometimes exhibited in
the form of an enema. In America, oil of Turpentine, in doses of a
drachm every hour or two, has been successfully administered in cases of
Yellow fever, when, says Dr. Chapman, it appears to be soothing in its
effects, removing the sense of heat and irritation in the stomach,
subduing the force of vascular action and general excitement, and
inducing at once a condition of more comfort and security. Orfila also
recommends it as the best corrective of inflammation in the stomach from
acrid poisons. In this country it has been very successfully employed in
cases of Melæna, and in Puerperal fever. As a stimulating liniment its
advantages are considerable, see _Liniment: Terebinth:_ In Germany,
Norway, and some parts of the Russian Empire, this essential oil is
frequently used as a remedy for lesions of the tendons, and other
bruises.[675] DOSE as an anthelmintic, f℥ss-f℥ij, repeated every eight
hours until the worm is ejected; in these large quantities it is more
convenient, as well as more efficacious, to administer it like castor
oil, floating upon some liquid aromatic vehicle:[676] by rubbing up Oil
of Turpentine with mucilage, we do but render it more pungent, and
difficult to swallow. As a diuretic or stimulant it may be given in the
form of an electuary, in doses of from ♏︎x to fʒj. It may be also
employed as a very active clyster, made by carefully incorporating one
or two table spoonsful of the oil with the yelk of an egg, and adding to
it a pint of thin mucilage. This terebinthinate clyster is well
calculated to relieve a paroxysm of flatulent cholic. OFFICINAL PREP.
_Liniment. Terebinth_. L. The Pharmacopœias direct the rectification of
the oil by redistillation,[677] when it is commonly called _Spirit_ of
turpentine, but it appears to be an unnecessary refinement. Dr. Nimmo
has proposed the following process for purifying the oil intended for
medicinal use, by which it is said to have its disagreeable flavour
lessened without sustaining any loss of efficacy. To eight parts of the
oil, add one part of the strongest alcohol, and let them be well
agitated together. In a few minutes a separation takes place; the oil,
unless very impure, falls to the bottom, and the alcohol, having
discharged the impurities, floats at the top. Pour off the alcoholic
portion, add a similar quantity of alcohol, and proceed as before. If
this be repeated three or four times, the oil will become nearly
tasteless, almost inodorous, and when evaporated will leave no residuum.
But pure as the oil may be thus rendered, it speedily returns to its
original condition.
TIGLII OLEUM. L. Oil of Tiglium.
Croton Tiglium. _Oleum e Seminibus expressum._
The _Croton Tiglium_ is a native of the island of Ceylon, and is found
in Malabar, China, Cochinchina, and the Molucca Islands. Every part of
the plant would seem to be endowed with medicinal activity; the _root_
acts as a drastic purgative, and when pulverized, and exhibited in the
dose of a few grains, is considered at Amboyna and Batavia, as a
specific for dropsy; the _wood_ (_lignum Pavanæ_) produces, when
administered in small doses, a diaphoretic effect, and in larger ones it
proves drastic; the _leaves_ are also purgative, and when dried and
powdered are supposed to afford an antidote against the bite of the
_cobra del Capella_. The _seeds_, however, are the parts which have been
more generally employed in medicine, the effects of which appear to have
been well known for nearly a thousand years.[A] They were early
introduced into Europe, and long known under the names of _Grana
Molucca_—_Tilii Grana_—and _Grana Tiglia_.[678] It appears that they
were at first very frequently administered, but their extreme acrimony
and violence,[679] and probably the accidents which arose from their
injudicious use, soon banished the article from medical practice; in
India, however these seeds are still employed as an effectual purgative,
after first undergoing the process of roasting, or baking, for the
purpose of removing the shell, rendering the nut pulverulent, and at the
same time of moderating the acrimonious qualities.[680] The expressed
oil of these seeds does not appear to have been obtained in a separate
form until a later period; Lemery speaks of it, and Geoffroy in
directing its dose cautions us against giving more than ʒj!—he probably
meant a drop. Its use has very lately been revived, and there can be
little doubt but that under proper restrictions, it may become a
valuable acquisition to the practitioner. The profession is indebted for
its late introduction, or rather revival, to Mr. E. Conwell, of the East
India Company’s Medical Service, on the Madras Establishment, who,[681]
having for many years prescribed it with advantage, introduced a
quantity of it for trial in London, through the medium of his friend,
Mr. Short, of Ratcliffe Highway.
QUALITIES. This expressed oil has a yellow colour, a faint odour, and an
acrid taste; these qualities however will be found to vary in different
samples; but the fact, as Dr. Nimmo[682] has justly observed, may be
fairly explained, without suspecting the existence of any fraud, by
supposing that the seeds have undergone a different degree of
torrefaction, in order to separate the oil from the farinaceous part.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. The recent experiments of Dr. Nimmo have very
satisfactorily shewn that this oil consists of 45 parts of an _Acrid
purgative principle_, and 55 of a fixed oil resembling that of olives,
and not possessed of any cathartic property. The acrid principle appears
to reside in a resinous matter soluble in alcohol and sulphuric æther,
and in volatile and fixed oils. I have lately repeated some of Dr.
Nimmo’s experiments on a recently imported sample of oil, and with
similar results. The acrid principle appears to bear a strong analogy to
that which I separated from elaterium, and as I gave to this latter
principle the term _Elatin_, it seems to me that we might with much
propriety, apply the name _Tiglin_ to the former, especially as it does
not appear to possess any of the characters and habitudes of a
salifiable basis; at all events the adoption of such a term will obviate
the necessity of circumlocution in our descriptions. SOLUBILITY. By
alcohol the oil undergoes a ready decomposition; the _Tiglin_ is
dissolved together with a very minute quantity of the oily part. Ether
and oil of turpentine dissolve the whole; a fact which enables us, by
digesting the seeds in these menstrua, to obtain the article in as
genuine, and certainly in a much more uniform, condition, than by the
processes of torrefaction and expression, as practised in India; for
this fact we are also indebted to Dr. Nimmo. MED. USES. As far as I have
been able to ascertain the fact, this oil does not appear to produce any
effects which cannot be commanded by other drastic purgatives; its value
depends upon the facility with which it may be administered; in some
cases it is amply sufficient to touch the tongue, in others, a drop or
two will be required. In maniacs, and in cases where the administration
of bulky medicines is extremely difficult, it would seem to offer a
decided advantage.[683] FORMS OF EXHIBITION. It has been usually given
in this country in the proportion of from one to two drops, in the form
of pills. Dr. Nimmo’s discovery with respect to the chemical composition
of the oil, very naturally suggested to him the mode of administering it
in the form of an alcoholic tincture, (_Tinctura Tiglii_,) and he has
found by experience that such a preparation furnishes the means of
readily apportioning the dose to the various circumstances of the case;
thus he found that in administering a tincture[684] in doses equivalent
to the number of drops decomposed, the same effects were produced as
have been attributed to the entire oil. ADULTERATIONS. Much has been
said upon the fraudulent admixture of this comparatively expensive
article with the cheaper fixed oils; and we believe with much truth; a
circumstance which will of necessity prevent the general use of the
article; and occasion very different reports with respect to its value
and activity. Dr. Nimmo however proposes a method of detecting such
adulteration, by a process suggested by the results of his experiments
upon its composition, and whose rationalé will be easily understood
after the chemical history that has been just presented.
“Let a very light phial be counterpoised in an accurate balance; pour
into it 50 grains of the suspected oil, add alcohol (which has been
previously digested[685] upon olive oil,) agitate them well, pour off
the solution and add more alcohol as before, until the dissolved portion
is diffused in such a proportion of alcohol that each half drachm
measure shall contain equal to one dose of the oil of _Tiglium_ for an
adult. By afterwards placing the phial near a fire, to evaporate what
remains of the alcohol in the bottle, _if the residuum be to that which
has been abstracted by the alcohol as_ 55 to 45, _the oil is genuine_.
If olive, or any other oil little soluble in alcohol, has been employed
as the adulterating agent, it is evident that the residuum will be in a
larger proportion; but should _Castor Oil_ have been employed for that
purpose, the proportion of the residuum will be smaller even than in the
genuine medicine.”
TINCTURÆ. L.E.D. _Tinctures._
These consist of alcohol, proof spirit, or spirit of greater or less
density, holding in solution one or more of those proximate principles
of vegetable or animal matter which are soluble in that menstruum, viz;
_Sugar_, _resin_, _extractive_, _tannin_, _cinchonia_, _camphor_,
_volatile oils_, _morphia_, _emetin_, _conein_, _elatin_, _tiglin_, and
_several acids_. The proper solvent of those bodies, termed gum-resins,
appears to be proof spirit. The compilers of the _Codex Medicamentarius_
of Paris, have defined the different degrees of spirituous strength
requisite for the full and perfect extraction of the active elements of
different bodies with great truth and nicety; thus they direct for these
purposes a spirit of three different standards, viz. 36 (_Sp._ _gr._
·837,) 32 (·856) 22, (·915) of Beaumé’s hydrometer; with the first are
prepared the _resinous_ tinctures; with the second those wherein the
_resinous_, _extractive_, or _gummy_ elements, hold nearly an equal
place; and with the third those in which the latter predominate. We are
moreover indebted to this committee for having set at rest a question
which has been long doubtful, whether the addition of alkaline agents
increases the extractive powers of the spirit? They have indeed
ascertained by experiment, that the reverse not frequently obtains; for
instance, they found that a smaller proportion of _guaiacum_ was
dissolved by the spirit of ammonia, than by alcohol of the same
strength, and that the quantity of matter dissolved from the _root of
Valerian_ was the same in both cases. Very active substances, soluble in
alcohol, are those which are particularly adapted for tinctures, since
they furnish preparations which are efficient in small doses, and very
manageable in extemporaneous prescription, such are the tinctures of
_Opium_, _Digitalis_, _Hyoscyamus_, _Scilla_, _&c._ and from the
chemical analysis of _Elaterium_, there can be no doubt but that a very
active and useful tincture of that substance might be introduced into
practice; while Dr. Nimmo has very clearly proved that the active matter
of the _Croton Tiglium_ may be thus concentrated, see _Tiglii Oleum_. On
the contrary, substances of little activity, except in large doses, are
the least adapted for this form of exhibition, as in such cases the
solvent will act more powerfully on the living system, than the
principles which it may hold in solution, and when continued for any
length of time, will lay the foundation of the pernicious custom of dram
drinking; such tinctures, however, are not without their value in
combination; they sometimes increase the efficacy, and often correct the
operation or disguise the flavour, of the medicines with which they may
be united; for example, the cathartic tinctures in _Formula 70_, augment
the purgative powers of the combination, at the same time that they
correct its unpleasant operation; many other illustrations are presented
in the different formulæ, for the explanation of which I must refer the
student to the _Key Letters_. The addition of a tincture has likewise
the effect of preserving decoctions and infusions from spontaneous
decomposition, the _compound tincture of Cardamoms_ answers such an
object in the _compound decoction of Aloes_. Tinctures are sometimes
made with æther, but they are generally more strongly characterised by
the nature of the menstruum than by that of the substance dissolved in
it; indeed, æther is used in these cases, not to dissolve substances
which would resist the action of alcohol and water, but for the sake of
its own direct action on the body; thus the Edinburgh pharmacopœia
directs an _Æthereal Tincture of Aloes_, which is more penetrating and
stimulant than the alcoholic tinctures; the London College, with the
exception of the _Aromatic Spirit of Æther_, does not recognise any
preparation of this nature: I have already alluded to the _Æthereal
Tincture of Digitalis_ of the French Codex, than which nothing can be
more injudicious, for the digitalis does not amount to more than 1⁄70th
part of the tincture, and must therefore be entirely counteracted by the
stimulant effects of the menstruum. The same objection cannot be urged
against the æthereal tinctures of _Castor_, _Musk_, and _Amber_, since
in these cases, the subject and the menstruum concur in their mode of
operation.
Tinctures derive their names from the substances which impart activity
to them, and as the medicinal history of each substance is detailed
under its proper head, it will be unnecessary to dwell at any length
upon the individual virtues of these tinctures.
1. _Prepared with Rectified Spirit_.
TINCTURA ASSAFŒTIDÆ. L.D. _Dose_, fʒss to fʒj.
—— BENZOES COMP. L.E.D. _Balsamum Traumaticum_, P.L. 1745. This is a
combination of Benzoin, Storax, and Tolu, with aloes; it is regarded as
a stimulating expectorant, and has been used in chronic catarrh and
confirmed asthma, but it is now very rarely employed, except as an
application to wounds and languid ulcers. It is sold under the name of
_Friar’s Balsam_; and with respect to the use of this preparation as a
_Styptic_, the public have fallen into a serious error; fresh wounds it
must necessarily injure, not only by its stimulating qualities, but by
the separation of the resins which take place on its intermixture with
the blood; these form a substance, which absolutely prevents what is
most desirable in such case,—the sides of the wound coming in contact
and uniting by the first intention. Dose. As an internal remedy from
fʒss to fʒij, triturated with yelk of egg, or mucilage, to suspend it in
water.
TINCTURA CASTOREI. L.E. _Dose_, ♏︎xx to fʒij. See Form 20, 23, 25, 76,
97, 136.
TINCTURA CASTOREI COMPOSITA. E. This is much more active than the
preceding tincture, as it contains assafœtida, and its menstruum is
ammoniated alcohol. Dose ♏︎xv to fʒj.
TINCTURA CINCHONÆ AMMONIATA. L. In this preparation we have the tonic
powers of the bark combined with the stimulus of the Ammonia. _Dose_,
fʒss to fʒij. Acids and Acidulous Salts are of course incompatible with
it.
TINCTURA GUAIACI. L.E.D. A simple solution of guaiac. _Dose_, fʒi-fʒiij.
TINCTURA GUAIACI AMMONIATA. This is a solution of the guaiac in the
aromatic spirit of ammonia, and is consequently more stimulating than
the preceding one, and more efficacious as a sudorific: after arterial
action is properly reduced, it is certainly one of our best remedies in
rheumatism. _Dose_, fʒj to fʒij, at bed time, and its effects should be
promoted by some warm beverage. It is worthy of remark, that nitrous
acid and the spirit of nitric æther occasion an extraordinary
decomposition of these tinctures, separating the guaiacum into
coagulated masses, and imparting to the whole an intense bluish green
colour. I find that _chlorine_ has the same effect;[686] but the
sulphuric and muriatic acids produce no disturbance, although all acids
and acidulous salts must be considered as incompatible with it. If equal
parts of quick-lime and powdered guaiacum be rubbed together, and a
quantity of water be poured over them, and the mixture be allowed to
stand until it becomes fine, we shall obtain a solution of this
substance, which will mix in any proportion with aqueous vehicles
without decomposition, and to which the aromatic spirit of ammonia may
be subsequently added with effect.
TINCTURA TOLUIFERÆ BALSAMI. E.D. This is only useful as an adjunct, to
impart agreeable flavour and fragrance to other remedies.
The above tinctures, when added to water, are instantly decomposed, the
practitioner must therefore remember that when he prescribes them in
aqueous vehicles, it will be necessary to direct them to be triturated
with some viscid liquor, as mucilage, previous to the addition of the
water, in order to suspend the resinous precipitate.
2. _Tinctures prepared with Spirit above Proof._
TINCTURA ALOES COMPOSITA. L.D. _Elixir Proprietatis._ P.L. 1720.
Tincture of Myrrh is the menstruum of the Aloes in this preparation, to
which Saffron is added. Dose, fʒj to fʒij. _Form. 16, 97._
TINCTURA MYRRHÆ. L. The strength of the spirituous solvent has been very
judiciously increased in the _Editio Altera_ of the London Pharmacopœia,
by which means a brighter tincture is obtained. It is rarely used except
in astringent and detergent gargles, or as an external application to
foul ulcers; diluted with water it presents us with an excellent lotion
for spongy gums.[687]
3. _Tinctures prepared with Proof Spirit._
TINCTURA ANGUSTURÆ. D. See _Cuspariæ Cortex._
TINCTURA AURANTII. L.D. An agreeable adjunct to bitter infusions.
_Dose_, fʒij to fʒiij.
TINCTURA CALUMBÆ. L.D. A valuable stomachic. _Form. 32, 35, 154, 155,
159._ _Dose_, fʒi-fʒiij.
TINCTURA CAMPHORÆ COMPOSITA. _Tinctura Opii Camphorata._ P.L. 1787.
_Elixir Paregoricum._[688] P.L. 1745. This preparation had undergone
both change of name and composition in the last Pharmacopœia; its old
name was thought improper from its similarity to that of _tincture of
opium_, and the _oil of aniseed_ has been omitted on account of its
disagreeable flavour; still, however, these perpetual changes are most
distressing; the tincture, as it is now prepared, is very different from
that which has been so long and so generally sold under the name of
_Paregoric Elixir_, and the chemist is therefore obliged to keep both
the preparations, and to send the one or the other, according as it may
be required by the old or new name. One fluid-ounce contains nearly two
grains of Opium and of benzoic acid, and about one grain and a quarter
of camphor. In _doses_ of fʒj to fʒiij, it is anodyne.
TINCTURA CANTHARIDES. D. This tincture is highly stimulating, acting
with great energy upon the urinary organs; it therefore offers a
resource in gleets, fluor albus, incontinence of urine, &c. it has also
proved serviceable as a highly stimulating diuretic, in cases of
_Hydrops Ovarii_. See _Form. 116_. _Dose_, ♏︎x to fʒj, given in some
demulcent infusion; it is likewise employed with advantage as a
stimulating embrocation and rubefacient, in conjunction with _soap_ or
camphor _liniment_. Externally it has been used in the cure of Sinuses,
and fistulous openings, in the proportion of three fluid-drachms to a
pint of water.[689]
TINCTURA CAPSICI. L. It is an excellent stimulant. See _Capsici Baccæ_.
_Dose_, ♏︎x to fʒi.
TINCTURA CARDAMOMI COMPOSITA. L. An agreeable cordial, and adjunct to
bitter infusions. See _Form. 47, 51_.[690] _Dose_, fʒi to fʒij.
TINCTURA CASCARILLÆ. L.D. It is added with much effect to different
stomachic infusions. See _Form. 33, 39, 41_. _Dose_, fʒi to fʒiij.
TINCTURA CATECHU. L.E.D. A warm and grateful astringent; very useful as
an adjunct to cretaceous mixtures in diarrhœa, &c. See _Form. 51, 52,
58_. _Dose_, fʒi to fʒiij.
TINCTURA CINCHONÆ. L.E.D. Used as an adjunct to the decoction or
infusion of the bark. See _Form. 126, 127_. _Dose_, fʒj to f℥ss. It
should be preserved in a place which is not very cold; for a low
temperature precipitates the Morphia; this inconvenience, however, is
obviated by the addition of a little acetic acid, without diminishing
the efficacy of the tincture.
TINCTURA CINCHONÆ COMPOSITA. This resembles the celebrated tincture of
Huxham, and although it contains less cinchona than the simple tincture,
yet from the addition of aromatics it is more grateful and stomachic.
_Dose_, fʒj to f℥ss.
TINCTURA CINNAMOMI. L.D. See _Form. 101_.
TINCTURA CINNAMOMI COMPOSITA. L.E.D. As this is a combination of
aromatics with cinnamon, it is more grateful and stomachic than the
simple tincture. _Dose_, fʒ to fʒij.
TINCTURA CONII MACULATI. E. As _Conein_ is perfectly soluble in spirit,
this tincture constitutes a very elegant and efficient form for the
exhibition of _Hemlock_; I have frequently experienced its effects, when
added to febrifuge mixtures, with satisfaction. The London college has
not hitherto admitted it into the list of tinctures, which is to be
regretted.
TINCTURA CROCI. E.D. It has no medicinal use, independent of its colour.
TINCTURA DIGITALIS. L.E.D. It is a very useful form for the exhibition
of this valuable plant. _Dose_, ♏︎x, cautiously increased. See
_Digitalis Folia_, and _Form. 32_.
TINCTURA GENTIANÆ COMPOSITA. L.E. An elegant stomachic bitter, but less
eligible as a remedy than the infusion. Dose, fʒi-fʒij.
TINCTURA HELLEBORI NIGRI. This preparation was strongly advised by Dr.
Mead, in uterine obstructions. _Dose_, ♏︎xxx to fʒj. See _Hellebori
Radix_.
TINCTURA HUMULI. L.E. It is supposed to possess the tonic and narcotic
properties of the hop. _Dose_, fʒss to fʒiij.
TINCTURA HYOSCYAMI. L. This is a much more powerful narcotic than the
preceding tincture; and it is not liable to affect the head, nor to
produce that disturbance in the biliary secretions which so inevitably
follows the use of opium. _Dose_, fʒss to fʒij.
TINCTURA JALAPÆ. L.E. As the activity of Jalap does not reside in any
one principle, but depends upon the combination of its gum, extractive,
and resin, _proof_ spirit is of course its appropriate solvent; and the
resulting tincture is therefore an active purgative, but it is rarely
administered except as an _adjuvant_ to cathartic combinations. _Dose_,
fʒj to f℥ss. See _Form. 70, 76_.
TINCTURA KINO. L.E.D. This is little else than a solution of _Tannin_;
it is however less astringent than the tincture of Catechu. _Dose_, fʒi
to fʒij.
TINCTURA OPII. L.E.D. This is at once a most convenient and elegant form
for the exhibition of opium; ♏︎xix contain one grain of opium. See
_Opium_, and _Form. 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 52, 75, 76, 107, 110, 117, 127,
136, 156, 172_. As an external application, when rubbed upon the skin it
produces anodyne effects, and it is said that these effects are very
much increased by combining it with acetic acid; an _acetate of morphia_
is probably thus produced.
TINCTURA QUASSIÆ EXCELSÆ. E.D. The bitter principle of this root,
Quassin, is completely extracted by proof spirit. _Dose_, fʒj.
TINCTURA RHEI. L.E.D. Less purgative, but more astringent and aromatic
than the infusion. That made with the East Indian variety is of a deeper
colour, with a tinge of brown. _Dose_, f℥ss to f℥j.
TINCTURA RHEI COMPOSITA. L. A cordial, used principally as an adjunct to
saline purgatives. _Dose_, fʒvj to f℥j, to produce purgative effects;
from fʒj to fʒij, to act as a stomachic.
The Edinburgh Pharmacopœia directs two compound tinctures of Rhubarb for
similar purposes, viz. _Tinct. Rhei et Aloes_; and _Tinct. Rhei et
Gentianæ_.
TINCTURA SCILLÆ. L.E.D. _Dose_, ♏︎x to xxx. See _Form. 65, 109, 139_.
TINCTURA SENNÆ. L.E. _Dose_, fʒij to ℥j. See _Form. 70_. _Dose_, fʒij to
f℥j.
TINCTURA SENNÆ COMPOSITA. E. In this tincture, the Senna is quickened by
Jalap. _Dose_, fʒij to f℥j.[691]
TINCTURA SERPENTARIÆ. L.E.D. Dose, fʒij to fʒiij. It is principally
employed as a stimulating adjunct to the infusion or decoction of
Cinchona, in typhoid fevers. OFFICINAL PREP. _Tinct. Cincon. comp. L.
Dose_, fʒi to fʒiij.
TINCTURA VALERIANÆ. L.D. It is only used as an adjunct to the infusion
of Valerian.
TINCTURA VALERIANÆ AMMONIATA. L.D. This tincture is not more highly
charged with the principles of the Valerian than the foregoing one, but
as the Ammonia corresponds with it in virtue, it is probably more
powerful. _Dose_, fʒi to fʒij. See _Form. 23, 25_.
TINCTURA ZINGIBERIS. L.D. A highly stimulating preparation. See _Form.
33_. _Dose_, fʒss to fʒij.
TINCTURA FERRI AMMONIATI. L.
As this is merely a spirituous solution of the _Ferrum Ammoniatum_, the
title of tincture is improperly applied to it; it seems moreover to be a
very superfluous preparation.
TINCTURA FERRI MURIATIS. L.E.D.
QUALITIES. _Colour_, brownish yellow; _Taste_, styptic; _Odour_, very
peculiar. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It is an alcoholic solution of muriate
of iron; the iron being in the state of _peroxide_. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. _Alkalies_ and their _carbonates_; _the infusions of
astringent vegetables_; _mucilage of gum arabic:_ by this latter
substance it is precipitated in gelatinous flakes. MED. USES. It is one
of the most active preparations of iron which we possess, and it
moreover appears to exert a specific influence upon the urinary
organs.[692] Mr. Cline informs us that ♏︎x, given every ten minutes,
until some sensible effect is produced, afford in dysuria speedy relief;
in hemorrhage from the bladder, kidneys, or uterus, its acts as a
powerful styptic. See _Form. 35, 60, 97, 114_. Externally, it is very
efficacious in destroying venereal warts, either used alone, or diluted
with a small portion of water. _Dose_, ♏︎x to fʒss, or fʒj.[693]
TORMENTILLÆ RADIX. L.E.D.
Tormentilla Officinalis.
_Tormentil Root._
QUALITIES. This root is knotty, externally blackish, internally reddish;
_Odour_, slightly aromatic; _Taste_, austere and styptic. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION. Its active matter is chiefly _Tannin_, and except galls and
catechu, it appears to contain a larger proportion than any other
vegetable astringent.[694] SOLUBILITY. Boiling water extracts all its
virtues, as also does spirit. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Solutions of
Isinglass_, _the Salts of Iron_; _Alkalies_ and _Alkaline Earths_. MED.
USES. It has been chiefly used in diarrhœa, and it is very efficacious
in that which is so frequently attendant on Phthisis. Dr. Fordyce
recommends its union with Ipecacuan, by which combination, he observes,
we shall astringe the vessels of the intestines, and at the same time
relax those of the skin. FORMS OF EXHIBITION. In substance, or in
decoction made by boiling ℥j of the root in oiss of water until reduced
to oj. DOSE, of the substance in powder, ʒss to ʒj; of the above
decoction f℥j thrice a day. OFFICINAL PREP. _Pulv. Cret. Comp._ L.
TOXICODENDRI FOLIA. L.E.
(Rhus Toxicodendron.)
_Sumach Leaves_, or _Poison Oak_.
QUALITIES. Its leaves are inodorous, but have a sub-acrid taste.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Gallic acid, tannin, and a certain acrimonious
matter, upon which the virtues of the plant depend, and which, according
to Van Mons, is disengaged from the leaves in the state of gas during
the night, or while they do not receive the direct rays of the sun. MED.
USES. Dr. Alderson of Hull introduced the leaves of this plant to
notice, in whose hands they proved successful in several cases of
Paralysis; the same results however have not been obtained by other
physicians; the plant has therefore fallen into disuse, and might, in
deference to public opinion, be removed from the materia medica. When
applied externally it has been known to produce an erysipelatous
affection of the skin; a remarkable instance of which lately occurred at
the Botanic garden at Chelsea, where a person merely rubbed his eye
after having casually touched the plant in question.
TUSSILAGO. (Tussilago Farfara—_Folia_, _Flores_.) _Coltsfoot_.[695]
This plant has been regarded as a powerful expectorant from the earliest
ages; it is at present only valued for the mucilage which it affords; a
handful of the leaves boiled in oij of water, until reduced to oj, will
furnish, by the addition of a little sugar candy, a very grateful
demulcent.
VALERIANÆ RADIX. L.E.D.
(Valeriana Officinalis. _Sylvestris._)
_Valerian Root._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, strong, peculiar and unpleasant; _Taste_, warm,
bitter, and sub-acrid. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Extractive, gum, resin,
fecula, tannin, and a peculiar essential oil which seems to contain
camphor, and on which its virtues probably depend. SOLUBILITY. Its
active matter is extracted by boiling water, alcohol, and the solutions
of the pure alkalies. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _The salts of iron._ MED.
USES. It is antispasmodic, tonic, and emmenagogue; and it is highly
beneficial in those diseases which appear to be connected with a morbid
susceptibility of the nervous system, as in hysteria, hemicrania, and in
some species of epilepsy; and it would appear that its virtues in such
complaints may be frequently increased by combining it with cinchona.
FORMS OF EXHIBITION. The form of powder is the most effectual, and next
to this a strong tincture made with proof spirit; by decoction its
powers are considerably impaired, and consequently the extract is an
inefficient preparation. DOSE of the powder ℈j to ʒj; when the flavour
disgusts, the addition of a small portion of mace or cinnamon will be
found to disguise it. See _Form. 25, 31, 38_. OFFICINAL PREPARATION.
_Infus. Valerian._ D. _Tinct. Valerian._ L.D. _Tinct. Valerian.
ammoniat._ L.D. ADULTERATIONS. The roots of a species of _crowfoot_ are
sometimes mixed with those of valerian; they may be distinguished by a
caustic taste on chewing them; the roots have also often a disagreeable
smell from the urine of cats, who are allured and delighted by their
odour; and they are sometimes inert, from not having been taken up at a
proper season, or from not having been carefully preserved.
VERATRI RADIX. L.E. (Veratrum Album.)
HELLEBORUS ALBUS. D.
_White Hellebore Root._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, strong, and disagreeable; _Taste_, bitter, and very
acrid; by drying, the odour is dissipated, and in this state it is found
in the shops. SOLUBILITY. Its active principles are soluble in water,
alcohol, and the alkalies. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Pelletier and Caventou
have lately discovered in this vegetable a new alkaline principle,
white, crystalline, and acrid, to which they have given the name of
_Veratria:_ it appears to exist in combination with gallic acid. MED.
USES. The effects of this root are extremely violent and poisonous; the
ancients employed it in various obstinate cases, but they generally
regarded it as their last resource; it acts as a violent emetic and
cathartic, producing bloody stools, great anxiety, tremors, and
convulsions. Etmuller says, that the external application of the root to
the abdomen, will produce vomiting; and Schroeder observed the same
phenomenon to take place in a case where it was used as a suppository,
and its juice has been applied to the purpose of poisoning arrows;
notwithstanding these effects however the veratrum has been very safely
and successfully administered in cases of mania, epilepsy, lepra, and
gout:[696] but the most ordinary use of white hellebore is as a local
stimulant; as an adjunct to errhine powders; or in the form of
decoction, as a lotion; or mixed with a lard, as an ointment in
scabies,[697] and herpetic eruptions: great caution however is required
in its application, for several authors affirm that as an errhine, it
has caused abortions, floodings which could not be restrained, and fatal
hemorrhages from the nose. DOSE, gr. iij to v, obtunded by the addition
of twelve times its weight of starch, a pinch of which may be taken for
several successive evenings; for internal administration it ought not to
exceed gr. ij. OFFICINAL PREP. _Decoct. Veratri._ L. _Tinct. Veratri
albi._ E. _Unguent. Veratri._ L. _Unguent. Sulphur. comp._ L.
VINUM. _Wine._
The term wine is more strictly and especially applied to express the
fermented juice of the _Grape_, although it is generally used to denote
that of _any_ sub-acid fruit. The presence of _Tartar_ is perhaps the
circumstance by which the grape is most strongly distinguished from all
the other sub-acid fruits that have been applied to the purpose of wine
making. The juice of the grape, moreover, contains within itself all the
principles essential to vinification, in such a proportion and state of
balance as to enable it at once to undergo a regular and complete
fermentation, whereas the juices of other fruits require artificial
additions for this purpose; and the scientific application and due
adjustment of these means, constitute the art of making wines.[698] It
has been remarked, that all those wines that contain an excess of malic
acid are of a bad quality, hence the grand defect that is necessarily
inherent in the wines of this country, and which leads them to partake
of the properties of cider, for in the place of the _tartaric_, the
_malic acid_ always predominates in native fruits.
The characteristic ingredient of all wines is _Alcohol_, and the
quantity of this, and the condition or state of combination in which it
exists, are the circumstances that include all the interesting and
disputed points of medical enquiry. Daily experience convinces us that
the same quantity of alcohol, applied to the stomach under the form of
natural wine, and in a state of mixture with water, will produce very
different effects upon the body, and to an extent which it is difficult
to comprehend; it has, for instance, been demonstrated that Port,
Madeira, and Sherry, contain from one-fourth to one-fifth their bulk of
alcohol, so that a person who takes a bottle of either of them, will
thus take nearly half a pint of alcohol, or almost a pint of pure
brandy! and moreover that different wines, although of the same specific
gravity, and consequently containing the same absolute proportion of the
spirit, will be found to vary very considerably in their intoxicating
powers; no wonder then that such results should stagger the philosopher,
who is naturally unwilling to accept any tests of difference from the
nervous system, which elude the ordinary resources of analytical
chemistry; the conclusion was therefore drawn, that alcohol must
necessarily exist in wine in a far different condition from that in
which we know it in a separate state, or in other words, that its
elements only could exist in the vinous liquor, and that their union was
determined, and consequently alcohol produced, by the action of
distillation. That it was the _product_, and not the _educt_ of
distillation, was an opinion which originated with Rouelle, who asserted
that alcohol was not completely formed, until the temperature was raised
to the point of distillation; more lately the same doctrine was revived
and promulgated by Fabbroni, in the memoirs of the Florentine Academy.
Gay Lussac has, however, silenced the clamorous partisans of this
theory, by separating the alcohol by distillation at the temperature of
66° _Fah._ and by the aid of a _vacuum_, it has since been effected at
56°: besides, it has been shewn that by precipitating the colouring
matter and some of the other elements of the wine by _sub-acetate of
lead_, and then saturating the clear liquor with _sub-carbonate of
potass_, the alcohol may be completely separated without any elevation
of temperature; and by this ingenious expedient Mr. Brande has been
enabled to construct a table, exhibiting the proportions of combined
alcohol which exist in the several kinds of wine: no doubt therefore can
remain upon this subject, and the fact of the difference of effect,
produced by the same bulk of alcohol, when presented to the stomach in
different states of combination, adds another striking and instructive
illustration to those already enumerated in the course of this work, of
the extraordinary powers of chemical combination in modifying the
activity of substances upon the living system. In the present instance,
the alcohol is so combined with the extractive matter of the wine, that
it is probably incapable of exerting its full specific effects upon the
stomach, before it becomes altered in its properties, or, in other
words, _digested:_ and this view of the subject may be fairly urged in
explanation of the reason why the intoxicating effects of the same wine
are so liable to vary in degree, in the same individual, from the
peculiar state of his digestive organs at the time of its potation.[699]
Hitherto we have only spoken of _pure_ wine, but it is essential to
state that the stronger wines of Spain, Portugal, and Sicily, are
rendered remarkable in this country by the addition of _Brandy_, and
must consequently contain _uncombined_ alcohol, the proportion of which
however will not necessarily bear a ratio to the quantity added,
because, at the period of its admixture, a renewed fermentation is
produced by the scientific vintner, which will assimilate and combine a
certain portion of the foreign spirit with the wine: this manipulation,
in technical language, is called _fretting-in_. The free alcohol may,
according to the experiments of Fabbroni, be immediately separated by
saturating the vinous fluid with _sub-carbonate of potass_, while the
combined portion will remain undisturbed: in ascertaining the
fabrication and salubrity of a wine, this circumstance ought always to
constitute a leading feature in the inquiry; and the tables of Mr.
Brande would have been greatly enhanced in practical value, had the
relative proportions of _uncombined_ spirit been appreciated in his
experiments, since it is to _this_, and not to the _combined_ alcohol,
that the injurious effects of the wine are to be attributed. “It is well
known,” observes Dr. Macculloch, “that diseases of the liver are the
most common, and the most formidable of those produced by the use of
_ardent_ spirits; it is equally certain that no such disorders follow
the intemperate use of _pure_ wine, however long indulged in: to the
concealed and unwitting consumption of spirit, therefore, as contained
in the wines commonly drunk in this country, is to be attributed the
excessive prevalence of those hepatic affections which are comparatively
little known to our continental neighbours.” Thus much is certain, that
our ordinary wines contain no alcohol, but what is disarmed of its
virulence by the prophylactic energies of combination.
The odour, or _bouquet_, and flavour which distinguish one wine from
another, evidently depend upon some volatile and fugacious principle,
soluble in alcohol; this in sweet and half fermented wines, is
immediately derived from the fruit, as in those from the _Frontignan_
and _Muscat_ grapes; but in the more perfect wines, as in _Claret_,
_Hermitage_, _Rivesaltes_, and _Burgundy_, it bears no resemblance to
the natural flavour of the fruit, but is altogether the product of the
vinous process; and in some wines it arises from the introduction of
flavouring ingredients, as from almonds in Madeira wines, as well as in
those of Xeres and Saint Lucar, and hence their well known nutty
flavour. Among the ancients it was formerly, and in modern Greece it is
to this day, the fashion to give a resinous flavour, by the introduction
of Turpentine into the casks.[700] These wines are supposed to assist
digestion, to restrain ulcerous, and other morbid discharges, to provoke
urine, and to strengthen the bowels; but Dioscorides also informs us
that they were known to produce vertigo, pain in the head, and many
evils not incidental to the same quantity of vinous liquor when free
from such admixtures.[701]
Wines admit of being arranged into four classes.[702]
1. SWEET WINES; which contain the greatest proportion of extractive and
saccharine matter, and generally the least ardent spirit, though this is
often rather disguised than absent; as in these wines a proportion of
sugar has remained unchanged during the process of vinification, they
must be considered as the results of an imperfect fermentation, and are
in fact mixtures of wine and sugar; accordingly, whatever arrests the
progress of fermentation, must have a tendency to produce a sweet wine;
thus boiling the _must_ or drying the fruit will, by partially
separating the natural leaven and dissipating the water, occasion such a
result as is exemplified by the manufacture of the wines of Cyprus, the
_vino cotto_ of the Italians and the _vinum coctum_ of the ancients, by
that of _Frontignac_, the rich and luscious wines of _Canary_, the
celebrated _Tokay_, _Vino Tinto_ (Tent of Hungary) the Italian
_Montefiascone_, the Persian _Schiras_, the _Malmsey wines of Candia_,
_Chio_, _Lesbos_, and _Tenedos_, and those of the other islands of the
Archipelago. The wines of the ancients, as Chaptal observes, were so
concentrated by boiling, that they rather deserve the name of extracts
or syrups, than that of wines; they, must have been very sweet, and but
little fermented; apparently to remedy this, they were kept for a great
length of time; according to Aristotle and Galen, seven years was the
shortest period necessary for keeping wine before it was fit to drink,
but wines of a century old were not uncommon at the tables of the
luxurious citizens of ancient Rome, and Horace boasts of his drinking
_Falernian_, born as it were with him, or which reckoned its age from
the same consuls.[703]
2. SPARKLING OR EFFERVESCING WINES, as Champagne, are indebted for their
characteristic properties to the presence of carbonic acid; they rapidly
intoxicate, in consequence of the alcohol, which is suspended in, or
combined with the gas, being thus applied in a sudden and very divided
state to a large extent of nervous surface; for the same reason, their
effects are as transitory as they are sudden.[704]
3. DRY AND LIGHT. These are exemplified by the more esteemed German
wines, as _Hock_, _Rhenish_, _Mayne_, _Moselle_, _Necker_, and _Elsass_,
and those highly flavoured wines, _Burgundy_, _Claret_, _Hermitage_, &c.
They contain a very inconsiderable degree of ardent spirit, and combine
with it the effect of an acid.
4. DRY AND STRONG, as _Madeira_, _Port_, _Sherry_, &c. The name _Sec_,
corruptly written Sack, signifies dry; the _Sec_ wine prepared at
Xeres[705] in Spain, is called according to our orthography, _Sherris_,
or _Sherry_. In the manufacture of Sherry, _Lime_[706] is added to the
grapes, a circumstance, observes Dr. Macculloch, apparently conducive to
its well known dry quality, and which probably acts by neutralizing a
portion of _malic_ or _tartaric_ acid.
By the adulteration and medication of wines, three principal objects are
attempted, viz. 1. _To give them strength_, which is effected by adding
any ardent spirit; but the wine is slowly decomposed by it. 2. _To
perfect or change their colour._ It is very usual to change _white_
wines, when they have grown brown or rough, into _red_ wines, by means
of sloes, or other colouring matter. 3. _To lessen, or remove their
acidity._ It is well known that lead in different forms has frequently
been employed for this purpose; the practice, however, is attended with
most dangerous consequences; but which Dr. Macculloch is inclined to
believe has been over-rated, since the compounds which this metal forms
with the tartaric and malic acids are insoluble; but against this
argument, the decisive results of experience may be opposed, and
Fourcroy conceived that by the addition of Vinegar, a soluble triple
salt, an _aceto-tartrate_ of lead, was produced. The fraud may be easily
detected by the test[707] invented by Dr. Hahnemann. The ancients, it
appears, were acquainted with this property in lead, for according to
Pliny, the Greeks and Romans improved the quality of their wines by
immersing a plate of lead in them.[708] Wine, as a pharmaceutical agent,
has been employed to extract several of the principles of vegetables,
and to dissolve certain mineral bodies: as a solvent, however, it is
liable to many serious objections, as inequality of strength, and
uncertainty of composition; thus sound and perfectly fermented dry wine,
as _Sherry_, is frequently unable to dissolve iron, while tartarized
antimony is instantly decomposed by every other. As a menstruum, to
obtain an extract, it is quite inadmissible on account of the residuum
which it leaves by evaporation. From such considerations the London
College have at length substituted a weak spirit, for the wine formerly
employed, although the term “_Vinum_” is still retained in the
Pharmacopœia, to obviate those embarrassments which must ever attend a
change of name, with a corresponding change of properties. The Committee
were fully prepared to expect the captious objections which are urged
against this measure, but as the name is _chemically_ and _medicinally_
correct, the etymologist may be fairly allowed to enjoy his assumed
triumph without molestation.
VINUM ALOES. L.E.D. This solution contains all the virtues of the Aloes,
and is more agreeable than the tincture. It is a warm stomachic in doses
of fʒj to fʒij, and a stimulating purgative when given from f℥j to f℥ij.
By referring to the Pharmacopœia, it will be perceived that alcoholic
menstrua of different strengths, have been employed for the different
preparations. The proportions were deduced from careful experiments, and
are adapted to the composition of the substances which the spirit is
intended to dissolve: _e. g._
Proof Spirit. Water.
Vinum Aloes 1 part 1.
—— Antimonii Tartariz: 1 ditto[709] 1.
—— Colchici 1 ditto 2.
—— Ferri 1 ditto 1½.
—— Ipecacuanhæ 1 ditto 1⅔.
—— Opii 1 ditto 1⅔.
—— Veratri 1 ditto 1½.
VINUM ANTIMONII TARTARIZATI. L.
LIQUOR ANTIMONII TARTARIZATI. P.L. 1809.
_Antimonial Wine._
During the period that I was Censor of the College, I took considerable
trouble, in conjunction with my colleagues, to ascertain the state in
which this preparation was to be generally met with in the wholesale and
retail shops of the metropolis. We were satisfied, during our official
visitations, that where _sound_ Sherry wine had been employed as a
solvent, an efficient and permanent solution was obtained, and that no
precipitation of Antimony took place, the sediment which occurred being
merely _Tartrate of Lime_, an incidental impurity derived from the
_Cream of tartar:_ but in a majority of instances an inferior wine of
British manufacture was substituted, in which case the Antimonial Oxyd
was universally found in a copious precipitate, in combination with
vegetable extractive matter; and I have even seen this decomposition so
complete, that the supernatant liquor would not yield any trace of the
antimonial salt. This report has been confirmed by successive Censors,
and the College have accordingly endeavoured to remedy the evil, by
superseding the use of wine altogether, and of introducing a spirit of
equivalent strength. The virtues of this solution are those detailed
under the history of _Antimonium Tartarizatum_; of which two grains are
contained in every fluid-ounce of the preparation. The Medicinal
Dynameter will shew the proportion of salt in any other given quantity.
DOSE, ♏︎x to fʒj, in any suitable vehicle, repeated every three or four
hours, in which case it acts as a diaphoretic. As an emetic, it may be
given to infants in the dose of a tea-spoonful, every ten minutes, until
the desired effect is produced. See _Form: 69_, and 117.[710]
VINUM COLCHICI. This medicated wine is made as follows: Take of the
recent bulb of the Colchicum, sliced and bruised, [pound]j; of Proof
Spirit, f℥iv; of water, f℥viij; let them infuse for fourteen days, and
filter for use. There is perhaps no form better calculated to ensure the
medical effects of the plant than the one we are now considering. Its
dose may be stated to be from ♏︎xx to fʒiss. The virtues of Colchicum
have been already noticed, see _Colchici Radix_.
VINUM FERRI. L.D. When prepared according to the London College (P.L.
1809.) each pint is stated to contain 22 grains of the red Oxide of
Iron; the strength however must in such a case depend upon the quantity
of _tartar_ contained in the wine. Very dry Sherry is frequently
incapable of acting upon the iron until a small proportion of Cream of
Tartar be added to it; would it not therefore be adviseable to direct at
once a given portion of _ferrum tartarizatum_ to be dissolved in wine?
The Dublin formula is more eligible than that of the former London
Pharmacopœia, since it directs the use of _Rhenish_ wine instead of
Sherry as a solvent, and iron wire in preference to iron _filings_; this
last circumstance is important, for the purest iron can only be drawn,
and this is most easily acted upon by the super-tartrate of potass.
These observations are offered to those who still prefer to make the
preparation with wine. They can have no relation to the present _Vinum
Ferri_ of the London College, which is prepared with a weak spirit, and
which contains tartrate of potass and iron, with an excess of
super-tartrate which supplies the place of the acid contained in the
wine, and ensures the solution of the tartarized iron in the Spirit.
According to the experiments of Mr. Phillips, which I have every reason
to believe accurate, the present preparation contains less peroxide of
iron than the former did; it will be seen by the Dynameter that f℥j
contains exactly one grain, which is exactly equivalent to five grains
of Tartarized Iron, whereas an equal quantity of the former wine held in
solution 1–4/10 gr, which was equivalent to seven grains of the salt.
_Med. Uses._ It is the least unpleasant of all the preparations of iron,
and its medicinal activity is supported by the testimony of ages, for it
is one of the oldest preparations with which we are acquainted. _Dose_,
fʒij to f℥ss.
VINUM IPECACUANHÆ. L.E.D. The virtues of this root are completely
extracted by dilute spirit. _Dose_, as an emetic, from fʒij to f℥ss: as
a diaphoretic, from ♏︎xx to xl. _See Form. 63, 137._
VINUM OPII. L.E.[711] This is a spirituous solution of the _extract_ of
Opium combined with various aromatics, which are supposed to modify the
effects of the opium, while by the substitution of the extract for the
crude opium, it is considered as being less likely to disturb the
nervous system. I submit whether the views offered under the history of
Wine, respecting the relative effects of combined and uncombined
Alcohol, might not lead us, by analogy, to prepare a more efficient
_vinum opii_, and a preparation less likely to affect the stomach: by
adding the opium to the wine during its state of fermentation, it would
enter into intimate union with its elements, in the same way that brandy
is incorporated by the technical manipulation of _fretting-in:_ this
suggestion is also sanctioned by the generally acknowledged superiority
of the _Black Drop_, which I have little doubt is indebted for its
peculiar efficacy to the state of combination in which the _acetate of
morphia_ exists in the vinous menstruum. The preparation, when made with
wine, as directed in the late Pharmacopœia, is nearly analogous to the
celebrated _Liquid Laudanum_[712] of Sydenham, and its degree of
narcotic power is nearly the same as that of the ordinary tincture, as
may be seen by referring to the _Medicinal Dynameter_.
VINUM VERATRI. L. Since the discovery of the real nature of the _Eau
Medicinale_, this preparation has fallen into comparative disuse, and
might have been removed, as we have now introduced the _Vinum Colchici_.
It is however a singular circumstance that both these preparations
should owe their medicinal powers to the same elementary principle, viz.
_Veratria_; and as some practitioners are still addicted to its use, the
Committee agreed to let it remain.
ULMI CORTEX. L.E.D. (Ulmus Campestris.)
_Elm Bark._
QUALITIES. _Odour_, none; _Taste_, slightly bitter and mucilaginous.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Gum, extractive, gallic acid, and super-tartrate
of potass. SOLUBILITY. Water is its appropriate solvent. MED. USES. It
has been commended in herpetic eruptions, but in the hands of Dr. Willan
and others it has not proved successful; it is one of those articles
that might be discarded from our Pharmacopœia with much propriety.
OFFICINAL PREP. _Decoct: Ulmi_. L.D.
UNGUENTA. L.E.D. _Ointments._
These are unctuous substances analogous to _Cerates_ except in
consistence, which is much less firm, and scarcely exceeds that of
butter: formerly, ointments were numerous and complicated in their
composition, and surgeons adapted with much technical formality
different ointments to answer different indications: this practice
however has undergone a very judicious reform, and it is now well
understood that _in general_ all that is required in an ointment is a
suitable tenacity and consistence, to keep the parts to which it may be
applied soft and easy, and at the same time to exclude from them the
atmospheric air; in some cases, however, these simple compositions are
made the _vehicles_ of more active remedies, as in the following
preparations, _viz._
UNGUENTUM CANTHARIDIS. L. As the active ingredient in this ointment is
derived from an infusion of the Cantharides, it is extremely mild, and
frequently inefficacious. The _ceratum cantharidis_ furnishes a more
certain application.
UNGUENTUM ELEMI COMPOSITUM. L. The elemi and turpentine in this
ointment, render it stimulant and digestive.
UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI FORTIUS. L. The precise nature[713] of this
compound does not appear to have been known until the late
researches[714] of Mr. Donovan, (_Annals of Philosophy_, _November,
1819_,) which promise to lead to a more uniform, efficacious, and
economical mode of preparing it; for they[715] shew that in the
officinal ointment, the mercury exists in two different conditions,—in
the state of metal, _mechanically mixed_, as asserted by Vogel, and in
that of an oxide, _chemically combined_ with the lard, and that the
medicinal activity of the ointment exclusively resides in this latter
portion, the presence of metallic mercury not only being useless but
injurious, by obstructing the absorption of the active compound of the
oxide. Mr. Donovan accordingly formed a direct chemical combination, by
continually agitating together lard and black oxide of mercury at the
temperature of 350° _Fah:_ for two hours. At the end of the process it
appeared that every ounce of lard had dissolved, and combined with 21
grains of oxide; and from the trials which have been made respecting its
activity, it would seem to be as efficient as the officinal ointment,
and moreover that it may be introduced by inunction in one third of the
time. The investigation is highly important, for it not only offers the
means of preparing a mercurial ointment more œconomically, but one more
active and manageable, and less liable to that want of uniformity in
strength, which must always attend a preparation in which so much labour
is required for its completion; for independent of that variation in
strength which will arise from imperfect triture, it is by no means an
uncommon practice to use chemical means, which are not admissible, to
facilitate the process, such as the addition of _Sulphur_, which is
found to abridge very considerably the labour requisite for the
extinction of the mercury, but it converts a portion of the metal into a
_Sulphuret_, and diminishes the power of the unguent. There is however a
method of facilitating the process, which is not liable to any apparent
objection, but the theory of its operation is obscure; it consists in
adding to the half-prepared ointment a portion of that which has been
long kept; which appears to act as a _leaven_ to the whole mass.
The following table exhibits the relative quantity of mercury contained
in each of the different ointments directed by the British Pharmacopœia,
and in that prepared according to the process of Donovan.
One Drachm { _stronger ointment_ contains of Mercury 30 grs.
of the Lond: { _weaker ointment_ 10 ——
of the Edinb: _common ointment_ 12 ——
of the Dub: { _stronger ointment_ 30 ——
{ _weaker ointment_ 20 ——
of that prepared according to Donovan 2½ ——
Mercurial ointment furnishes the most prompt, and least exceptionable
mode of impregnating the system. The external method of administering
mercury, says Mr. John Hunter, is always preferable to the internal,
because the skin is not nearly so essential to life as the stomach, and
therefore is capable in itself of bearing much more than the stomach.
The inunction is generally performed by rubbing ʒss to ʒj on some part
of the body where the cuticle is thin, generally on the inside of the
thigh, except perhaps in cases of chronic hepatitis, when it is more
usually applied to the region of the liver, care being taken that the
friction is continued until every particle of the ointment disappears;
and for obvious reasons, the operation ought if practicable to be
performed by the patient himself. Where it has been an object to
saturate the system with mercury as quickly as possible, I have
witnessed the advantage of confining, by means of slips of bladder, a
drachm of mercurial ointment in each axilla, in addition to the
mercurial friction. Camphor, turpentine, and other stimulants, have been
sometimes added to the ointment, with a view of promoting its
absorption; this however is an erroneous practice, since these acrid
ingredients soon produce pustules on the skin, which prevent the
continuance of the friction; the warm bath is a more certain, and less
objectionable _adjuvant_, many practitioners therefore advise the body
to be immersed in a warm bath, once and again, before the course is
commenced, and to repeat it once or twice a week during its continuance:
the length of time to be employed in a course of mercury, and the
quantity to be given, are circumstances that must in every case be left
to the discretion of the practitioner. Mercury, when introduced into the
body, acts as a powerful stimulant, and pervades every part of the
system; hence it is the most powerful evacuant belonging to the Materia
Medica; from its stimulant operation, exerted directly or indirectly, we
are able to explain its utility in the cure of disease, and it may be
made to act according to management and circumstances, as a tonic,
antispasmodic, diuretic, cathartic, sialogogue, emmenagogue, or
alterative; but its most important operation is that displayed in
removing the diseases induced by the syphilitic poison, although its
_modus operandi_ is still buried amongst the many other arcana of
physic. The mode of directing and controlling the influence of mercury
in the cure of the venereal disease, is now very generally understood,
and it is to be hoped that a full confidence in its antisyphilitic
powers is as universally maintained, in spite of the late opinions which
tended to depreciate its value and to question its necessity; there is
however no advantage to be gained, as was once imagined, by exciting
profuse salivation. On its next important application, that of curing
chronic affections of the liver and dropsy, a remark which has been
suggested to me by the results of practice, may not be unacceptable. I
think I have generally observed, that when the remedy has been pushed to
such an extent as to excite the salivary glands to excessive secretion,
the urinary organs cease to participate in its stimulating action, and
_vice versa_, for the mouth is rarely affected when the mercury runs off
by the kidneys; this may suggest a precaution of some practical moment
in the treatment of dropsy, and it will be generally judicious to
accompany the administration of this metal with certain diuretics, in
order to direct its operation to the kidneys;[716] and it would seem,
that for such an object those diuretic medicines should be preferred
that act _primarily_ on the organs, as alkalies and their combinations,
squill, &c. the success of such a plan of treatment will also depend
greatly upon the exact period at which these remedies are administered;
it will for instance be right to wait until the system is, to a certain
degree, under mercurial influence. It is hardly necessary to observe,
that if the mercury runs off by the bowels, we shall be deprived of all,
or of a great share of, the benefit to be expected. In certain cases,
the lymphatic vessels seem to resist the admittance of mercury, and to
refuse the conveyance of it to the general circulation: I have already
thrown out some vague hints upon the subject, at page 156, and I must
refer the reader to some farther remarks, which I apprehend bear upon
this question under the following article.
UNGUENTUM OXIDI HYDRARGYRI CINEREI. E. This consists of a mixture of
_one part_ of grey oxide of mercury, and _three parts_ of axunge: it was
reasonable to suppose, _a priori_, that, as the whole of the mercury in
this ointment is oxidized, its adoption would supersede the necessity of
the labour required for the preparation of the common mercurial
ointment, and at the same time afford a combination of equal if not
superior efficacy; but experience has not justified the conclusion, for
it has been found to possess little or no activity; the consideration of
it is therefore introduced into this work, not on account of its
utility, but as an object upon which I may pause with advantage, to
offer those observations which its history is so well calculated to call
forth and illustrate. The circumstance which renders this preparation
inert, will now receive a satisfactory explanation from the experiments
of Mr. Donovan, as related in the preceding article; in short, it is a
_mechanical mixture_ instead of a _chemical combination_; and I beg
again to urge the importance of this distinction, and to offer the
present example as a farther illustration of the views I have already
submitted upon the subject. By subjecting this ointment for some hours
to a heat of 300°, it would without doubt become an active preparation.
It is probable that the lymphatics offers less resistance to the ingress
of a mineral body into the system when it is presented to them in
combination with some animal substance, which must alone be regarded as
their peculiar stimulus, and the only matter which they are destined
perpetually to receive and convey; for the same physiological reason,
the lacteals may probably take up iron with greater readiness when in
combination with vegetable matter, than when introduced into the stomach
in a more purely mineral form.
UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI MITIUS. L. This weaker preparation is sometimes
preferred, as it irritates the skin less; it is however principally used
as a topical dressing to venereal sores, and as an application to kill
vermin on the body.
UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI NITRATIS. L.E.D. vulgo _Citrine Ointment_. It is
stimulant, detergent, and alterative; when diluted with an equal
quantity of simple ointment or almond oil, it may be almost regarded as
a specific in ophthalmia tarsi, smeared upon the cilia every night at
bedtime.
UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI NITRICO-OXYDI. L. An excellent stimulant
application, well adapted for giving energy to indolent ulcers. If mixed
with any ointment containing resin, it loses its red colour, passing
through olive green to black, which depends upon the conversion of the
_red_ into the _black_ oxide of mercury.
UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI PRÆCIPITATI ALBI. L. Stimulant and detergent. It is
said to be very efficacious in certain inveterate forms of the Itch.
With the addition of Carbonate of Potass, it has been much extolled in
various cutaneous affections.[717]
UNGUENTUM PICIS LIQUIDÆ. L.E.D. _Tar Ointment._ This ointment has been
much extolled for the removal of tetter, and for the cure of tinea
capitis.
UNGUENTUM RESINÆ NIGRÆ. L. olim, _Ung. Basilicum[718] nigrum._ Digestive
stimulant.
UNGUENTUM SAMBUCI. L.D. It possesses no advantage over the simple
ointment.
UNGUENTUM SULPHURIS. L.E.D. This ointment is a mechanical mixture of
Lard and Sulphur, although it would appear that a small proportion of
the latter exists also in a state of chemical combination. MED. USES. A
specific in the itch. Dr. Bateman proposes a combination, equally
efficacious, but which has not the same disagreeable smell; _viz_. “Take
of sub-carbonate of potass, _half an ounce_; rose water, _one ounce_;
red sulphuret of mercury, _one drachm_; essential oil of Bergamot, half
a _fluid-drachm_; sublimed sulphur, hog’s lard, of each _eleven ounces_.
Mix them.” Jasser’s Ointment also, as altered in the Prussian
Pharmacopœia, is an excellent application in Psora, _viz._ ℞._Sulphur:
Sublim:_ ℥ij, _Zinci Sulphat:_ ℥ij, _Ol:_ _Lauri, et Axung. q, s, ut
fiat Unguentum_.
UNGUENTUM SULPHURIS COMPOSITUM. L. More stimulating than the simple
ointment, from the addition of white hellebore; it is however frequently
found to excite too much irritation.
UNGUENTUM VERATRI. L.D. It is used for the cure of scabies, but is less
certain than the ointment of sulphur.
UNGUENTUM ZINCI. L.E.D. Astringent and stimulant; very beneficial in
some species of ophthalmia, smeared upon the tarsi, every night.
Very efficient preparations may be also constructed by adding together
equal weights of lard and narcotic vegetable powders, as those of
_Conium_, _Digitalis_, _Belladonna_, &c.
The addition of a small quantity of powdered white sugar will frequently
prevent ointments becoming rancid.
UVÆ URSI FOLIA. L.E.D (Arbŭtus Uva Ursi.)
_Uva Ursi_, _Bear-berry_, or _Trailing Arbutus_.
_Bear’s Whortle-berry_, _Wild Cranberry_, &c.
QUALITIES. _Odour_, slight, resembling that of hyson tea; _Taste_,
bitterish and sub-astringent. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Tannin, mucilage,
gallic acid, extractive, resin, and traces of lime. SOLUBILITY. Both
water and alcohol extract its virtues. MED. USES. The ancients employed
it on account of its astringency, the moderns however have exhibited it
for various diseases, more especially for those affecting the bladder
and urinary organs, and, it would seem, without any theory respecting
its _modus operandi_; but it has at length fallen into disrepute, and
probably with justice: it occasionally renders the urine of a blackish
colour, a fact which is not easy to be explained. When it is
administered, the form of powder is preferred, and in doses from ℈j to
ʒj. The leaves of the _Vaccinium Vitis Idæa_ (Red Whortle-berry,) are
sometimes substituted for those of _Uvæ Ursi_; but they may be easily
distinguished; _botanically_, by the net work appearance of their veins
above, and by their dots underneath; _chemically_, by their infusion
neither precipitating the solution of isinglass, nor that of sulphate of
iron.
ZINCI OXYDUM. L.E.D.
_Oxide of Zinc._
This is occasionally used internally as a tonic, and may be exhibited in
the form of pill. It is however principally employed externally, as a
mild but efficient astringent; viz. _Ung: Zinci_. ADULTERATIONS. Dr.
Roloff of Magdeburg has lately discovered the casual presence of
_Arsenic_[719] in this oxide; by boiling the substance in distilled
water, and assaying the solution with the ammoniaco-nitrate of silver,
its presence may be instantly recognised; _Chalk_ may be detected by
sulphuric acid exciting an effervescence; and _White Lead_, by its
forming an insoluble sulphate of lead. It ought to be volatile.
ZINCI SULPHAS. L.E.D.
_Sulphate of Zinc_, olim, _White Vitriol_.
QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals, which are four-sided prisms, terminated by
four-sided pyramids; they are slightly efflorescent; _Taste_, styptic,
metallic, and slightly acidulous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. One proportional
of oxide, and one proportional of acid; its crystals contain seven
proportionals of water. SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in 2.5 times its
weight of water at 60°, and in less than its own weight of boiling
water, but is quite insoluble in alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES.
_Alkalies_; _earths_; _hydro-sulphurets_; _astringent vegetable
infusions_; _Milk_. MED. USES. Tonic, astringent, and, in large doses
emetic, (_Form. 66._) As an emetic it operates directly, and offers
therefore a prompt resource in cases of poison, or where an immediate
discharge from the stomach is required; it appears to differ from most
remedies of this nature, in not proving diaphoretic in smaller doses: in
spasmodic[720] coughs it is administered with the best effects,
especially when combined with camphor or myrrh, (_Form. 59:_) in
affections of the chest attended with inordinate secretion, I have
witnessed much benefit from its exhibition, particularly when presented
in the form of lozenge; and, when dissolved in water, in the proportion
of grs. ij to f℥j, it forms a useful injection in fluor albus, &c.; in
small doses its internal exhibition is also useful in Leucorrhæa. When
combined with opium it is well calculated to obviate that atony, and
those frequent discharges of fæces, without pain, that take place in the
protracted stages of dysentery. As an external application it is very
generally employed in the proportion of grs. x to eight fluid-ounces of
water. The supposed ill effects consequent on the application of
preparations of lead to a great surface, have determined some
practitioners to substitute in their place, solutions of sulphate of
zinc, but not with the same effect; for to that very property, which may
occasionally render saturnine lotions dangerous, is their virtue to be
attributed; see _Liquor Plumbi Sub-acetatis_. DOSE, as an emetic from
grs. x. to ʒss—as a tonic, and astringent, from grs. j. to ij. OFFICINAL
PREP. _Liquor: Alum: comp:_ L. (=B=) _Solutio Sulphatis Zinci._ _Solutio
Acetatis Zinci._ E. (=I=). _Tinct: Acetatis Zinci_. D. (=I=).
ADULTERATIONS. The _white vitriol_ of commerce ought never to be used in
medicine without previous purification, since it generally contains the
sulphates of copper and iron.
ZINGIBERIS RADIX. L.E.D. (Zingiber Officinale.) _Ginger_.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Volatile oil, fecula, and resino-extractive
matter; on the first of these principles its well known flavour and
odour depend; but its pungency resides in the last. SOLUBILITY. Water,
alcohol, and æther, extract its virtues. MED. USES. It is highly
stimulant and is therefore frequently beneficial in flatulant cholic,
dyspepsia, and gout; it is however more generally employed as an adjunct
to other remedies, to promote their efficacy or to correct their
operation, (see _Form. 92, 94, 112, 153_,) and it is found, that it does
not produce the ill effects of those spices, whose virtues reside in an
acrid oil. DOSE, of the powders grs. x. to ℈j. OFFICINAL PREP. _Syrup:
Zingib:_ L.E.D. _Syrup: Rhamni:_ L. (=E=) _Tinct: Zingib:_ L.D.[721]
_Tinct: Cinnamom: comp:_ L. (=B.=) _Acid_. _Sulphuric: aromat:_ E.
_Confectio Opii_. L. _Confectio Scammon:_ L.D. (=E=) _Infus_. _Sennæ_.
_co._ L. (=E=) _Pulvis Cinnamom: comp:_ L.E.D. (B) _Pulv: Scammon:
comp:_ L.D. (=E=) _Pulv_. _Sennæ_. _comp:_ L. (=E=) _Pil: Aloes:_ D.
_Pill: Scillæ comp:_ L.D. _Vinum Aloes_. L.E.D. ADULTERATIONS. The
powder is rarely met with in any tolerable degree of purity: there are
two varieties of ginger in the market, viz. _Black_, produced by
scalding the root, and afterwards hastily drying it in the sun; and the
_White_, being that which has been carefully washed, scraped, and
gradually dried.
FINIS.
INDEX.
A
Abortion, prevented by suppositories of Opium, page 197.
Absolute and Relative remedies, meaning attached to the terms, 68.
Absorbent medicines, why they check diarrhœa, 82.
Absorbent system, specifically stimulated by Mercury, 96.
Acetate of Potass, decomposed _in transitu_, and its alkaline base
developed, 94.
Acetification of Milk by a thunder storm bears some analogy to the
operation of depraved digestion, 56 (_note_.)
Acids, ingenious explanation of their modus operandi, as Refrigerants,
113.
——, vegetable, undergo decomposition in the digestive organs, and are
elaborated into chyle, 94.
——, their effects in cases of Narcotic poisoning, 136.
Acrid, or Rubefacient poisons, the classification of, 128.
Acridness, Galen’s notion respecting the origin of, 21.
Adjuvans, the, in a medicinal formula, 178.
Advice to the ultra chemist, which it is hoped may not be lost, 55.
Adulteration of medicines, how extensively it is practised, 62.
—— —— —— constitutes a regular branch of trade, 62.
Aërial poisons, nature of, 127.
Ætius collected a multitude of nostrums, 19.
Affinities usual of bodies, suspended, modified, or subverted, by the
powers of digestion, 55.
Afzelius, Dr. describes a shrub of the natural family of _Contortæ_
which affords a curious exception to botanical affinities, 41.
Ague, the celebrated Dutch remedy for the, 166.
Air, its state in relation to moisture an important consideration in
the cure of asthma, 105;
its power of conducting heat affected by moisture, 106.
Alcohol, its poisonous effects upon a rabbit, 131.
——, whether absorbed into the circulation or not, still remains a
question, 77.
——, large doses of, act directly sedative, 77.
Ale, the supposed lithonthryptic properties of, 121 (_note_.)
Alexander Trallianus, his prescription for a gout medicine, 32.
—— ——, his just notions on the subject of medicinal combination, 63.
Alexandrian library, the lamentable consequence of its destruction, 45.
—— ——, burnt by the Caliph Omar, the cotemporary and companion of
Mahomet, 46 (_note_.)
Alexipharmics, Alexiterials, Counter-poisons, or Antidotes, true
meaning of the terms, 125.
Alkali, original signification of the term, 38.
——, Volatile, discovered by Basil Valentine, 49.
Alkalies, distinction between the vegetable and mineral first
established by Avicenna, 48.
——, fixed, formerly supposed to vary according to the plants from which
they were produced, 52.
——, their agency as diuretics considered, 96.
——, the great utility of in calculus, often independent of their
chemical agency, 123.
Alkaline salts, how conveyed to the kidneys, 68.
Almond, the wild parent of the peach, 61.
Aloes, the chemical and medicinal influence of Alkalies upon, 178.
——, their insolubility determines their specific action upon the
intestines, 172.
Aloëtic preparations well calculated to correct the consequences of
Opium, 162.
Alterative medicines lose their efficacy by acting violently as
evacuants, 161.
Alternation of similar remedies recommended by Dr. Chapman, 149.
Alvine evacuation suspends the process of intestinal absorption, 94.
Alum, first used by Van Helmont in the cure of Uterine hemorrhage, 50;
why advantageously combined with Nutmeg, 161.
Ambergris, the odour of increased by Musk, 155 (_note_.)
Ambiguity of Nomenclature, a fertile source of error, 36.
Ammonia lends its volatility to certain bodies with which it is
combined, 155 (_note_.)
_Ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate_, how formed in the urine, by the
decomposition of that fluid, 122.
Amulets, the early origin of, 9;
Galen’s testimony respecting, 7.
Amulets of Arsenic used in the plague of London, 26;
their use prohibited by the Emperor Caracalla by a public edict, 8.
Amylum, Starch, derivation of the word, 38 (_note_.)
Analogy, a powerful instrument in the hands of the medical philosopher,
6;
the numerous fallacies to which it is exposed, 6.
An Analytical inquiry into the more remarkable causes which have, in
different ages and countries, operated in producing the revolutions
that characterise the history of medicinal substances, 3.
Analysis of the objects of medicinal combination, 146.
Analysis of vegetables by the French academicians;
its unsatisfactory nature, 52.
Anasarca, sometimes cured by diaphoretics, 101.
Ancient charms, frequently chaunted, 7.
Ancient empirics, reason why their labours proved so barren, 6.
Andes, a journey over them furnishes a good illustration of the effect
of heat and cold upon the animal body, 5.
Antacids, remarks upon the action of, 114;
under what circumstances they may be advantageously administered in
conjunction with tonics, 166.
Anthelmintics, their modus operandi considered, 138.
Anthemis Nobilis, essentially changed by cultivation, 60.
Antidotes, derivation and meaning of the term, 125.
_Antidotum Mithridatium_, the history of, 28.
Anti-hectic mixture of Dr. Griffith, the composition of the, 85.
Antilithics and Lithonthryptics, definition of, 115;
—belong to the class of vital as well as chemical agents, 115.
Antimonial Remedies, the unjust prejudices against, 51;
proscribed by the Supreme Council of Paris, 51.
Antimony, a case related by Dr. James, wherein it occasioned
salivation, 188;
a conjecture respecting the origin of the term, 48.
Antimony and Opium accelerate the effects of Mercury upon the system,
152.
Antimony, experiments concerning, by Basil Valentine, 48;
restored to public favour by a French decree, 51;
its sudorific powers increased by Opium, 153.
Antiseptics, origin of remedies so called, 75.
Antispasmodics, how they differ from Narcotics, 78;
must be considered as both absolute and relative agents, 78;
may be frequently combined with Tonics, or Narcotics, 164.
Antispasmodics, definition of, 78.
ΑΝΤΙΘΗΡΙΑΚΑ, by W. Heberden, M. D., 38 (_note_.)
Antionius Musa cured Augustus by the cold bath, 30.
Apoplexy, use of suppositories in producing counter-irritation in a
paroxysm of, 197;
the supposed powers of Sternutatories in preventing an attack of,
109.
Apothecaries’ Hall, the ingenious machinery at, 52 (_note_.)
Arabians, the improvement of the Materia Medica greatly indebted to
their zeal and industry, 46.
_Archæal_ remedies introduced by Stahl, 22.
Argonauts, the golden fleece of the, a chemical allegory, 45;
one of them cured by the rust of iron, 8.
Aristides, the unhappy dupe and victim of quackery, 20 (_note_.)
Arnoldus de Villa Nova invented Tinctures, 48.
Aromatics Oriental, introduced into practice by the Arabians, 46;
definition of the term, 81.
Aromatic and Tonic qualities often found in conjunction, 81.
Aroma, M. Robiquet’s important experiments respecting, 155 (_note_.)
Arsenic, and other corrosive poisons require very different antidotes,
129.
Arsenic, Amulets of, used in the plague of London, 27;
in its metallic state quite inactive, 170.
Arsenic, derivation of the term, 37.
Art, importance of discriminating its operations from those of Nature,
34.
——, the processes of, may be often improved by imitating those of
Nature, 146.
Artichoke, Jerusalem, origin and meaning of the term, 38.
Ascarides, cured by Suppositories, 197.
Asclepiades, the, a company of empirics, 20.
Asclepiades used the Trumpet in the cure of Sciatica, 8 (_note_.)
Ashes of a Witch, a superstitious remedy against Witchcraft, 26
(_note_.)
Asia, East Indiaman, its crew, how cured of dropsy, 97.
Assafœtida, its specific controul over spasm, 78;
the virtues of vary according to station and soil, 57.
_Assarum_ formerly confounded with the Baccharis, 39.
_Assara-bacca_, origin of the term, 39.
Astral influence, the supposed powers of, 10.
Astringents must be considered as relative agents, 82;
definition of the term, 81;
a combination of with Tonics, frequently indicated in passive
hemorrhage, 165;
they act through the sympathetic medium of the primæ viæ, 82;
for what purpose they should be combined with narcotics and
absorbents, 165;
when they should be conjoined with diaphoretics, 165.
Astringent poisons, 128.
Astringency, no chemical test exists for, 81.
Astruc, his practice of premising a course of Mercury with venesection,
155 (_note_.)
Athenian Poison, doubts respecting its nature, 37.
Attenuant medicines, how supposed to act, 23.
Avicenna, the first person who describes the process of distillation,
47.
Avicenna’s alarm at the internal use of iron, 24.
Augustus restored to health by the cold bath, 31.
Azote, contained in alimentary substances, and supposed by Majendie to
give origin to the Lithic acid, 117.
B
Bacon, Roger, the father of chemistry in England, 48.
Bacon, Lord, believed in the power of charms and amulets, 13;
his opinion concerning mythological fables, 44.
Bagdat, its connection with India facilitated the introduction of
oriental aromatics into medicine, 46.
Baker, Sir George, the remarks of respecting the combinations of Bark
with other medicines, 166.
Baldwin, Dr. found the wild parent of the potatoe plant at Monte Video,
80 (_note_.)
Bark, its virtues discovered by accident, but confirmed by reason, 8;
the original meaning of the term, 37;
its adulteration mentioned by Sydenham, 61;
its combination with Rhubarb recommended by Dr. Mead, 165;
its combination with Muriate of Ammonia recommended by Boerhaave,
165.
Bark and Steel, not equivalent tonics as some have considered, 151.
—— Peruvian, a new alkaline body detected in it, and called
_Cinchonia_, 172.
Barry’s extracts made _in vacuo_;
his discovery of Phosphoric acid in a variety of cultivated
vegetables, 118 (_note_.)
Baryta, its modus operandi as a poison considered, 136.
Base, meaning of the epithet as applied to metals, 46.
Base of vegetable salts eliminated by the digestive process, 97.
Basil Valentine, the father of metallic medicine, 48.
“_Basilica Medica_,” Calomel first mentioned in, 51.
Basis of a medicinal formula, its object, 178;
its efficacy increased by uniting it with some medicine which may
render the system susceptible of its action, 152;
the action of, promoted by combination, 146.
Bath, hot and cold, mechanical notions respecting their operation and
effects, 22.
Bathing wisely considered as an act of religion, 18.
Bath, the use of the, prohibited by certain Priestesses in Greece, 31
(_note_.)
Beer how preserved by hops, 167.
Beguin describes Calomel under the name of _Draco Mitigatus_, in his
“Tirocinium Chemicum,” 51.
_Belladonna_, its sympathetic influence upon the Iris, by contact with
the cornea, 69.
Benediction bestowed on those who sneeze, the supposed origin of the,
109.
Berkley’s “Siris” happily ridiculed by Reeve, 27 (_note_).
Berries of Juniper, unless bruised, will not yield their virtues to any
menstruum, 184.
Berthollet’s important law of affinity highly useful to the physician,
182.
Besnier expelled the faculty of medicine, for having administered
Antimony, 51.
_Bezoar_, often administered in conjunction with active remedies, and
has thus acquired unjust credit, 63;
derivation of the term, 63 (_note_).
_Bezoardics_, a name given to a certain tribe of medicinal substances,
63 (_note_).
_Bi-chloride of Mercury_, the new name for corrosive sublimate, 40.
Bile, the, undergoes decomposition in certain states of disease, 112
(_note_).
Bischoff introduces Gelatin, as a remedy, into Germany, 56 (_note_).
Bitter extractive, its necessity as an alimentary stimulant in an
inverse ratio with the nutritive power of the ingesta, 79;
important use of to man, 79;
passes through the alimentary canal without undergoing any change,
80;
essential to the digestive powers of herbivorous quadrupeds, 79.
—— Principles, how supposed to enter the circulation, 68.
Bitterness in plants, what it indicates, 42.
——, Galen’s notion respecting the cause of, 21;
does not exclusively reside in any peculiar principle, 79 (_note_).
“_Black Drop_,” an unscientific attempt to imitate it attended with
explosion!, 181.
_Black Wash_, upon what its efficacy depends, 171.
Blackall, Dr. his important remarks on Diuretics, 150;
his valuable work on dropsy, 96.
Blair, Dr. opinion of, concerning the botanical knowledge of the
Ancients, 41 (_note_).
Blane, Sir Gilbert, his definition of the term “_Sympathy_,” 68
(_note_);
his attempt to explain the sialogogue powers of Mercury, 108;
his ingenious hypothesis respecting the fœtid breath of salivated
persons, 152, (_note_);
his remarks on medicinal activity, 67.
“_Blistering Point_” of Dr. Rush, 110.
Blisters first proposed by Archigenes and Aretæus, 46.
Blisters, the primary and secondary effects of considered, 110;
cure inflammation, through the influence of “_contiguous sympathy_,”
110.
_Blood Stone_, or Heliotrope, its supposed powers, 26.
Blood, viscidity of the, a supposed cause of disease, 22;
the red globules of, formerly supposed to depend upon iron, 23.
—— of a Gladiator, an ancient remedy in Epilepsy, 16.
—— of the Goat, curious conceit respecting, 47 (_note_).
Blood-vessels divided, substances enter, 70.
Bodies undergo decompositions in the stomach, independent of their
ordinary affinities, 55.
Boerhaave, a passage in, recommended to the attention of Professor
Brande, 57;
Boerhaave, Kaw, treatment of epileptics in the poor-house at Haerlem,
16.
Boorde, Dr. Andrew, the origin of Merry Andrews, 33 (_note_).
Boracic acid, increases the purgative powers of Cream of Tartar, and
why, 173.
Botanical science, its progress and uses, 41;
its importance in reforming our nomenclature, 39.
Boyle recommends as a powerful remedy the thigh bone of an executed
criminal, 13.
_Bracing_ and _Relaxing_, import of the terms, as applied to medicines,
22.
Brain, odour of alcohol recognised in the, 77;
its influence not directly necessary to the action of the heart, 131.
Brande, Mr. Professor, his attack upon the English Universities
answered, 53;
his opinion respecting the red globules of the blood confirmed by
Vauquelin, 23 (_note_).
——, Mr. E. his case of obstruction from the habitual use of magnesia,
93;
his account of an unscientific combination having produced mischief,
181.
Bread, crumb of, its value as a vehicle for pills, 195.
Breda, celebrated siege of, epidemic during, cured by inspiring
confidence, 16.
Bride-cake, origin of the custom of, 148.
Bree, Dr. his practice of combining Diaphoretics and Tonics, 164.
Brodie, Mr. his enlightened views respecting the operation of poisons,
131.
Brown, Dr. John, his system noticed, 24.
Brown Bread acts mechanically, and promotes the peristaltic motions of
the primæ viæ, 89.
Buffon, his opinion concerning the origin of wheat, 60.
C
Cabbage, the cultivated offspring of the Colewort, 61.
Cabinet of Materia Medica in possession of the College of Physicians, 3
(_note_).
_Cactus Opuntia_, or Indian fig, reddens the urine, 68 (_note_).
Cæsalpinus, the father of botanical system, 41 (_note_).
Caloric, latent state of, symbolically represented by Vulcan, 45;
free, symbolically represented by Vesta, 45.
_Calomel_, speculations respecting the origin of the term, 40 (_note_).
—— and Antimony are mutually changed by combination with each other,
169.
Culpepper, Turner, and Lovel, the three Astrological herbarists of the
seventeenth century, 13.
Camboge, why liable to affect the stomach, 172.
Cambridge, its discipline vindicated against the aspersions of
Professor Brande, 53.
Camphor, of Arabian origin, 46;
propriety of administering it in a state of minute division, 190
(_note_).
Caracalla issues an edict against the use of amulets, 8.
Carbonic acid gas, its effects in increasing the powers of cathartic
medicines experienced, 155.
Cardinal de Lugo, a Spanish Jesuit, intercedes with the Pope, and
obtains his countenance and support for the Peruvian bark, 31.
Carlisle, Sir Anthony, detects gin in the brain, 77.
Castalian Fountain, its prophetic nature considered, 15.
Castille, John, King of, poisoned by medicated boots, 130 (_note_).
Castor Oil, origin of the name, 39.
Catamenia, the suppression of, may depend upon very different causes,
and require very different remedies, 91.
_Cataplasmata_ Poultices, calculated to fulfil several indications, as
_Stimulants_—_Antiseptics_—_Sedatives_—_Refrigerants_—_Emollients_,
205.
Catharsis suspends the process of alimentary absorption, 90.
Cathartic medicines, observations respecting their abuse, 91.
Carthartics, definition of, 88.
—Classed under two divisions, viz. _Laxatives_ and _Purgatives_, 88.
Cato, the Censor, his incantation for the reduction of a dislocated
limb, 17.
Cattle ruminate less in wet seasons, and why, 58.
Cayenne pepper and opium used by the French as a restorative, 77
(_note_).
Celery, its origin from the _Apium graveoleus_, 61.
_Cerussa_, less active than the precipitate produced by the
decomposition of the sub-acetate of lead, 171.
Chaldeans and Babylonians exposed their sick in the markets, in order
that they might obtain the advice of travellers, 8.
Chamomile, flowers of, changed by cultivation, 41.
Chapman, Dr. his assertion respecting the operation of _Kino_ and
_Columba_ refuted, 169;
his opinion respecting Combination confirmed, 149.
Charms for stopping a hemorrhage, 17.
Cheltenham water a natural combination of an instructive character,
164.
Chemists, the manufacturing, errors daily committed by, 155;
—the sect of, and their false theories, 23.
Chemistry, importance of, in reforming medical nomenclature, 39;
—not alluded to in the medical writers of Greece or Rome, 45.
Chemical Nomenclature, the fallacies of, 40;
Chemical Science, the antiquity of, examined, 44;
the application and misapplication of, considered, 44;
Chemical action, the advantages obtained by it in the formation of
new remedies, 171;
Chemical doctrines, influence of, upon the popularity of certain
remedies, 74;
Chemical Remedies, reflections concerning their operation upon living
bodies, 112;
Chemical hypothesis to explain the operation of iron as a tonic, 23.
Cherry-brandy, remarks upon the supposed efficacy of, 63 (_note_).
Chifletius, the phillippic of, against the bark, 31.
Chinese Mandarin, his absurd treatment by twelve physicians, 178.
Chorea and Hysteria cured by purgatives, 90.
_Cicuta_, the term not indicative of any particular plant in ancient
authors, 37.
Circulation, how influenced by nausea, 86;
—through what avenues foreign substances enter it, 68.
Citois attributes the epidemic of Poitou to the appearance of a new
Star, 10 (_note_).
Citrate of Potass acts upon the urinary organs like an uncombined
alkali, 94.
Clarified Glue, substituted for bark in the cure of fevers!, 56.
Clarke, Dr. his gas blow-pipe, 54 (_note_).
Classification of medicinal bodies, 72;
—extreme difficulty of the subject, and why, 70.
Climate, the influence of upon medicinal plants, 57.
Cloves, their qualities entirely changed by vegetable developement, 62.
Clysters, _Enemata_, calculated to fulfil several important
indications, 200.
“Codex Medicamentarius Parisiensis,” 27;
remarks on the extravagant nomenclature which it exhibits, 40.
Colchester Oysters of a green colour, and why, 44.
Colchicum, a caution respecting its panegyric, 21;
its vinous infusion acts more violently when acid is present, 162;
its virtues changed during the progress of its growth, 62;
its bitter principle separated by the assimilative functions, and
transmitted to the kidneys, 68.
Cold Water, a general application to gun-shot wounds, 15.
Cold, the external application of, proves diaphoretic, and why, 99.
Colewort, the parent of the cabbage tribe, 61.
College of Physicians of London, their first Pharmacopœia, 52 (_note_).
Colocynth, remarks respecting the solubility of, 172;
the drastic properties of, mitigated by camphor, 161.
Colour of Flowers, how modified by cold, 58.
Colour, taste, and smell of plants, indicate their virtues, 42;
indications of, erroneously appreciated by Linnæus, 42.
Columella, his statement respecting the deleterious properties of the
peach, 61.
Collyrium of Danaus, 19.
Combination of medicines, a fatal source of medical fallacy, 62.
Combinations of Nature afford instructions for the arrangements of Art,
145.
Compound medicines, divisible into two classes, 180.
Concentration may diminish, instead of increase, the powers of a
medicinal substance, 172.
Consecutive Phœnomena in cases of poisoning are always to be attended
to, 137.
_Constituens_ the, in a medicinal formula, what, 179.
Contagion, the matter of, modified in activity by the degree of
moisture in the atmosphere, 275 (_note_).
Controversy between the Galenical and Chemical sects, 51.
Conticiri introduces gelatin, as a remedy into Italy, 56 (_note_).
_Contiguous Sympathy_ of Hunter explained, 69.
Contra Indication, a momentous error in the Art of Prescribing, 166.
Cooke, Dr. his observation on the absorption of alcohol, 77.
Copaiba, Balsam of, an improper constituent for pill-masses, and why,
194.
Coral, remarks on the superstitious use of, as an amulet, 13 (_note_).
Cordus, Valerius, first composed a Pharmacopœia, 52 (_note_).
Correcting the operation of a medicine, an object of scientific
combination, 110.
Corrigens the, in a medicinal formula, what, 178.
_Corrosive Sublimate_, the manner in which it destroys life considered,
129;
the acrid action of, mitigated by mucilaginous drinks, 161;
observations upon the term, 40.
Corrosive or Escharotic poisons, the enumeration of, 129.
“_Contoriæ_,” the natural family of, medicinal remarks upon the, 41.
Coventry, the member for, his exceptionable conduct, 33 (_note_).
Coughs, humid of old Persons, cured by sulphate of zinc & myrrh, 165;
aggravated by the transition from frost to thaw, 106.
“Counterblaste to Tobacco,” by King James the first, 29 (_note_).
Crab, the wild parent of the golden pippin, 61.
Cream of Tartar, rendered more purgative by _Boracic Acid_, and why,
173;
how it derives a characteristic action from its insolubility, 173;
its origin in the fermented juice of the grape accounted for, 183
(_note_);
proposed by Mr. Brande as a remedy for calculus, and objected to by
the author, 123.
Credulity, definition of, 19;
more mischievous than superstition, 19.
Crichton, Sir Alexander, his observations upon simplicity of
Prescription, 64;
his experience in the utility of Tar fumigation, 202.
Crollius, his work on Signatures referred to, 26.
Cromwell, Oliver, fell a victim to an intermittent, through the
timidity of his physician, 24.
_Cruciform_ Plants, their medicinal characters, 41;
degenerate within the tropics, 58.
Crucible, derivation of the term, 12 (_note_).
Cullen’s classification of the Materia Medica, 72;
founded on an hypothetical basis, 74;
—his theory of the operation of narcotics, 76.
Culture, the influence of upon medicinal plants, 57.
Cumæan Sibyll, supposed by Darwin to have taken the juice of the
_Cherry-laurel_, 4.
Cure, by sympathy, attended to by the poets, 14.
Currie, Dr. his judicious advice respecting the period at which opium
should be administered in fevers, 187.
“_Currus Triumphalis Antimonii_,” by Basil Valentine, 48.
Cutaneous discharge materially modified by the state of the atmosphere,
98 (_note_).
_Cytisus Laburnum_, the seeds of, violently emetic, 41.
D
Darwin, Dr. his interpretation of the fable of Proserpine, 44.
_Datura_, gloomy aspect of, indicates its poisonous nature, 42;
Davy, Sir H. his experiments have shewn that vegetable astringents
pass unchanged through the body, 82, 182;
his researches into the nutritive value of grass, 79;
his opinion concerning the allegorical interpretation of the Arabian
Nights’ Entertainment, 47.
Davy, Dr. John, undertakes a series of experiments with _Kino_ and
_Calumba_, at the request of the author, 169;
his experiments on the specific gravity of the blood after
venesection, 140.
Debility, the result of a change in the tension of the fibres of the
body, 78.
Decoction frequently destroys the efficacy of medicinal bodies, 184.
Delivery expedited by nauseous medicines, 16 (_note_).
Demulcents, their supposed mode of operation, 139.
Deposites mechanical, from the urine, divisible into three classes,
113.
Derry-down, Druidical origin of the chorus of, 13.
Design of the Pharmacologia, 3.
Developement of active elements one of the objects of Pharmaceutic
chemistry, 171.
Devotion to authority, the mischievous tendency of, 27.
Diaphoretics, definition of, 98;
a new classification of proposed, 99;
when combined with tonics offer resources in continued fever, 164;
may cure dropsy, 101.
Diaphoresis, frequently follows nausea, 86.
Diarrhœa checked by remedies of a different nature, 82.
Dictator, his election and duties, during a pestilence in Rome, 16.
Diest’s absurd preparation of opium, 28.
Diet and Habits, the importance of changing them in disease considered,
157;
important practical remarks upon, 158.
Diet Vegetable, the supposed refrigerating effect of, explained, 113.
Diffusible and permanent stimulants, 75.
Digby, Sir Kenelm, the “_Sympathetic Powder_” of, 14.
Digestion, sometimes quickened by the operation of an emetic, 86;
how materially it is affected by mental disturbance, 158;
imperfect, diseases arising from, how treated by the author, 159.
Digestive Functions, their influence upon certain remedies, 68.
Digitalis and Potass, although not similar as diuretics, are compatible
with each other, 163.
_Digitalis_, Dr. Withering’s observation respecting its accumulation in
the system 188;
its utility exaggerated, 21;
why it acts as a sorbefacient, 96.
Digitalis and Mercury, dissimilar as diuretics, 150.
_Digitalis_ and _Verbascum_, although medicinally opposed to each
other, belong to the same natural family, 41.
Diluents, their extensive use in the cure of disease, 139.
Dionysius of Mytilene, his explanation of the Golden Fleece of the
Argonauts, 45.
Dioscorides, many of his plants not to be recognised in the present
day, 36;
—the Commentary of Mathiolus upon, passed through seventeen
editions!, 36 (_note_).
_Dirigens_ of ancient authors, 179 (_note_).
Discoveries in Materia Medica, rarely more than the revival of ancient
practices, 31.
Disease, its type and character altered by climate and season, 57.
Dispensatories of London and Edinburgh, their merits, 52 (_note_).
Dispensatory of Wecker contains several preparations in which the
magnet is an ingredient, 24 (_note_).
Distention, the stimulus of, increases the efficacy of emetics, 155.
Distillation, the operation of not noticed by Hippocrates or Galen, 45.
Division, the mechanical state of, modifies the operation of medicinal
bodies, 174.
Diuretics, new views respecting their _modus operandi_, 92;
definition of, 92;
how to be managed with respect to dilution, 175;
Tabular arrangement of, 92.
Diuresis occasioned by diminishing arterial action, 96.
Dose of a powder, rules respecting the, 189.
Doses of medicines are specific with respect to each substance, 184;
in Italy, 59.
Doses, when excessive, rather produce a local than a general effect,
185.
_Draco Mitigatus_, calomel described under this name, by Beguin in
1608, 51.
Draughts, how they differ from mixtures, 199;
when to be preferred, 199.
Dropsy, a case of cured by well fermented bread, 97;
may be occasionally cured by venesection, 96;
Dr. Blackall’s ingenious work on, 150.
Duhamel’s cases of dropsy cured by sweating, 101 (_note_).
Drummond, Sir William, his opinions concerning certain allegories, 44.
Dryden’s allusion to cures by sympathy, 14.
“Dry vomit of Marriott,” of what it consisted, 134 (_note_).
Dubois, Mr. his report of the progress of vaccination in the east, 15.
Dugald Stewart’s remark respecting scepticism, 21.
Dunning, the celebrated barrister, how affected by a blister, 110
(_note_).
Dyspepsia of sedentary person, how cured by the author, 159.
E
Early origin of Amulets, 7.
—— history of the Materia Medica involved in fable, 7.
Ear-rings, buried by Jacob, were Amulets, 7.
Ear, the bitter secretion of the, protects it from insects, 138
(_note_).
Earth of Lemnos, only dug on a particular day, 12.
“Eaton’s Styptic,” of what composed, 83 (_note_).
“Eau Medicinale,” the active ingredient of, known to the ancients, 32.
Eberle, Dr. of Philadelphia, how he accounts for the fact of Nauseants
expediting mercurial salivation, 156 (_note_);
his theory objected to, (_ibid._).
Echo, beautifully allegorized as the daughter of air and earth, 44
(_note_).
Edward the Confessor, first _touched_ for the evil, 16 (_note_).
Effervescence, a caution respecting the administration of a remedy in
the state of, worthy attention, 177.
Efficacy of Hemlock, exaggerated by Stöerck, 21.
Egypt, the ancient physicians of, obliged to prescribe according to a
fixed code, 180.
“_Elatin_,” a new vegetable principle discovered by the author, 38.
Elaterium forms with soap an active suppository, 197;
value of as a hydragogue, 97;
contains two principles of activity, 153;
meaning of the term according to Hippocrates, 38.
Electricity, lately employed as a Lithonthryptic, 124.
_Electuaria_, electuaries, definition of, 198;
general rules to be observed in selecting and prescribing this form
of medicine, 198.
“_Electuarium Opiatum Polupharmacum_” of the Codex Parisien, 27;
Electuary of the Queen of Colein, 47 (_note_).
Elixir universal, a belief in its efficacy entertained by Roger Bacon,
48.
Emetics, various uses of, in the cure of disease, 86;
the activity of, why occasionally increased by Narcotics, 152;
quickened in their action by venesection, 156;
in what cases they may prove dangerous, 87;
definition of, 83;
practical precaution respecting, 85.
“_Emetin_,” a new principle developed from Ipecacuan, 172.
Emmenagogues, definition of, 91;
can only be relative agents, 91.
Emollients, definition of, 141.
Empirics, ancient sect of, their labours barren, and why, 6.
_Emplastrum Nigrum_ of Augsburg, 24 (_note_).
_Emplastra_, plasters, great importance of in the cure of local as well
constitutional affections, 207.
_Emplastrum Divinum Nicolai_, 24 (_note_).
_Enemata_, Clysters, calculated to fulfil five great indications, 200.
England falsely called the _Paradise of Quacks_, 19.
English hops, why superior to those of foreign growth as preservatives
of beer, 168 (_note_).
Epidemics, arrested in their progress by moral impressions, 16.
Epispastics, the definition of, 109;
the modus operandi of, considered, 110;
see Blisters, 110.
Erasistratus protests against medicinal combination, 63.
Errhines, or Sternutatories, definition and use of, 108;
Dr. Cullen’s testimony respecting their value, 109.
Errors, chemical and pharmaceutical, which may be committed in writing
prescriptions, 180.
Erythric acid, how obtained from Lithic acid, 117.
Escharotics, definition of, 137;
the operation of is generally chemical, 138.
Essences of Dioscorides and Galen, were simple extracts, 45.
Essential oils, certain of them enter the circulation, 68.
Esculapius, Temple of, remedies first recorded there, 8.
Ether instantly relieves vertigo, and why, 69;
the production of from Alcohol first noticed by Basil Valentine, 49.
Evacuants, why classed as local stimulants, 83.
Euphrasia, or eye-bright, its supposed virtues derived from the
doctrine of signatures, 25, 27 (_note_).
Excrements of insects, a popular remedy in Italy, 11.
Exhalation from the lungs, modified by certain medicines, 102.
Expectorants, definition of, 101;
a new classification of proposed, 102;
under what circumstances they may be usefully associated with
stimulants, 166.
Experience, false application of the term, 6.
Experiments with different medicines on inferior animals, the great
importance of 69. (_note_).
Experiment and Observation, Professor Leslie’s definition of, 4
(_note)_.
Experimental mode of investigation allegorized in the fable of Proteus,
45.
Extemporaneous Formulæ, the nature and necessity of, 180.
External remedies, divisible into two classes, 203;
how they act on the constitution, 204.
Extract of Logwood, why not to be administered in the form of pill, 196
(_note_).
Extract, meaning of the term, 38.
Eye-lids, ancient custom of astringing the, 49.
Eye of Typhon, the ancient name of Squill, 9.
F
Fables of Antiquity, supposed meaning of the, 44.
Factitious Bezoars, 63 (_note_).
Fallacies to which medicinal experiments are liable, 6.
Fashion gives names to diseases, and reputation to remedies, 33.
Fear, the agency of, in increasing the effects of absorption
illustrated, 156.
“_Febrifugi Peruviani Vindiciæ_,” by Sturmius, 24 (_note_).
Fecula, original meaning of the term, 38.
Fibres, a due tension of essential to life, 78.
Fleece, the Golden, a chemical allegory, 45.
Flesh, human, in epilepsy, 16.
Flooding, after child-birth, how to be treated, 83.
Florentine Quack, illustrative story of the, 34 (_note_).
Flowers, the strong scent of, affect pregnant women, 58 (_note_);
the perfume of, why most sensible in the evening, 175 (_note_).
Fluids of the body, few medicines act upon the, 74.
Food, green colour of, disgusting to some, 43.
Fordyce, Dr. his valuable paper on the combination of medicines, 64;
his combination of Camboge and Aloes, 173;
his important views respecting the vital energies of the stomach, 112
(_note_).
Form of a remedy, how to impart a convenient, agreeable, and
efficacious one, 178.
Formula, a scientific one may contain two corrigents, 162.
—— Medicinal, consists of four parts, 178.
Formulæ, in illustration of the subject of Medicinal Combination, 209.
Fourcroy, the theory of, respecting aroma, 155 (_note_);
his mechanical explanation of the operation of Mercury, 22.
Fox’s Lungs, a specific for Asthma, and why, 25.
Fritze, Professor, his remarks on the effects of a diet of mucilage,
80.
G
Galbanum, its specific control over spasm, 78.
Galen’s celebrated hypothesis respecting the virtues of medicines, 21.
Gallic acid strikes a black colour with the salts of iron, 82.
Gar fish, or sea needle, not poisonous, 43.
Garlic, its modus operandi as an expectorant considered, 102.
Gascoigne’s powder and ball, 63 (_note_).
Gastric chemistry, its singular powers illustrated, 56;
its laws very imperfectly understood, 182.
Gaubius, his observation respecting the influence of pulverization upon
the specific effects of a plant, 191.
Gay-Lussac’s opinion respecting the composition of Tartar Emetic, 40.
Geber, the earliest alchemist on record, 47.
Gelatin, substituted for Peruvian bark, in the cure of fevers, 56.
General Stimulants, what classes are comprehended under the head of,
76.
Gerard, his remarks on the Potatoe, 38 (_note_).
Gibberish, origin and meaning of the term, 47.
Gin, odour of, detected in the brain, 77.
Gin drinkers liable to become fat, 141.
Gingerbread why less disposed to mouldiness than plain bread, 177
(_note_).
Gladiator, the warm blood of, in Epilepsy, 16.
Glauber recommends Muriatic Acid in sea scurvy, 33;
his apparatus for distilling acids, 33.
Globules red, of the blood, a distinct animal principle, 23 (_note_).
Glue, clarified, why substituted for Peruvian bark in the cure of
fevers, 56.
Gluten, its proportion in wheat varies in different climates, 58.
Goat, the blood of, conceit respecting its lithonthryptic virtues
explained, 47 (_note_).
Golden Fleece of the Argonauts, a chemical allegory, 45.
_Governing Power_ of the stomach, meaning of the term as employed by
Dr. Fordyce, 112.
Gout, Portland powder for the, 32 (_note_).
Grafting, extraordinary changes produced by, 60.
Grasses, coarse texture of in moist situations a wise provision, 89.
Greatracks, Valentine, wonderful cures of, 17.
Greek Physicians, their complicated prescriptions, 63.
Griffith’s mixture, the supposed unchemical nature of, refuted, 55.
Guaiacum, how it acts in exciting diaphoresis, 100;
loses its anti-arthritic virtues by purging, 161.
Gum, indigestible nature of considered, 80.
H
Haerlem, Boerhaave’s treatment of the epileptics in the poor-house at,
16.
Halford, Sir Henry, his practice of combining Henbane and Colocynth
judicious, 161.
_Halitus_, or watery vapours, their uses, 203.
Halliday, Dr. of Moscow, his letters to the author on the subject of
the Eau Medicinale, 59.
Hamilton, Dr. his valuable remarks on purgatives, 90;
his observations respecting the time of the day at which purgatives
should be administered in fevers, 187.
Harmattan, a wind characterised by excessive dryness, opposes the
propagation of epidemics, 175 (_note_).
Harrison, Dr. his attempt to emulate the effects of Bark, by medicinal
combination, 167;
Dr. Richard, his modification of Majendie’s theory with regard to the
act of vomiting, 84;
his communications to the author respecting the influence of climate
upon the efficacy of medicines, 59.
Healing by the _first intention_, practice of suggested by
superstition, 15.
Heat destroys the virtues of many vegetables, 191 (_note_);
its stimulus acts as a diaphoretic, 99.
Heat, cold, moisture, and dryness, Galen’s notion respecting, 21.
Hellebore used as a purge by Melampus, 8.
Heliotrope or blood-stone, its supposed powers, 26.
Helvetius’s Styptic, of what composed, 83 (_note_);
introduces Ipecacuan into practice, 28.
Hemlock, doubtful whether the modern plant of that name is the one used
at the Athenian executions, 37;
its powers exaggerated by Stöerck, 21.
Hemorrhage, why sometimes stopped by a nauseating medicine, 69;
great skill required in the treatment of, 83.
Henbane, a remedy for nephritic irritation, 166.
Henry IV, poisoned by medicated gloves, 125.
Herbage, less nutritive in cold and wet seasons, 58.
_Herba Britannica_ of Dioscorides and Pliny, unknown, 37.
Herbena, herbs employed in the rites of sacrifice, 37.
Herbivorous quadrupeds, on the necessity of bitter to, 79.
Hermodactyllus, supposed to be a species of colchicum, 32.
Hindoo “ordeal of rice,” physiologically reasonable, 157 (_note_).
Hippocrates, his opinion respecting the benefit to be derived from
emetics, 86;
advice to his son Thessalus, 10 (_note_).
Historical Introduction, 3.
Hoffman, his advice to suspend the administration of remedies during a
protracted disease, 150.
Homer’s Allegory accounts for the plague of the Grecian camp, 44
(_note_.)
Honey of Cane, the Arabian title for sugar, 46.
Honey, superstitious opinions respecting, 11.
Hop, upon what its superiority as an ingredient in malt liquors
depends, 167;
the English, why superior, as a preservative of beer, to that of
foreign growth, 168 (_note_).
Horncastle dispensary, ague cured in the, by a combination of bitter
and astringent roots, 167.
Horse-flesh, a remedy in epilepsy, 16.
Horse the, when debilitated, is easily destroyed by Opium, 69 (_note_);
very easily affected by diuretics, and why, 95.
Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis, experiments of Mr. Sinclair recorded in
the, 79.
Human flesh a remedy in epilepsy, 16.
Humoral Asthma, the pathology of examined, 104.
—— Pathology, its influence upon medical opinions, 74.
Hunter, Dr. his remarks on the vital powers of the stomach, 56.
Hutchison, Mr. Copland, his opinion concerning the comparative rarity
of Calculus amongst seamen, 121.
Huxham, the complexity of his prescriptions, 64.
Hydragogues, Cholagogues, &c. opinion respecting, 90.
—— modus operandi explained, 90.
Hydromancy, its incidental utility, 15.
Hydrophobia, the hairs of the rabid animal formerly supposed to be an
antidote to, 26.
Hypnotics, synonymous with Soporifics and Narcotics, 76.
Hyoscyamus, gloomy aspect of, indicative of its poisonous qualities,
42.
I
Iatropa Manihot, its leaves esculent, its root poisonous, 42.
Identity of bodies formerly considered different, established by
Chemistry, 52.
Idiosyncrasies, several remarkable instances of related, 188.
Incantation, origin of the term, 7 (_note_).
Inhalations, an important class of remedies, 202.
Indian fig, when eaten renders the urine of a bloody colour, 68
(_note_).
Indians, American, their expedient to retard the solution of tobacco,
176.
Ink, its mouldiness prevented by cloves, 177 (_note_).
Inoculation in India, Turkey, and Wales, first practised from a
superstitious belief, 15.
Insects destroyed by vegetable bitters, 188 (_note_).
Intestinal absorption suspended by Catharsis, 90.
Intervals between each dose of a medicine, how to be regulated, 188.
Interesting report from Mr. Dubois, a Missionary in India, on the
practice of vaccination, 15.
Introduction, Historical, to the Pharmacologia, 3.
Intoxicating tea of the Siberians, 59.
Ipecacuan, why a dose of diminishes the force of the circulation, 69;
how it operates in arresting hemorrhage, 69.
Ipecacuan, a new principle (_Emeta_) discovered in, 172;
introduced into practice by Helvetius under the patronage of Louis
XIV, 28.
Ireland, its population increased by the introduction of Potatoes, 30
(_note_).
Iron, its virtues explained upon mechanical principles, 22;
rust of, a very ancient remedy, 8;
the sulphate of, its virtues first described by Basil Valentine, 49.
Ischia, the celebrated baths in the island of, 59.
Issues, 111.
J
Jalap, the purgative operation of increased by Ipecacuan, 153.
James I, King, his counter-blaste to tobacco, 29.
James, Dr. his fever powder of Italian origin, 32.
Jerusalem Artichoke, origin of the term, 38.
Jews, their practice of applying astringents to the eye-brows, 49.
John of Gaddesden, his extraordinary treatment of the son of Edward the
First, 26.
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, his definition of Physic, 4 (_note_).
Julius Cæsar, the soldiers of, cured by an unknown plant, 37.
Jupiter, the astrological symbol of, prefixed to receipts, 12.
—— and Juno, by whose union the vernal showers were said to have been
produced, interpretation of the fable by Dr. Darwin, 44.
Jezebel, her custom of painting the eye-brows, 49.
K
_Kermes Mineral_, the secret of its preparation purchased by the French
government, 51.
Kidd, Dr. his reply to Mr. Brande’s charge against the University of
Oxford, 53.
Kidneys stimulated by alkaline salts, 92 (_note_).
Kino and Calumba, experiments respecting their operation by Dr. John
Davy, 169.
Knight, Andrew, Esq. his conjecture respecting the _Tuberes_ of Pliny,
61.
L
La Legerie communicates the secret of _Kermes_ Mineral to the French
government for a sum of money, 51.
Lacteals, the natural sensibility of, altered by Mercury, 152 (_note_).
Lactuca Sativa, its sedative powers known to the ancients, 9.
Langelott’s Laudanum, 32.
Lapis Œtites, or eagle stone, supposed virtues of, 25.
_Lathyrus Stativus_, supposed deadly properties of the seeds of, 41.
Lavender, the odour of increased by Musk, 155 (_note_).
_Laudanum Cydoniatum_ of Van Helmont, 32.
Laurel water used by the Dutch in consumptions, 32.
Laxatives and Purgatives, distinction between, 89.
Lead, the _Acetate_ of, rendered inefficacious by conjunction with
Sulphuric salts, 181.
Lectures delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, 1.
Lectures, Chemical, high importance of those delivered at Cambridge,
54.
_Leguminous_ plants, Linnæus’s observation upon, 41.
Lemnos, celebrated earth of, described by Galen, 12.
Lemon, its different parts possess different virtues, 42.
Lentor and viscidity of the blood, a supposed cause of disease, 22.
Lettuce, it soporific powers recommended by Galen, 9.
Leopold, Archduke of Austria, the failure of the bark in the cure of,
31.
Leyden, memorable fever of, a lamentable illustration of ultra-chemical
doctrines, 23.
Libavius, his opinion of Paracelsus, 50.
Lichen Islandicus, its bitterness useful, 80.
Limestone, the operation of burning to quick-lime accelerated by a
moist atmosphere, 176 (_note_).
Lime water, its lithonthryptic agency considered, 123.
Linnæus, his system corresponds in a surprising manner with the natural
properties of plants, 42.
——, Ray, and Virey, their observation respecting the influence of
pulverization upon the medicinal activity of a plant, 174.
Linseed, mischievous tendency of, when used as a sole article of diet,
80.
Lithate of Ammonia constantly present in urine, 117.
Lithic acid, Majendie’s theory respecting the formation of, 117;
generated by the action of the kidneys, and constantly present in
healthy urine, 117.
—— —— Diathesis, Dr. Philip’s views respecting the, 121.
Lithonthryptics, the great advantage of combining them with Opium in
cases of calculous irritation, 166.
Lithonthryptic powers of Galvanic Electricity, 124.
Living fibre, medicines act upon the, 75.
Liquorice, why objectionable as an envelope of pills, 96 (_note_).
_Liquor Ammoniæ Acetatis_, why decomposed by Magnesia, 183.
Local stimulants, 83;
meaning of the term, 83.
London College of Physicians, their first Pharmacopœia, 52 (_note_).
Lotions, Embrocations, Liniments, Fomentations, Collyria, &c., 204.
Louis XIV introduced the potatoe into general cultivation, 30.
Luridæ, the dark and gloomy aspect of the, indicates their poisonous
properties, 42.
Lymphatics, medicines enter the circulation through the, 70.
M
Macbride, Dr. his unsuccessful attempt to improve the art of tanning by
the introduction of lime-water, affords an important lesson to the
Pharmaceutist, 182 (_note_).
Maccaroni of Italy, why so superior to that made in other countries,
58.
MacCulloch, Dr. his observations upon the effects of Perfumes in
preventing mouldiness, 177;
on the sweetness of pure and impure sugar, 154.
Mace and Nutmeg of Arabian origin, 46.
Macer’s Herbal abounds with the superstitions of the middle ages, 12.
Macleod, Dr. his observation respecting the Sialogogue power of
Hydro-cyanic acid, 108.
Magistral Formulæ, the nature and necessity of, 180.
_Magisterium of Ludovicus_, a preparation of Opium, 32.
Maglia, the name given to the wild potatoe by the Indians, 80 (_note_).
Magnesia, its use in mitigating the severity of Colchicum explained,
162.
——, the carbonate of, proposed by Mr. Hatchett as a remedy in the
Lithic diathesis, 123.
Magnenus, his signature of Tobacco, 25.
_Magnes Arsenicalis_, Formula for, by Angelus Sala, 26.
Magnet, its use as an antidote to iron, 24;
formerly entered into the composition of certain Plaisters, 24
(_note_).
MAH-RY UMMA, a mischievous deity, supposed by the Indians to occasion
the natural small-pox, 15.
Majendie, his important views upon the mechanism of absorption, 87
(_note_);
his views respecting vomiting, 84.
Male Fern, its anthelmintic properties known to Galen, 31;
retailed as a secret nostrum in France, the secret of which was known
to Louis XV, 31.
Malt Liquors, the utility of the bitter in, 79.
Manna, of Arabian origin, 46.
Manufacturing Chemists, the errors daily committed by, 154 (_note_).
Marcellus killed by the cold bath, 31.
Marcet, Dr. his views respecting the treatment of calculus, 115.
Marshes, animals in the, defended from disease by the ingestion of
bitter plants, 80.
Masticatories, or acrid Sialogogues, the nature and operation of
considered, 106.
Materia Medica, its early history involved in fable, 7;
its progressive improvements slow and unequal, 4;
composed of a motley group of substances, 3;
how its progress has been influenced, by caprice, prejudice,
superstition and knavery, 4;
the arrangement of by Cullen, Murray, and Young, 72.
May Apple, its different parts possess different virtues, 42.
Mayerne, Sir Theodore, absurd and disgusting remedies of, 13.
Mead, Dr. recommended Melampodium as an Emmenagogue, 91 (_note_);
his practice of combining alkalies with opium judicious, 161;
his opinion concerning the nature of the Athenian poison, 37
(_note_).
Mechanical deposites from the urine divisible into three classes, 118;
mechanical remedies, considerations respecting, 138;
mechanical action of certain expectorants, 105;
mechanical purgatives, 89;
mechanical theory, some account of the, 22.
Medical Boards of the present day, 20.
Medicinal Substances, certain ones enter the circulation, 68;
Combination, the extent of limited by several circumstances, 149;
medicinal prescription, its perfection defined in three words, 178;
similarity, conventional acceptation of the term, 138;
incompatibility, meaning of the term, 70;
medicinal bodies, on the operation of, 67;
definition of, 67;
medicinal combination, on the theory and art of, 145.
Medicines corrected in their operation by _mechanically_ separating, or
_chemically_ neutralizing the offending ingredient, 160;
by adding to them some substance capable of guarding the stomach, or
system, against their deleterious effects, 161;
their effects modified by the age of the patient, and various other
circumstances, 186;
substituted for each other, v.;
cardinal virtues of, according to Galen, 21;
calculated to produce the same ultimate result, by different modes of
operation, may be combined, 163;
their operations modified by the state of vital susceptibility of the
patient, 5;
are frequently but relative agents, 67;
may act through the instrumentality of the nerves, 70;
conveyed to distant parts of the body by absorption, 6;
the ignorant preparation of, 61;
their fraudulent adulteration, 61;
differ only from poisons in their dose, 184.
Melampodium recommended as an emmenagogue by Dr. Mead, 91 (_note_).
Melampus of Argos administered rust of iron, 8.
_Menyanthes Trifoliata_, a cure for the rot in sheep, 80 (_note_).
Mercurial salivation known in the twelfth century, 49.
—— ointment, a true chemical compound, 170.
Mercury, the only constitutional sialogogue, 106;
its operation as a sialogogue attempted to be explained, 107;
supposed to act from its weight, 107;
its power of entering the lacteals, 68;
its efficacy increased by antimony and opium, 152;
a case wherein its effects were suddenly developed by fear, 156;
a powerful stimulant, 155 (_note_).
Merriman, Dr. an interesting case, in illustration of the influence of
the mind upon the digestive organs, communicated by him to the
author, 158.
Merry Andrews, their origin, 33 (_note_).
Metals, a query respecting their peculiar smell, 155 (_note_);
why named after the planets, 12;
all of them inert unless in a state of combination, 170.
Methodic Sect, founded by Themison, 22.
Miraculous gift attributed by Herodotus to the Priestesses of Helen,
explained, 18.
Missletoe, Druidical superstitions respecting the, 11 (_note_).
_Mistura Ferri composita_, composition of, 55.
_Misturæ_, Mixtures, general rules to be observed in selecting and
prescribing this form of medicine, 199.
Mithridate, its history and composition, 27 (_note_).
Miner, after inanition, killed by stimulants, 6 (_note_).
Mineral waters, the virtues of discovered by Hydromancy, 15;
sometimes prove diuretic, the reasons why, and how prevented, 95
(_note_).
Mineral Acids, first described by Avicenna, 48.
Milman, Sir Francis, his valuable remarks on the importance of diluents
in dropsy, 175.
Milner, Dr. his synthetic proof of the composition of nitrous acid, 54
(_note_).
Mixture and Chemical Combination, an essential distinction between,
170.
Modus Operandi of Medicines, a new classification in illustration of
the, 70.
Moisture and Dryness, its effects upon vegetable productions, 58.
Molasses, why sweeter than pure sugar, 154.
Molina, his observations on the potatoe, 80 (_note_).
Monardes, his belief in the efficacy of the Bezoar explained, 63.
Morley’s remedies for Scrofula, 17.
Morphia, a new principle developed from opium, 172.
Morton’s Pyretologia contains an account of Oliver Cromwell’s death,
24.
Mouldiness prevented by Perfumes, 177.
Mountain Ash, an object of Druidical veneration, 14.
Mulberry, contains two colouring principles, 44.
Muriatic Acid recommended by Glauber in sea scurvy, 33.
Murray, principles of arrangement adopted in his _Apparatus
Medicaminum_, 41 (_note_).
Murray’s arrangement of the Materia Medica, 74.
Music, an ancient remedy, 7 (_note_).
Musk, of Arabian origin, 46;
its specific controul over spasm, 78;
the odour of increased by exposure to the atmosphere of privies, 155
(_note_).
Mustacea of the Romans gave origin to the modern bride-cake, 148
(_note_).
Mustard, the unbruised seeds of commended by Dr. Mead in ascites, 184.
Mythological Fables, antiquity of chemistry deduced from the, 44.
N
Naples, experiments at, with Hyoscyamus, 59.
Narcotics, synonymous with Sedatives, Hypnotics, and Soporifics, 76;
assume the character of Astringents, 82;
their operation increases vascular action, 76;
their superior efficacy in Italy, 59;
how they differ from ordinary stimulants, 76;
Cullen’s theory respecting, 76;
their stimulant operation denied, 76.
Narcotico-acrid Poisons, 128;
an ill-defined class, 129.
Narcotic Poisons, 128.
Narcotic odour, a distinct indication, 42.
Natural Compounds, may be regarded as the prescriptions of Nature, 145.
Natural Family of Plants, often contain species of very different
medicinal virtues, 41.
Nausea, origin and cause of, 85.
Nauseating Emetics,
why to be avoided in certain cases of poisoning, 134;
why they prove diaphoretic, 87;
doses of antimony increase the effects of mercury, 152.
Nauseous remedies supposed to expedite delivery, 16 (_note_).
Necklace of Pæony, for the cure of epilepsy, 17.
Nechepsus, his amulet for the stomach, 7.
_Nepenthe_ of Helen was probably opium, 8.
Nerves, the media through which certain medicines act upon the body,
70.
Nestor’s Cataplasm, 9.
New arrangement of diuretic medicines, 92.
Nicolaus, his powder for the stone, 47 (_note_).
Nicostratus, Cholical antidote of, 19.
Nitrate of Silver, its successful effect in Epilepsy, 59;
its bitterness connected with its virtues, 80;
rendered inert by muriatic salts, 175.
Nitric acid, its power of producing ptyalism denied, 108.
Nomenclature medical, reformed by Botany and Chemistry, 39.
Nostrum, Definition and meaning of the term, 19 (_note_).
Nostrums, a multitude of collected by Ætius, 19.
Nouffleur, Madame, her receipt, 31.
Nuremburg, the first Pharmacopœia published at, 52 (_note_).
Nutmeg corrects the operation of alum, 161.
Nutmeg and Mace of Arabian origin, 46.
Nutriment, deficiency of in plants, how compensated for by nature, 58.
Nutritive, and Medicinal powers of plants often opposed to each other,
58.
O
Objections to Cullen’s arrangement of medicines, of a fatal nature, 74.
Observation, analogy and experiment, form the only true basis of
research, 5;
Professor Leslie’s definition of, 5 (_note_).
Obstacles to the progress of the Materia Medica, 6.
Officinal preparations, the nature and necessity of, 180.
Old men, the humid coughs of, cured by Sulphate of zinc, 104.
Oliver Cromwell fell a victim to an intermittent, 24.
Operation of medicinal bodies, on the, 67.
Operation of two medicines in one formula, 163.
Opiologia of Wedelius contains many formulæ which have been perverted
to empirical uses, 32.
Opium, remarks upon the best mode of correcting its operation, and
obviating its deleterious effects, 136;
has extensive powers as a _Corrigent_, 137;
whether absorbed into the circulation, 77;
modern preparations of derived from ancient receipts, 32;
primitive import of the term, 37;
its powers vary with the climate, 58;
known in early ages, 8;
stimulating effects of, 77;
Galen’s hypothesis concerning, 22.
Oporinus, his opinion of his master Paracelsus, 50.
Orange, the Prince of, his success in curing an Epidemic at Breda, 16.
Oribasius, his just notions respecting medicinal combination, 63.
Order, a general rule for that of the ingredients of a medicinal
formula, 179.
Origin of Amulets of very ancient date, 7.
Organs of sense, sensibility of, changed by artificial habits and
cultivation, 43.
—— of the body, how excited into action by the administration of
particular remedies, 70.
Oswald Crollius, first mentions calomel, 51.
Otho Tachenius, embraced the doctrines of Van Helmont, 50.
Oxygen, how far it may be considered the source of animal heat, 114.
Oysters, the green colour of, explained, 44 (_note_).
P
Paley’s remark on the influence of habit, 27.
Panacea Glauberiana, the secret of its preparation purchased by the
French Government, 51.
Paracelsus, some account of his character and doctrines, 49;
his false reasoning, 50 (_note_).
Paris, Supreme Council of, proscribe antimonial remedies, 51.
Particular forms of remedies, and the general principles upon which
they should be constructed, 190.
Passive hemorrhage, to be treated by a combination of astringents and
tonics, 165.
Peach, its deleterious properties, when first introduced into the Roman
empire from Persia, explained, 61;
its kernel, the supposed efficacy of, 61.
Pearl, compound powders of, 22.
Percival, Dr. the judicious observations of respecting diet, commended,
157.
Perfumes, their extraordinary effects at Rome, 58;
vegetable, Savages insensible of, 43;
prevent mouldiness, 177.
Pericles pronounced insane for wearing an amulet, 7.
Peruvian Bark, prejudices respecting, 24;
the adulteration of brought it into discredit, 61.
Pestilence at Rome, superstitious ceremony during the, 16.
Peter Lord, his exposition of his father’s will, 33.
Petiver, the medico-botanical researches of, 41 (_note_).
Petro de Maharncourt, an inventor of the supposed Universal Elixir, 48.
Pharmacopœia, how its import differs from that of Pharmacologia, ii;
original institution of, 52 (_note_);
why an object of abuse, 53.
Philippic of Chifletius against the Peruvian Bark, 31.
Phillips, Mr. his attack upon the London Pharmacopœia noticed, 54.
Philosopher’s Stone, Arabian conceit respecting the, 46.
Philosophy of History, definition of the term, 4.
Phosphoric Salts, the origin and history of, as they occur in urine,
118.
Physiognomy Botanical, its utility, 42.
Pills containing calomel, should not be enveloped in magnesia, and why,
196.
_Pilulæ e Styrace_ of the Dublin College, a very scientific
combination, 194.
_Pilulæ_, rules respecting their formation into masses, 194.
Pimento, the berries of, lose their aromatic warmth in coming to
maturity, 62.
Pink and Lateritious sediments in urine, Dr. Prout’s opinion respecting
the nature of, 117 (_note_).
Plague of London, superstitious belief respecting the origin of the, 10
(_note_);
in Egypt, most common after the inundation of the Nile, 175 (_note_).
Plaister containing soap and muriate of ammonia, the chemical theory of
its operation considered, 171.
Planetary influence on the virtues of plants, 11.
Plants medicinal, influenced by soil, culture, climate, and season, 57;
the sensible properties of, have a relation to their medicinal
properties, 41;
the virtues of, discoverable by botanical characters, 41.
Pliny, his aphorism respecting poisons paraphrased by Linnæus, 184.
Plum, the cultivated offspring of the sloe, 61.
Plumbum, a generic term among the ancients, 48.
Podalirius employed venesection, 8.
Podophyllum Peltatum, the different parts of possess different virtues,
42.
_Poculum Absinthiatum_, its supposed antidotal powers, 79.
Poisons secret and slow, 125;
absurd notion respecting their possessing a mutual attraction for
each other, 26;
differ essentially from each other, 127;
the classification of, according to their physiological action
attempted, 131;
a belief in the mechanical operation of, not founded in truth, 126;
have ever been the objects of extravagant credulity, 125.
Poisoning, in cases of, there are three important indications of cure,
134.
Poitou, colic of, supposed to have arisen from the appearance of a new
star, 10 (_note_).
Poly-pharmacy of our predecessors, the influence of the, on the
practitioners of the present day, 64;
of ancient physicians, the mischievous influence of, upon modern
practice, 64.
Pope Innocent the Tenth countenances the use of the bark, 31.
Pope Clement VII. poisoned by fumes of a taper, 126 (_note_).
Poppies supposed to relieve the head, and why, 25.
Porsenna’s stipulation with the Romans not to employ iron, except in
agriculture, the reason of, 24.
Portland, Duke of, his powder for the gout, 32.
Potatoe, the wild parent of the, found at Monte Video, 80 (_note_);
loses its bitterness by cultivation, 79;
its various useful applications enumerated, 30;
mentioned by Gerard, 38 (_note_);
extraordinary and romantic history of the, 30;
introduced into favour by Louis XIV. 30;
origin of the name, 38;
the effect of its introduction into Ireland, 30 (_note_).
Potassium, curious anecdote connected with the discovery of, 43
(_note_).
Poultice, Yeast, its modus operandi explained, 171.
Powder of Nicolaus, 47 (_note_).
Powders, individually dry, become liquid by being rubbed together, 192.
Powders, Compound, canons respecting, 191.
Powell, Dr. his observations upon compound medicines, 64.
Practice of Physic, perverted by superstition, 10.
Precious Stones, an Arabian superstition respecting, 10;
their introduction into medicine, 10.
Prescriptions ancient, their complicated nature, 63.
Prescribing, on the theory and art of, 143.
Prescott, Miss, persons of the first respectability became the dupes
of, 13.
Prevost and Dumas, their experiments upon the effects of Electricity on
Calculi, 124.
Priests of the American Indians intoxicated by tobacco, 9.
Priests of Esculapius, artifices of the, 8 (_note_).
Priesthood, Pagan, addicted to the use of narcotics, 9;
their characteristic cunning, 18.
Primary operation of a remedy, meaning of the term, 68.
Pringle, Sir John, his experiments on the effects of salt, when used in
different quantities, 185;
his opinion respecting the combination of alkalies and bitters, 153.
Proserpine, the fable of, a chemical allegory, 41.
Proteus, the fable of, an allegory, 45.
Prout, Dr. his valuable researches into the history of Gravel and
Calculus, 115.
Prussic Acid, proposed by Majendie for the cure of phthisis, 32.
Ptyalism excited by mercury, and hydro-cyanic acid, 107–8.
Pulmonary exhalation, how modified by certain expectorants, 103.
_Pulveres_, general principles for their administration, 190.
Pulverization, how it assists the operation of a medicinal substance,
190.
_Pulvis Helvetii_, philosophy of its combination, 192.
_Pulvis ipecacuanhæ Compositus_, the operation of it affords a striking
illustration of the advantages of medicinal combination, 168.
Purgatives differ essentially from each other, 89;
combined with antispasmodics, 164;
to be considered as _Absolute_ Agents, 68;
their effects increasing the action of various medicines, 156;
their several modes of operation explained by Lord Bacon, 42
(_note_);
may act by three different modes, 92;
act as Emmenagogues, 92;
combined with tonics, 164;
combined with mercurial alteratives, 164.
Purgatives and Laxatives, essential difference between, 88.
Purpuric Acid, a curious modification of the Lithic, discovered by Dr.
Prout, 117.
Putrid exhalations recognised by the Savage at a considerable distance,
43.
Pyramus and Thisbe, the fable of, curiously illustrated by a late
chemical discovery, 44.
Pyretologia of Morton, account of Cromwell’s death in, 24.
Q
Quackery countenanced by the member for Coventry, 33 (_note_).
Quadrupeds Herbivorous, require bitter food, 79.
Qualities Cardinal, which distinguish all bodies, 21.
R
Rachitis, a disease of the assimilative functions, 118 (_note_).
Rabbit, its insusceptibility of the powers of opium explained, 69
(_note_).
Raleigh, Sir Walter, said to have introduced smoaking tobacco, 29
(_note_.)
_Ranting Peters_, a new name for Merry Andrews, 33 (_note_).
Rape Oil, its proposed improvement by Rozier, 57.
Rawleigh’s Confection and Pearl Cordial, 33.
Ray, his attempt to enumerate the virtues of plants _from experience_,
completely failed, 6.
Ray, Linnæus, and Virey, the observation of, respecting the influence
of pulverization upon the medicinal activity of plants, 174.
_Recipe_, astrological origin of the symbol that is prefixed to
prescriptions, 12.
Refrigerants, definition of, 113;
the ingenious chemical theory proposed for explaining their effects,
113.
Relative and Absolute remedies, meaning of the terms, 68.
_Relaxing_ and _Bracing_, import of the terms as applied to Medicines,
22.
Religious Ceremonials often intended to preserve useful customs, 18.
Remedies, the immediate impression of on the body, 68;
of a disgusting nature, how they may operate, 16;
nature of many ancient ones now unknown, 8;
how classed by the Methodic Sect, 22;
discovered by accident, 8;
those that act mechanically considered, 138;
those of external application, 203.
Remedy, how to obtain by combination a new and active one, not afforded
by any single substance, 168.
Resinous Purgatives, why apt to gripe, and how to be corrected, 173.
Reviewers, their unworthy flattery, 20 (_note_).
Review, a respectable medical one much wanted, 21 (_note_).
Revolutions of the Materia Medica, prominent causes of the, 9.
Revolutionary history of the Materia Medica, 3.
Rhases and Avicenna were the first to introduce pharmaceutical
preparations, 47.
Rhododendron, the properties of liable to vary with the soil, 57;
its efficacy in Russia, 59.
Rhubarb, of Arabian origin, 46;
its effects upon the urine when internally administered, 68 (_note_);
its watery infusion rendered purgative by the addition of Calumba,
154;
combines within itself the double property of a purgative and
astringent, 168.
Ricotia Ægyptiaca, how made to flower, 57.
Roasted Swallow, its efficacy believed by Vogel, 6.
Roasted Toad, its powers as a remedy in Gout, believed by Vogel, 6;
a receipt for the preparation of, 6 (_note_).
Roger Bacon, excommunicated and imprisoned by the Pope for witchcraft,
48.
——, the father of Chemistry in England, 48.
Roman custom of erecting altars near the dead body, 18.
Rome, extraordinary effects of perfumes at, 58.
Rose Beads, or Rose Pearls, from Turkey, imported into Europe through
Austria—nature of their composition, 196 (_note_).
Rot in Sheep, cured by the _Menyanthes Trifoliata_, 80 (_note_).
Rousseau’s observation respecting Scepticism, 21.
Routine, a devotion to, the great bane of philosophy, 27.
Royal touch, cures performed by, 16.
Rozier, his proposal for the improvement of Rape Oil, 57.
Rubefacients, in what they differ from blisters, 109.
Rust of the Spear of Telephus, a cure for the wounds it inflicted, 15.
Russia Leather, why not subject to mouldiness, 177 (_note_).
S
Saline Cathartics, a mixture of, more efficacious than an equivalent
dose of any single one, 173;
increased in force by carbonic acid, 158;
Salts, the proper stimuli of the urinary organs, 93 (_note_);
Saline bodies into which vegetable acids enter, are decomposed _in
transitu_, when taken internally, 94.
Saliva, its secretion influenced by passions of the mind, 158 (_note_).
Salivation by Mercury, why attended with a fœtid breath, 152 (_note_);
known in the twelfth century, 49.
Saltness, Galen’s notions respecting the cause of, 21.
Salts, Alkaline, when taken may be detected in the urine, 68.
Salt, Culinary, operates very differently in different quantities, 185.
Salts, certain of them pass into the circulation, and undergo
decomposition in _transitu_, 94.
Sandy soil, strongly smelling plants become inodorous in a, 57.
Saracens, their treaty with the Greek Emperors, respecting the literary
works of the ancients, 46 (_note_).
Scammonia Convolvulus, the root alone contains any virtue, 42.
Scepticism, mischievous tendency of, in physic, 21;
definition of the word, 20.
Schroeder, his chemico-medical Pharmacopœia, 96 (_note_).
Scribonius Largus, his writings afford ample evidence of the empirical
spirit of those days, 20.
Sea Needle, the green bones of, not poisonous, 43.
Seamen, the extraordinary immunity of from calculous disorders, 121.
Season, the influence of upon medicinal plants, 57.
Secondary operation of a remedy, meaning of the term, 68.
—— Diuresis to be distinguished from the result of a primary action on
the kidneys, 95 (_note_).
Sedatives, meaning of the term, 76.
Sedentary persons, their mistaken notions respecting diet and exercise,
159.
Sediments of health, meaning of the expression, according to Dr. Prout,
118.
Seeds, hot and cold, origin of the epithets, 22.
Seguin, the experiments of, relative to the astringent principle of
vegetables, 153;
his curious error respecting the tonic principle of Peruvian bark,
56.
Senna, why apt to gripe, 173;
its composition changed by transplantation, 153;
of Arabian origin, 46;
undergoes a remarkable change by transplantation into the south of
France, 153;
its fruit and pods contain no bitter, 153.
Sennertus, his interesting history of surgical superstitions, 17
(_note_).
Septic poisons, species of enumerated, 128.
Setons, the modus operandi, 111.
Sheep die, if deprived of bitter food, 79.
Sialogogues, definition of, 106;
comprehend two orders of medicines, 106.
Siberians, their remedies for rheumatism, 60.
Signatures, the doctrine of, 24.
Similarity, as applied to medicinal operation, conventional meaning of
the term, 150—70—147 (_note_).
Simons, William, Esq. his laudable zeal in improving the pharmaceutic
machinery at Apothecaries’ Hall, 52 (_note_).
Simple and living solids, Cullen’s distinction between the, 75.
Simplicity always a desideratum in a medicinal formula, 178.
Sinapisms in frequent use with the Greeks and Romans, 46.
Sinbad the sailor, his adventures on the desert island, a beautiful
allegory, 47.
Sinclair, Mr. his very interesting experiments on the necessity of
bitter extractive to herbivorous quadrupeds, 79.
Single flowers, how changed by cultivation, 60.
Slare, Dr. his pamphlet in vindication of sugar, 24 (_note_).
Sloe, the wild parent of the plum, 61.
Small Pox, supposed by the Indians to be a visitation of their goddess
MAH-RY UMMA, 15.
Smell, taste, and colour of plants indicate their virtues, 42.
Smithson, Mr. his curious discovery of two colouring principles in the
Mulberry, 44.
Smoking tobacco introduced by Sir Walter Raleigh, 29 (_note_).
Sneezing, a case of apoplexy produced by, related by Morgagni, 109.
Snow, Mrs. Elizabeth Woodcock buried in the, for eight days, 6
(_note_).
Snuff, the Pope’s decree of excommunication against all those who
should take it, 29 (_note_);
custom of mixing together its different varieties, accounted for,
148.
Soap, when combined with Aloes, performs the duty of the _corrigens_
and the _adjuvans_, 179;
its value as a constituent in pills, 195;
restored to the _Extract: Colocynth: Comp:_ in the new Pharmacopœia,
55 (_note_).
Socrates and Phocion poisoned by Cicuta, 37.
Soil, its influence upon medicinal plants, 57.
Solanum Tuberosum, extract of, an anodyne, 30.
Solids, simple and living, how distinguished by Cullen, 75.
Solomon’s ring for the cure of Epilepsy, 7 (_note_).
Solution of poisonous substances in the stomach should be avoided, 135.
Solubility of a body influences its effects upon the organ of taste,
43;
solubility of a purgative determines its specific action, 172;
solubility of a medicinal body, how it may be modified by
_mechanical_ and _chemical_ expedients, 173.
——, its great importance in reference to the activity of a medicinal
substance, 172.
Soporifics, synonymous with Narcotics and Hypnotics, 76.
Soranus, his superstitious belief in the virtues of honey, 11.
Southern countries, some vegetables more energetic in, than in northern
ones, 58.
Spalding, Mr. the celebrated diver, his observation respecting the
comparative influence of vegetable and animal diet, 113.
Spasm, connected with the most opposite states of the system, 78.
Spasmodic action controlled by certain medicines, 78.
Spleen, schirrus of, said to be cured by iron, and why, 22.
Squil, its bitter principle separated by the assimilative functions,
and transmitted to the kidneys, 68;
its powers invalidated by alkalies, 153 (_note_);
its action directed to the kidneys by calomel, 152;
its action as an expectorant often requires the aid of a diaphoretic,
152;
loses its diuretic virtues by purging, 161.
—— and Digitalis, dissimilar as Diuretics, 150.
——, or sea onion, administered in dropsy by the Egyptians, 9.
Stahl’s Ideal System, mischievous tendency of, 22.
Steam Laboratory at Apothecaries’ Hall, 52 (_note_).
Steel medicines accelerated in their operation by purgatives, 157.
Steller’s testimony with respect to the liability of the Rhododendron
to vary in its virtues, 57.
Stephens, Mrs. her remedy for the stone, 34;
Parliamentary reward to, 34 (_note_).
Stimmi, or Stibium of the ancients, whether the Antimony of the present
day, 49.
Stimulants, local, comprehend evacuants, 83;
general, what classes are comprehended under the division of, 75.
Stimulant operation of Narcotics denied, 76.
Stoll and Warren, Drs. their judicious treatment of _Cholica Pictonum_,
164.
Stomach, it exercises a universal sympathy and control over every organ
of the body, 69;
a certain chemical condition of it sometimes opposes medicinal
action, 162;
in what its powers consist, 56;
has a chemical code of its own, 55.
Stone, Sarah, her cases of Midwifery, 16 (_note_).
Strabo’s explanation of the fable of the golden fleece, 45.
Sturmius, his anecdote respecting the scarcity of bark, 24 (_note_).
Styptic, Eaton’s, 83 (_note_);
of Helvetius, _ibid._;
nature of styptics as remedies, _ibid._
Substances not affecting the body in health, whether they can be active
remedies in disease, 67;
substances chemically compatible, may be medicinally inconsistent
with each other, 55;
suitable for pills, 193;
not adapted for pill-masses, 193.
Substantive and adjective constituents, meaning of the terms, 154
(_note_).
Substitution of one medicine for another, a common but mischievous
practice, v.
Sudorifics, see Diaphoretics.
_Suffitus_, or dry fumes, their uses in the cure of disease, 202.
Sugar, the sweetness of, modified by vegetable extractive, 154;
absurd prejudices respecting, 24.
—— and Sugar Candy of Arabian origin, 46.
Sugared Plums, sold to children, contain plaister of Paris, 193
(_note_).
Sulphate of Zinc,
the combination of with Myrrh, a valuable remedy in the humid coughs
of old persons, 165;
an excellent remedy in humoral asthma, 104;
as an emetic, case of death from, 85.
——————, or Sulphate of Copper, why to be preferred to Antimony as
emetics in certain cases of poisoning, 134.
Sulphate of Potass, the medicinal action of, modified by its
insolubility, 94;
affords an excellent example of the powers of combination in
destroying the identity of the ingredients, 169.
—————— Magnesia, rarely diuretic, and why, 95.
Sulphur, its agency in producing odour, 155 (_note_).
Superstition, a prominent source of error in physic, 10.
Superstitious practices have sometimes led to useful results, 14.
_Suppositoria_, Suppositories, the nature of, 197;
calculated to fulfil two great indications, 197.
Swallow roasted, esteemed as a remedy by Vogel, 6.
Sweet Potatoe, alluded to by Shakespeare, 38.
Swiss Peasants delight in bitter beverage, 79.
Sydenham’s case of poisoning by corrosive sublimate cured by diluents,
135 (_note_);
his observation respecting the practice of combining bark with other
medicines, has less of reason than of severity, 166;
his extraordinary treatment of a hypochondriac, 36.
Sylvius de la Boe succeeded Van Helmont, 50;
consigns two-thirds of the population of Leyden to an untimely grave,
23.
Sympathy, conventional meaning of the term, 68 (_note_).
Sympathetic Powder of Sir Kenelm Digby, 14.
Syncope, produced at Rome by perfumes, 58.
Synoptical view of Murray’s arrangement of the Materia Medica, 74.
Syrup of Roses, underhanded substitution in the preparation of it,
_Pref_.
Syrups, Juleps, and Conserves, introduced by the Arabian Physicians,
46.
T
Tables of chemical affinity may lead the practitioner into error, and
why, 183.
Tabular view of diuretics, arranged according to their supposed modes
of operation, 93;
Cullen’s arrangement of the Materia Medica, 72.
Tannin generally exists in combination with Gallic acid, 82 (_note_);
present in grasses of _aftermath_ crops, 82;
does not enter the circulation, 82;
is the vegetable principle of astringency, 82;
but is increased in effect by Gallic acid, 153.
Tar water, epidemical madness respecting, 27 (_note_).
Tartar soluble, remarks on the operation of, 173.
Tartarized Antimony, the term defended, 40.
Tartrate of Potass, a solution of, decomposed by a current of Carbonic
acid passing through it, 183 (_note_);
decomposed by all sub-acid vegetables, 183.
Taste, colour, and smell of plants indicate their virtues, 42.
Tea, the general introduction of, in England, owing to the eulogy of
Queen Katharine, 29.
Tea and turtle soup, whether their admixture in the stomach may not
form leather, 182 (_note_).
Telephus, the rust of the spear of, a cure for the wounds it inflicted,
15.
Temple, Sir William, his aphorism respecting diet more facetious than
philosophical, 158.
Temples, ancient, dedicated to health, and in airy situations, 39.
Tench, curious mistake respecting the medicinal use of the, 11
(_note_).
Tension of fibres, the necessity of the, 78.
Terms new, proposed by the author to explain the operation of certain
native combinations, 159 (_note_).
Thaddæus of Florence, not the inventor of Tinctures, 48.
Thaw after a hard frost, aggravates certain coughs, and why, 105.
Thebaic Tincture, derivation of the term, 9 (_note_).
Themison, the ill success of his practice recorded by Juvenal, 22
(_note_).
Theories false, mischievous influence of, 21.
Theriaca Andromachi, the great celebrity of, 27.
Theriaca, Heberden’s remarks upon, 28 (_note_).
Thessalus, the Roman empiric, described by Galen, 20.
Thirst, the irritation of, keeps up febrile action, 140.
Thoracic Duct, medicines enter into the circulation through its
branches, 70.
Time of the day at which remedies are to be administered, forms a
subject of interest, 187.
Tin, formerly called _Plumbum Album_, 48.
Tinctures invented by Arnoldus de Villa Nova, 48.
Tirocinium Chemicum, calomel described in, 51.
Toad roasted, its supposed powers in allaying the pains of the gout, 6;
Receipt for baking it alive, 6 (_note_).
Tobacco, its nauseating operation explained, 85;
romantic history of, 29;
its essential oil acts very differently from the infusion of its
leaves, 132 (_note_);
its Signatures, 25.
Tonics, vegetable, their effects modified by alkalies, and other
solvents, 174.
——, in what cases their combination with purgatives becomes eligible,
164;
reasons for combining them with diffusible stimulants, 165;
are absolute or relative in their operation, 78;
they frequently require the aid of Diaphoretics to modify
their powers, 164;
their operation in healthy and debilitated habits, 78;
are vital agents, 78;
definition of, 78.
—— Topical Refrigerants, 110.
_Tormentil_ in pastures said to prevent the rot in sheep, 80 (_note_).
Tournefort, his mode of ascertaining medicinal properties in
vegetables, 23.
Tortosa, his opinion respecting the solubility of Opium in the stomach
questioned, 136 (_note_).
Transition from diffusible stimulants to tonics imperceptible, 81.
Treacle, its powers in preserving vegetable powders, 195.
Triple Salts, their formation often affords apparent exceptions to the
usual law of affinity, 183.
_Trochisci_—Lozenges, observations respecting their _modus operandi_,
197.
Trumpet the, used by Asclepiades in the cure of Sciatica, 7 (_note_).
_Tuberes_ of Pliny, Knight’s conjectures respecting, 61.
Turmeric, an ancient remedy for Jaundice, 25.
Turner, Culpepper, and Lovel, properly denominated the Astrological
Herbalists, 13.
Turner, Mr. why he escaped from the dose of arsenic administered to
him, in yeast dumplings, 195.
Turnips, yellow, contain little, or no bitter principle, 79.
Turpentine, oil of, acts on the kidneys only when given in small doses,
95.
V
Vaccination, superstitious notions entertained respecting it in the
East, 15.
Van Helmont, his chemical zeal, 50;
his chemical doctrines espoused by Sylvius de la Boe, 50;
his mischievous doctrines, 100.
Van-Swieten, his opinion respecting the effect of sneezing in loading
the vessels of the head, 109.
Valentine, Basil, the father of Metallic Medicine, 48.
Valerian, its antispasmodic virtues, 78.
Valisnieri, his observations upon combination, 147.
Vapours, a fashionable disorder in the reign of Queen Anne, 33.
Variable activity of a medicine, a fact not to be overlooked by the
practitioner, 187.
Vegetable analysis, the great improvements in, 52.
Vegetable acids rarely the vehicle of poisons, 136 (_note_);
undergo decomposition in the digestive organs, 94.
—— astringents, whether they may not be incompatible with lime water,
182.
Vegetable diet, the supposed refrigerating effect of, explained, 113.
—— diuretics, generally bitter, 94.
—— eaters, less affected by vegetable poisons than carnivorous animals,
and why, 69 (_note_).
Vehicle of a remedy, how to be selected, 176.
Vena Portarum, one of the avenues through which medicinal substances
enter the circulation, 70.
Venesection increases the effects of Cathartics, 156;
of Mercury, 156;
when it ought to be avoided in cases of poisoning, and why, 137;
frequently promotes vomiting and why, 85;
a remedy of very early origin, 8;
may act as a tonic, 78.
Verbena, a word of general import (quasi Herbena), 37.
Verdegris, the virulent effects of increased by vinegar, 136.
Vertigo, instantly relieved by ether, and why, 69.
Vervain, Morley’s recommendation of, 17;
druidical superstitions respecting it, 11 (_note_).
Vienna Gout Decoction, 32 (_note_).
Views, Synoptical, of the arrangement of the Materia Medica, according
to Cullen, Murray, and Young, 72, 73, 74.
Vinegar of Wood described by Glauber, 33.
Vine twigs, a fixed alkali procured from, recommended by Basil
Valentine in the gravel, 49.
Villerobel relates that the bark remained for seven years in Spain
before any trial of its efficacy was instituted, 31.
Virgil, his allusion to the anti-narcotic influence of vegetable acids,
136.
Virey, his observations upon the growth of plants, 57.
——, Ray, and Linnæus, their observation respecting the influence of
pulverization upon the medicinal activity of a plant, 174.
Vis Medicatrix, its supposed agency, 76.
Viscus Quercinus, or Missletoe, druidical history of the, 13.
Vitriol, original meaning of the term, 37.
Vogel, believed in the efficacy of roasted toad, 6;
his attempt to class medicines according to their virtues, 6.
Voltaire’s illustrative fable of the Voluptuary Ogul, 35.
Vomiting, why it cannot be excited during profound intoxication, 84;
phenomena and pathology of, 83;
not effected by the stomach alone, 84.
U
Ulysses, hæmorrhage of, cured by a charm, 17.
Ultra-Chemistry, its mischievous tendency in medicine considered, 56.
_Umbelliferæ_, medicinal analogies between their species, 41.
Unseasonable collection of vegetable remedies, a great source of
fallacy, 62.
Uranus, discovery of that planet, by Herschel, 5.
Urea, the nature and habitudes of, considered, 116;
Dr. Prout’s opinion regarding the origin of, 116.
Urinary organs stimulated by saline bodies, 93 (_note_).
—— calculi, a tabular view of the different species of, 120.
Urine, analysis of, by Berzelius, 116;
its colour changed by the administration of rhubarb, and Indian fig,
68 (_note_).
—— of the husband, supposed to expedite labour pains, 16 (_note_).
W
Warburton, Dr. his error respecting the origin of amulets, 7.
Warren’s Blacking described in the Hecuba of Euripides, 33 (_note_).
Warm bath, mechanical notions respecting its operation and effects, 22.
Water, the potation of, promotes the action of the kidneys, 94;
sometimes sufficient to form vegetable powders into masses of pill,
196;
whether decomposed by the digestive organs, 141.
Waters of plants, formerly meant simple decoctions, 46.
Waters, mineral, a probable cause of their activity as remedies, 185.
Watering places, observations upon their efficacy, 35.
Watson, Bishop, his eloquent appeal on the importance of chemical
science, 54.
Wedelius, his Opiologia, 32.
Wecker’s Dispensatory contains several preparations in which the magnet
is an ingredient, 24 (_note_).
Wells, Dr. his opinion respecting the colouring matter of the blood, 25
(_note_).
Wesley, John, medical credulity of, 35;
cured by sulphur and supplication, 36.
Wheat, the relative proportions of Gluten in, vary in different
countries, 58.
Willis, Dr. his prejudice against sugar, 24.
Wine glass, to be estimated as containing f ℥ iss, 199.
Wiseman’s history of cures by the royal touch, 16.
Witch, the ashes of, a remedy against witchcraft, 26 (_note_).
Woulf’s apparatus originally described by Glauber, 33.
Wormwood, formerly supposed to be an antidote to drunkenness, 79.
Wood, vinegar obtained from, by Glauber, 33.
Woodcock, Elizabeth, buried in the snow for eight days, 6 (_note_).
Worms, four species of, generated in the human body, 138 (_note_).
Wounds inflicted by iron instruments formerly supposed to be fatal, 23.
Y
Yeast poultice, its modus operandi explained, 171.
Yellow turnips contain little or no bitter principle, 79.
Yellow fever, errors respecting the use of mercury in the, 34.
Young, Dr. his rule for apportioning doses according to different ages,
189;
his arrangement of the Materia Medica, 73.
Z
Zealanders supported, during a scarcity, by Linseed, 80.
Zinc, the _acetate_ of, to be preferred to the _sulphate_ as an
ophthalmic application, 170;
sulphate of, an excellent remedy in humoral asthma, 104.
INDEX
TO THE
PATENT MEDICINES, AND NOSTRUMS,
DESCRIBED IN THIS WORK.
“_Arcana revelata fœtent._”—Boerh:
“_Nullum Ego cognosco remedium nisi quod_ Tempestivo usu _fiat
tale_.”—Ibid.
Ague Drop, 411
Almond Paste, 277
Anderson’s Pills, 271
Anodyne Necklaces, 13 & 397
Anti-Pertussis, 522
Anti-Venereal Drops, 390
Aromatic Lozenges of Steel, 374
Aromatic Vinegar, 253
Bailey’s Itch Ointment, 520
Balsam of Honey, 314
Balsam of Horehound, 438
Balsam of Liquorice, 380
Barclay’s Antibilious Pills, 363
Bark, essential Salt of, 332
Bateman’s Pectoral Drops, 326
Bate’s Anodyne Balsam, 408
Battley’s _Liquor opii Sedativus_, 440
Beaume de Vie, 271
Black Drop, 440
Blaine’s Powder, 487
Boerhaave’s Red Pill, 395
Brodum’s Nervous Cordial, 379
Cephalic Snuff, 492
Chamberlain’s Restorative Pills for Scrofula, 395
Chamomile Drops, 279
Charcoal, Concentrated solution of, 322
Chelsea Pensioner, 381
Cheltenham Salts, 480
Cheltenham Salts, the original combined, 480
Cheltenham Salts, the efflorescence of, 480
Ching’s Worm Lozenges, 394
Cochrane Major, his Cough Medicine, 490
Colley’s Depilatory, 452
Corn Plaister, 359
Cough Drops, 438
Court Plaister, 359
Crespigny Lady, her Pills, 271
Daffy’s Elixir, 505
Dalby’s Carminative, 418
Davidson’s Remedy for Cancer, 298
De La Motte’s Golden Drops, 506
Delcroix’s Depilatory, 298
Dinner Pills, 271
Dixon’s Antibilious Pills, 271
Dutch Drops, 497
Eaton’s Styptic, 83
Eau Medicinale de Husson, 339
Economical Breakfast Powder, 493
Edinburgh Ointment, 509
Elixir of Longevity, 271
Elixir of Vitriol, 265
Essence of Vitriol, 265
Essence of Bitter Almonds, 431
Essence of Coffee, 325
Essence of Coltsfoot, 314
Essence of Mustard, 475
Essence of Mustard Pills, 475
Essence of Peppermint, 421
Essence of Senna, 401
Essence of Spruce, 495
Essential Salt of Bark, 331
Essential Salt of Lemons, 407
Everlasting Pills, 280
Ford’s Laudanum, 515
Ford’s Balsam of Horehound, 438
Fothergill’s Pills, 271
Freeman’s Bathing Spirits, 408
Friar’s Balsam, 314
Fumigating Pastiles, 313
Godbold’s Vegetable Balsam, 442
Godfrey’s Cordial, 468
Godfrey’s Smelling Salts, 275
Golden Drops, 506
Golden Ointment, 298
Golden Spirits of Scurvy Grass, 317
Gout Tincture, Wilson’s, 340
Gowland’s Lotion, 390
Green’s Drops, 390
Greenough’s Tincture, 503
Grindle’s Cough Drops, 438
Guestonian Embrocation for the Rheumatism, 497
Hannay’s Lotion, 415
Hatfield’s Tincture, 381
Hill’s Essence of Bardana, 381
Honey Water, 421
Hooper’s Pills, 271
Hudson’s Preservative for the Teeth, 503
Huiles Antiques, 430
Hungary Water, 482
Hunt’s Breakfast Powder, 493
Ipecacuanha Lozenges, 403
James’s Powder, 458
James’s Analeptic Pills, 458
Jesuit’s Drops, 314
Jackson’s Bathing Spirits, 408
Keyser’s Pills, 247
Lancaster or Black Drop, 440
Lardner’s Prepared Charcoal, 322
Lemons, Essential Salt of, 407
Liquor Opii Sedativus, 440
Lynch’s Embrocation, 408
Madden’s Vegetable Essence, 400
Magnesian Cheltenham Salts, 480
Marsden’s Antiscorbutic Drops, 390
Marseilles Vinegar, 253
Marshall’s Cerate, 329
Matthew’s Pills, 382
Matthew’s Injection, 504
Mock Arrack, 486
Moseley’s Pills, 462
Necklaces, Anodyne, 13
Norris’s Drops, 284
Norton’s Drops, 390
Nouffleur’s Vermifuge, 31
Opodeldoc, Steer’s, 408
Oxley’s Essence of Jamaica Ginger, 522
Pastilles, 313
Pate Arsenicale, 298
Peter’s Pills, 271
Pectoral Balsam of Honey, 314
Pectoral Balsam of Liquorice, 380
Permanent Ink, 293
Portland Powder, 32
Plunkett’s Ointment, 297
Radcliffe’s Elixir, 271
Refined Liquorice, 364
Remedy for the Tooth-ache, 318
Remedies various for the Hooping Cough, 522
Riga Balsam, 495
Rob Antisyphilitique, 390
Roche’s Embrocation for the Hooping Cough, 430
Royal Preventive, 450
Ruspini’s Tincture, 503
Rymer’s Cardiac Tincture, 321
Scouring Drops, 497
Seidlitz Powders, 476
Senna, Prepared Essence of, 401
Singleton’s Eye Salve, 298
Sirop de Cuisiniere, 390
Smellone’s Eye Salve, 267
Snuff Cephalic, 452
Sodaic Powers, 476
Solomon’s Anti-Impetigines, 390
Solomon’s Balm of Gilead, 504
Speediman’s Pills, 271
Spilsbury’s Antiscorbutic Drops, 390
Squire’s Elixir, 438
Starkey’s Pills, 382
Starkey’s Soap, 496
Steer’s Opodeldoc, 408
Sterry’s Plaister, 357
Stephens’s Mrs. Remedy for the Stone, 412
Storey’s Worm Cakes, 394
Stroughton’s Elixir, 379
Struve’s Lotion, 430
Sulphur Lozenges, 488
Swinton’s Daffey’s Elixir, 505
Taylor’s Remedy for Deafness, 269
Taylor’s Red Bottle, 486
Thieves’ Vinegar, 254
Thompson’s Cheltenham Salts, 480
Tolu Lozenges, 312
Transparent Soap, 467
Velno’s Vegetable Syrup, 390
Virgin’s Milk, 414
Wade’s Drops, 314
Walker’s Jesuit Drops, 381
Ward’s Essence for the Head-ache, 408
Ward’s Paste, 312
Ward’s White Drops, 390
Ward’s Red Drops, 514
Ward’s Sweating Powder, 508
Warner’s Cordial, 462
Webster, Lady, her Pills, 271
Whitehead’s Essence of Mustard, 475
Wilson’s Gout Tincture, 340
Worm Cakes, 394
-----
Footnote 1:
The College of Physicians may now be said to possess one of the most
complete collections of Materia Medica in Europe. That collected by
Dr. Burgess, and presented to the College after his death by Mr.
Brande, to whom it was bequeathed, has lately been collated with the
cabinet of Dr. Coombe, purchased for that purpose. Its arrangement has
been directed by a feeling of convenience for reference, rather than
by any theoretical views relative to the natural, chemical, and
medicinal histories of its constituent parts. Under proper
regulations, it is accessible to the studious and respectable members
of the profession.
Footnote 2:
A late foreign writer impressed with this sentiment has given the
following flattering definition of our profession. ‘Physic is the art
of amusing the patient, while Nature cures the disease.’ This is a
sarcasm which can only be equalled by the churlish and ill-humoured
apostrophe of our own Dr. Samuel Johnson, who, in speaking of the
profession of physic, exclaims ‘It is a melancholy attendance on
misery; a mean submission to peevishness; and a continual interruption
of pleasure.’
Footnote 3:
Observation, says professor Leslie, is the close inspection and
attentive examination of those phenomena which arise in the course of
Nature; Experiment, as the term implies, consists in a kind of trial,
or artificial selection and combination of circumstances, for the
purpose of searching after the remote results.
Footnote 4:
The refractive power of an inflammable body bears also a proportion to
its perfection, whence it may be sometimes used as a test of its
purity; thus Dr. Wollaston found that genuine Oil of Cloves had a
refractive power of 1.535, while that of an inferior quality did not
exceed 1.498.
Footnote 5:
Elizabeth Woodcock, who was buried in the snow for the space of eight
days, in the neighbourhood of Cambridge, and whom I frequently
visited, died in consequence of the stimulants which she could not
resist, and which in her peculiar state of excitement she was unable
to bear. In the first volume of the Memoirs of the Philosophical
Society of Manchester, a case of a Miner is recorded, who after
remaining for eight days without food, was killed by being placed in a
warm bed, and fed with chicken-broth.
Footnote 6:
For this purpose it appears that the toad was baked alive. The
following is the receipt in Colborne’s Dispensatory; ‘Bufo
Præparatus.’ “Put the toads alive into an earthen pot, and dry them in
an oven moderately heated, till they become fit to be powdered.”!
Footnote 7:
The application of the reeking entrails of a recently slain animal,
appears to have been one of the earliest methods adopted for the
relief of pain.
Footnote 8:
The words ‘Incantation,’ and ‘Charm,’ appear to have been derived from
the ancient practice of curing diseases by Poetry and Music. (Carmen)
Thus Cœlius Aurelianus, decantare loca Dolentia. Democritus says that
many diseases are capable of being cured by the sound of a flute, when
properly played. Marianus Capellus assures us, that fevers may be
cured by appropriate songs; Asclepiades actually employed the trumpet,
for the relief of Sciatica, and tells us that it is to be continued
until the fibres of the part begin to palpitate, when the pain will
vanish.
Footnote 9:
similar superstition is still practised by the Indians. There is a
species of green jasper found in many parts of America, particularly
in New Spain, to which the Spaniards have given the name of Piedra de
la Hyada, and is used for curing the Cholic by being applied to the
navel.
Footnote 10:
Lib. viii. c. 2. 5.
Footnote 11:
From this Art of Solomon, exhibited through the medium of a ring, or
seal, we have the eastern stories which celebrate the SEAL OF SOLOMON,
and record the potency of its sway over the various orders of Demons,
or of Genii, who are supposed to be the invisible tormentors or
benefactors of the human race.
Footnote 12:
Let the tradition respecting the discovery of the virtues of the bark
serve as an illustration. We are told, that an Indian being ill of a
fever, quenched his thirst at a pool of water, strongly impregnated
with the bark from some trees having accidentally fallen into it, and
that he was in consequence cured.
Footnote 13:
As these persons were ambitious to pass for the descendants of
Esculapius, they assumed the name of The ASCLEPIADES. The writings of
Pausanius, Philostratus, and Plutarch, abound with the artifices of
those early physicians. Aristophanes describes in a truly comic manner
the craft and pious avarice of these godly men, and mentions the
dexterity and promptitude with which they collected, and put into
their bags, the offerings on the altar. The patients, during this
period, reposed on the skins of sacrificed rams, in order that they
might procure celestial visions. As soon as they were believed to be
asleep, a priest, clothed in the dress of Esculapius, imitating his
manners, and accompanied by the daughters of the god, that is, by
young actresses, thoroughly instructed in their parts, entered, and
delivered a medical opinion.
Footnote 14:
Odyss Δ.
Footnote 15:
Hence, the Tincture of Opium has been called _Thebaic_ Tincture.
Footnote 16:
The Laurel was sacred to Apollo, with plantations of which his temples
were surrounded. Lucan informs us (Pharsal. lib. v.) that the speedy
death of the priestess was often occasioned by the ceremony.
Footnote 17:
Allusions to this plant frequently occur in the medical writings of
antiquity; we are told that Galen, in the decline of life, suffered
much from morbid vigilance, until he had recourse to eating a lettuce
every evening, which cured him.
Footnote 18:
Iliad Δ.
Footnote 19:
The Plague of London was supposed to have arisen from such a cause, as
we learn from the writers of that period. I shall quote a passage from
a pamphlet by W. Kemp, M. A. dedicated to Charles the Second. ‘One
cause of breeding the pestilence is that corruption of the air, which
is occasioned by the influence of the Stars, by the aspects,
conjunctions, and oppositions of the Planets, by the eclipses of the
Sun and Moon, and by the consequences of Comets.’ ‘Astra regunt
homines, sed regit astra Deus.’ Hippocrates advises his son Thessalus
to study numbers and geometry, (‘Epist. ad Thessalum.’) because, says
he, the rising and setting of the Stars have a great effect upon
Distempers. Citois, the historian of the celebrated Colic of Poitou
(Colica Pictonum), which raged with such epidemic fury in that
province during the Sixteenth century, drops a hint, apparently with a
view to account for the origin of the disease, viz. that to the great
astonishment of Astrologers, ‘a new Star had, in the same year made
its appearance in the constellation of Cassiopeia’.—(Diatriba de novo
et populari, apud Pictones, dolore colico bilioso.)
Footnote 20:
The precious stones were, at first, only used as Amulets, or external
charms, but like many other articles of the Materia Medica, they
passed, by a mistake in the mode of their application, from the
outside to the inside of the body, and they were accordingly powdered
and administered as specifics. An analogous case of the perverted
administration of a popular remedy is afforded in the history of the
Tench; which Sennertus describes as a remedy capable of curing the
Jaundice, which he allows is effected ‘by secret attraction, and the
power of Amulets.’ In the course of time, it became a reputed food in
the cure of that disease, and Tench broth was prescribed upon all such
occasions.
Footnote 21:
Mystery is the very soul of Empiricism; withdraw the veil, and the
confidence of the patient instantly languishes; thus Pliny, ‘Minus
credunt quæ ad suam salutem pertinent, si intelligunt.’
Footnote 22:
It was this historian who said, that Medicine was invented by Apollo,
improved by Esculapius, and brought to perfection by the physician of
Cos.
Footnote 23:
Paracelsus exclaims, ‘Stellas terrenes esse Plantas, quæ celestes
plantas, i. e. Stellas, respiciant, ita ut quævis planta suam habeat
stellam specificam.’
The Druids of Gaul and Britain, who were both priests and physicians,
gathered and cut the _Missletoe_ with a golden knife, only when the
Moon was six days old, and being afterwards consecrated by certain
forms, it was considered as an antidote to poisons, and a preventive
of sterility. Plinii. Lib. xvi, c. 44.
The _Vervain_, (Verbena Officinalis,) after libations of honey, was to
be gathered at the rising of the dog-star, when neither sun nor moon
shone, with the left hand only; when thus prepared, it was said to
vanquish fevers, and other distempers, was an antidote to the bite of
serpents, and a charm to conciliate friendship. Plin. Lib. xxv. c. 9.
I shall however hereafter shew that the medicinal reputation of this
herb derived its origin from a source more ancient even than that of
Druidism. Magnenus (Exercitat. de Tabaco,) has given us the following
precept,—‘Tabacum seratur luna _crescente_, colligatur autem
_decrescente_ luna.’
Footnote 24:
In later times these heathen symbols were dropped, and others were
adopted to propitiate the favour and assistance of heaven; for this
purpose the Alchemists stamped the figure of the cross upon the vessel
in which they were to obtain their long sought for prize; a
superstitious practice, from which the term _crucible_ derived its
origin. I am well aware that another explanation has been given, and
that the word has been derived from _Crucio_, since in the language of
the Alchemists, the crucible was the vessel in which the metals were
_tortured_ to force them to assume the form of gold.
Footnote 25:
Mr. Boyle was pre-eminently credulous with respect to _specifics_, and
contributed very greatly to the encouragement and diffusion of
empiricism, by publishing many prescriptions as affording infallible
remedies, which were communicated to him by a variety of persons, who
either from ignorance or design vouched for their efficacy.
Footnote 26:
The Soothsayers attributed many mystic properties to the Coral, and it
was believed to be capable of giving protection against the influence
of ‘_Evil Eyes_;’ it was even supposed that Coral would drive away
Devils and Evil Spirits; hence arose the custom of wearing amulets
composed of it, around the neck, and of making crowns of it. Pliny and
Dioscorides are very loud in their praises of the medicinal properties
of this substance, and Paracelsus says that it should be worn around
the necks of infants as an admirable preservative against fits,
sorcery, charms, and even against poison. It is a curious
circumstance, that the same superstitious belief should exist among
the Negroes of the West Indies, who affirm that the colour of Coral is
always affected by the state of health of the wearer, it becoming
paler in disease. In Sicily it is also commonly worn as an amulet.
Footnote 27:
See “Sir Kenelm Digby’s Discourse upon the Cure by Sympathy,
pronounced at Montpellier, before an assembly of Nobles and learned
men. Translated into English, by R. White, Gentleman, and published in
1658.” King James the First obtained from Sir Kenelm the discovery of
his secret, which he pretended had been taught him by a Carmelite
Friar, who had learned it in America or Persia.
The _Sympathetic Powder_ was, as we learn from cotemporary physicians,
‘_calcined green vitriol_.’
Footnote 28:
This superstitious practice is repeatedly alluded to by the poets:
thus Sir Walter Scott, in the Lay of the Last Minstrel—
“But she has ta’en the broken lance,
And wash’d it from the clotted gore,
And salved the splinter o’er and o’er.
William of Deloraine, in trance,
Whene’er she turn’d it round and round,
Twisted, as if she gall’d his wound,
Then to her maidens she did say,
That he should be whole man and sound.”—_Canto_ iii. _St._ xxiii.
Dryden has also introduced the same superstition in his Enchanted
Island. Act. v. Scene ii.
_Ariel._ Anoint the sword which pierced him with this
Weapon salve, and wrap it close from air
Till I have time to visit it again.
Again, in Scene 4th, Miranda enters with Hippolito’s sword, wrapt up:—
_Hip._ O my wounds pain me,
[_She unwraps the sword._]
_Mir._ I am come to ease you.
_Hip._ Alas I feel the cold air come to me; My wound shoots worse
than ever.
_Mir._ Does it still grieve you?
[_She wipes and anoints the sword._]
_Hip._ Now, methinks, there’s something laid just upon it:
_Mir._ Do you find no ease?
_Hip._ Yes, Yes; upon the sudden all this pain
Is leaving me—Sweet heaven, how am I eased!
Footnote 29:
At the same time it must be acknowledged that many of these revolting
applications have actually produced benefit by a physical operation;
we need only mention the nauseous remedies recommended by many writers
on Midwifery to expedite delivery, which induced the desired effect by
producing nausea, or vomiting. Hartman says (Opera. Fol. p. 72) that
he has often witnessed amongst the poor, that difficult labour has
been accelerated by a draught of the husband’s urine! and, he adds,
that horse dung infused in wine is efficacious in expelling the
Placenta. Sarah Stone, a midwife who published some cases in 1737,
mentions several instances of women in labour, to whom was given the
juice of leeks, mixed with their husband’s urine, in order to
strengthen the pains. Nauseous remedies have always enjoyed the
confidence of the vulgar; this prejudice would seem to be the result
of a species of false reasoning, by no means uncommon, that as every
thing medicinal is nauseous, so must every thing that is nauseous be
consequently medicinal.
Footnote 30:
Edward the Confessor was the first English king who _touched_ for the
Evil, but the foolish superstition has been wisely laid aside ever
since the accession of the House of Hanover.
Footnote 31:
This superstitious notion is not confined to the ancients, but is even
cherished at this day, in some of the more remote districts of the
kingdom; and we find frequent allusions to it in the popular poetry of
the seventeenth century.
“Tom Pots was but a serving man,
But yet he was a doctor good;
He bound his ’kerchief on the wound,
And _with some kind words_ he staunch’d the blood.”
Sir Walter Scott, in his “Lay of the last Minstrel”—
“She drew the splinter from the wound,
And with a _charm_ she staunch’d the blood.”
The reader will also find the enumeration of several charms for this
purpose, in Reginald Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft, p. 273.
We learn also from Sennertus, that the older Surgeons had recourse to
prayers and magic for the extraction of foreign bodies from wounds; a
very interesting summary of their superstitions, and peculiar notions
concerning wounds, will be found in this author, under the head, “De
Rebus alienis e vulnere eximendis.” Lib. v. Pars, iv. Practicæ
Medicinæ.
Footnote 32:
The reader will find this subject treated more fully in the
Introduction to our work on “MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE.”
Footnote 33:
See a Tour through England, by Dr. Nemnich of Hamburgh.
Footnote 34:
_Nostrum_, (our own.) This word, as its original meaning implies, is
very significant of this characteristic attribute of quackery. See the
note under the article ‘Liquor Opii Sedativus.’
Footnote 35:
Aristides was the dupe and victim of the Asclepiades for ten
successive years; he was alternately purged, vomited, and blistered;
made to walk bare-footed, under a burning sun in summer, and in winter
he was doomed to seek for the return of health, by bathing his feeble
and emaciated body in the river. All this severity, he was made to
believe, was exercised towards him by the express directions of
Esculapius himself, with whom he was persuaded to fancy that he
conversed in his dreams, and frequently beheld in nocturnal visions.
Upon one occasion, the god, fatigued with the importunities of his
votary, ordered him to lose 120 lbs. of blood; the unhappy man not
having so much in his body, _wisely_ took the liberty of interpreting
the oracle in his own way, and parted with no more than he could
conveniently spare.
Footnote 36:
As we are here investigating the follies of Physic, it will not be
foreign to the subject to state, that the above observation may with
as much truth and force be applied to medical writings as to medical
substances. Nothing is more fatal to the permanent success and
character of an author, than the extravagant and unmerited encomiums
of time-serving reviewers. It would be invidious to illustrate this
truth by examples, or we might adduce some striking instances where
the inappropriate wreath has strangled the object which it was
intended to adorn. It is a matter of deep regret that the _Magnates_
of our profession do not combine in supporting a respectable medical
Review.—‘Manus Apolline dignum.’
Footnote 37:
This theory is still cherished in the preservation of the formula for
Pilulæ Opiatæ, in the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia.
Footnote 38:
The practice of this physician does not appear to have been very
successful, if we may credit Juvenal.—
“Quot Themison ægros autumno occiderit uno.”
Footnote 39:
See ‘An Experimental Enquiry into the effects of Tonics, and other
Medicines, on the cohesion of the Animal fibre.’ By Dr. Crawford.
Footnote 40:
Van Swieten, in his Commentaries on the Venereal disease, has an
aphorism founded on the same hypothesis, ‘Render the blood and lymph
more fluid, and you will have destroyed the virus.’ Sect. 1477.
In the first volume of the Transactions of the Royal College of
Physicians, there is a paper to the same effect, entitled, ‘On the
Operation of Mercury, in different diseases and constitutions, by
Edward Barry, M.D. F.R.S.’ Read at the College, July 13, 1767.
Footnote 41:
Genesis ix. 23.
Footnote 42:
The animal nature of the colouring matter of the blood was first
pointed out by Dr. Wells, but Fourcroy and Vauquelin considered it to
be owing to subphosphate of iron. Mr. Brande, in 1812, demonstrated
the fallacy of this opinion, and proved, by satisfactory experiments,
its title to be considered as a peculiar animal principle; the
subsequent experiments of M. Vauquelin have confirmed Mr. Brande’s
results.
Footnote 43:
The Magnet, or Loadstone, in powder, entered also as an ingredient in
several plaisters, to draw bullets, and heads of arrows, out of the
body, as in the ‘Emplastrum Divinum Nicolai,’ the ‘Emplastrum Nigrum’
of Augsburg, the ‘Opodeldock’ and ‘Attractivum,’ of Paracelsus, with
several other preparations, to be found in the Dispensatory of Wecker,
and in the practice of Sennertus.
Footnote 44:
PYRETOLOGIA, p. 17, A. D. 1692.
Footnote 45:
Sturmius, in his ‘Febrifugi Peruviani Vindiciæ,’ published in 1658,
observes that he saw twenty doses of the powder sold at Brussels for
sixty florins, in order to be sent to Paris, and that he would
willingly have been a purchaser of some doses, even at that price; but
the Apothecary was unable to supply him: an anecdote not more
illustrative of the reputation of the bark, than of the honesty of the
vender.
Footnote 46:
This produced a pamphlet from Dr. Slare, entitled ‘A Vindication of
Sugars against the Charge of Dr. Willis and others: dedicated to the
Ladies.’ 1715.
Footnote 47:
This conceit did not escape the notice of the metaphysical poets of
the seventeenth century; Cowley frequently availed himself of it to
embellish his verse.
Footnote 48:
Genesis xxx. 14.
Footnote 49:
This mineral derives its name from the ancient belief that it was
found in the nest of the eagle. It is a variety of iron ore.
Footnote 50:
‘Chrysost. Magneni Exercit. de Tabaco.’
Footnote 51:
For a further account of this conceit, see Crollius, in a work
appended to his “BASILICA CHYMICA,” entitled, ‘De Signaturis internis
rerum, seu de vera et viva Anatomia majoris et minoris mundi.’
Footnote 52:
In various black-letter works on Dæmonology we are assured that three
scruples of the ashes of the witch, when she has been _well and
carefully burnt_ at a stake, is a sure Catholicon against all the evil
effects of Witchcraft! The popular author of WAVERLEY alludes to this
superstition in his ABBOT.
Footnote 53:
Massaria, a learned Professor of Pavia in the sixteenth century,
absolutely declares that he would rather err with Galen than be in the
right with any other physician!
Footnote 54:
This practice of Bishop Berkeley has been ridiculed with great point
and effect, in a pamphlet entitled ‘A cure for the Epidemical Madness
of drinking Tar Water,’ by Mr. Reeve; in which, addressing the Bishop,
he says, “thus, in your younger days, my Lord, you made the surprising
discovery of the unreality of matter, and now in your riper age, you
have undertaken to prove the reality of a universal remedy; an attempt
to talk men out of their reason, did of right, belong to that author
who had first tried to persuade them out of their senses.” Tar water
was also at one period considered to possess very considerable
efficacy in Syphylis.
Footnote 55:
The Euphrasia Officinalis, or Eye-bright, which is indebted for its
celebrity to the doctrine of Signatures, as before stated, is actually
employed at this time in cases of dimness of sight. See a Paper upon
the efficacy of this plant by Dr. Jackson, in the London Medical and
Physical Journal, vol. 23, p. 104.
Footnote 56:
Its rejection was proposed by the late Dr. Heberden, and upon the
College dividing on the question, there were found to be _thirteen_
votes for retaining, and _fourteen_ for rejecting it.
Footnote 57:
This preparation consists of 72 ingredients, which are arranged under
13 heads—viz. ACRIA, of which there are 5 species. AMARA, of which
there are 8. STYPTICA vulgo ASTRINGENTIA, 5 in number. AROMATICA
EXOTICA, 14. AROMATICA INDIGENA, 10. AROMATICA EX UMBELLIFERIS, 7.
RESINOSA ET BALSAMA, 8. GRAVE-OLENTIA, 6. VIROSA, _seu quæ Narcosin
inducunt_, under which head there is but one species, viz. Opium.
TERREA INSIPIDA ET INERTIA; this comprises only the _Lemnian Earth_.
GUMMOSA, AMYLACEA, &c. 4 species. DULCIA, _liquorice and honey_.
VINUM, _Spanish_.
Upon no principle of combination can this heterogeneous farrago be
vindicated. It has, however, enjoyed the confidence of physicians for
many ages, and is therefore entitled to some notice. It was supposed
to have been invented by Mithridates, the famous king of Pontus, the
receipt for which was said to have been found among his papers after
his defeat by Pompey, at which time it was published in Rome under the
title of ‘Antidotum Mithridatum;’ but the probability is, says Dr.
Heberden, that Mithridates was as much a stranger to his own antidote
as several eminent physicians have since been to the medicines that
are daily advertised under their names. It was asserted, that whoever
took a proper quantity in the morning, was insured from poison during
the whole of that day, (Galen de Antidot. Lib. 1.) and it was further
stated, that Mithridates himself was so fortified against all baneful
drugs, that none would produce any effect when he attempted to destroy
himself. (Celsus, lib. 5. c. 23.) In the course of ages it has
undergone numerous alterations. According to Celsus, who first
described it, it contained only 35 simples; Andromachus, Physician to
Nero, added vipers, and increased the number of ingredients to 75; and
when thus _reformed_, he called it γαλήνη—but in Trajan’s time it
obtained the name of _Theriaca_, either from the vipers in it, or from
its supposed effect in curing the bites of venomous animals.
Damocrates gave a receipt for it in Greek Iambics, which has been
preserved by Galen. It appears then that its composition has hardly
remained the same for a hundred years; it is, says Dr. Heberden, a
farrago, that has no better title to the name of Mithridates than, as
it so well resembles, the numerous undisciplined forces of a barbarous
king, made up of a dissonant crowd collected from different countries,
mighty in appearance, but in reality, an ineffective multitude, that
only hinder each other. ANTIOPIAKA, by W. Heberden, M. D. 1745.
Footnote 58:
The consumption of Tea has greatly increased in England during the
last thirty years. In 1787 the total amounted to sixteen millions of
pounds, whereas in 1821, it exceeded twenty-two millions.
Footnote 59:
Hernandez de Toledo sent this plant into Spain and Portugal in 1559,
when Jean Nicot was Ambassador at the Court of Lisbon from Francis II,
and he transmitted, or carried either the seed, or the plant to
Catherine de Medicis: it was then considered as one of the wonders of
the new world, and was supposed to possess very extraordinary virtues;
this seems to be the first authentic record of the introduction of
this plant into Europe. In 1589 the Cardinal Santa Croce, returning
from his nunciature in Spain and Portugal to Italy, carried thither
with him Tobacco, and we may form some notion of the enthusiasm with
which its introduction was hailed, from a perusal of the poetry which
the subject inspired; the poets compare the exploit of the holy
Cardinal with that of his progenitor who brought home the wood of the
true cross.
————————————————————“Herb of immortal fame!
Which hither first with Santa Croce came,
When he, his time of nunciature expired,
Back from the Court of Portugal retired;
Even as his predecessors, great and good
Brought home the cross.”——
In England, it is said that the smoking Tobacco was first introduced
by Sir Walter Raleigh on his return from America. James the First
wrote a philippic against it, entitled a “COUNTERBLASTE TO TOBACCO,”
in which the royal author, with more prejudice than dignity, informs
his loving subjects that ‘it is a custome loathsome to the eye,
hatefull to the nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the lungs;
and in the blacke stinking fume thereof, neerest resembling the
horrible Stigian smoake of the pit that is bottomlesse.’ In 1604 this
monarch endeavoured by means of heavy imposts to abolish its use in
this country, and in 1619 he commanded that no planter in Virginia
should cultivate more than 100 lbs. It must be confessed that some
legislative enactment was necessary at this period for restricting the
custom of smoking Tobacco; for we are told in the _Counterblaste_,
that many persons expended as much as five hundred pounds per annum in
the purchase of this article, which in those days was an enormous
amount.
In 1624 Pope Urban the VIIIth published a decree of excommunication
against all who took snuff in the church. Ten years after this,
smoking was forbidden in Russia, under the pain of having the nose cut
off; in 1653 the Council of the Canton of Appenzel cited smokers
before them, whom they punished, and they ordered all innkeepers to
inform against such as were found smoking in their houses. The police
regulations of Bern made in 1661 was divided according to the Ten
Commandments, in which the prohibition of smoking stands immediately
beneath the command against adultery; this prohibition was renewed in
1675, and the Tribunal instituted to put it into execution—viz.;
CHAMBRE AU TABAC—continued to the middle of the eighteenth century.
Pope Innocent the XIIth, in 1690 excommunicated all those who were
found taking snuff or tobacco in the church of St. Peter at Rome; even
so late as 1719 the Senate of Strasburgh prohibited the cultivation of
Tobacco from an apprehension that it would diminish the growth of
corn; Amurath the IVth published an edict which made smoking Tobacco a
capital offence; this was founded on an opinion that it rendered the
people infertile. Those who are curious to learn more of the history
of this extraordinary plant, I beg to refer to a very interesting
paper by ‘Medicus,’ in the 24th volume of the ‘London Medical and
Physical Journal,’ page 445.
Footnote 60:
What other discovery or invention ever produced such political
consequences as the introduction of the Potatoe as an article of food?
From its operation as the main constituent of national sustenance the
population of Ireland has advanced from little more than one million
to near seven millions, within the last century and a half!
Footnote 61:
Med. Trans. of the College of Physicians, vol. vi. p. 92.
Footnote 62:
That the _warm_ and not the _cold_ bath was esteemed by the ancient
Greeks, for its invigorating properties may be inferred from a
dialogue of Aristophanes, in which one of the characters says, ‘I
think none of the sons of the gods ever exceeded Hercules in bodily
and mental force,’—upon which the other asks ‘Where didst thou ever
see a _cold_ bath dedicated to Hercules?’
Footnote 63:
The prohibition of the bath was numbered amongst the mortifications to
which certain priestesses in Greece were bound by the rigid rules of
their order.
Footnote 64:
T. Bartholini Hist. Anat. et Med. cent v. Hafniæ. Med. Transactions,
vol. 3, p. 177.
Footnote 65:
MADAME NOUFFLEUR’S RECEIPT is as follows. Three drachms of the root of
the _Male Fern_, reduced to a fine powder, and mixed with water—this
constitutes one dose. Two hours after taking the powder, a bolus of
Calomel, Scammony, and Gamboge, is to be administered.
Footnote 66:
DUKE OF PORTLAND’S POWDER FOR THE GOUT.—Equal quantities of the roots
of _Gentian_, and Birthwort (_Aristolochia rotunda_) the tops and
leaves of Germander (_chamædrys_) Ground Pine (_Chamæpitys_) and
lesser Centaury, (_Chironea Centaurium_) powdered and mixed
together.—As this is a combination of bitters, it might, without
doubt, be serviceable in certain cases of Gout.
Footnote 67:
This medicine was brought into vogue by M. Husson, a military officer
in the service of France, about fifty years ago.
Footnote 68:
So popular was this plant that it acquired the title of ‘Anima
articulorum.’ It formed the basis of the Dia Articulorum, the Pulvis
Arthriticus Turneri, and the Vienna Gout Decoction.
Footnote 69:
Alexander’s Prescription consisted of Hermodactyllus, Ginger, Pepper,
Cummin seed, Aniseed, and Scammony; which, says he, will enable those
who take it to walk immediately.
Footnote 70:
“Magisterium Opii fit solvendo Opium in aceto, et præcipitando cum
sale tartari.——”
Footnote 71:
This was the favourite remedy of Dr. Andrew Boorde, who practised
physic in Hampshire, and in his work printed in the black letter in
London, entitled a ‘Breviarie of Health,’ he advises for a tooth-ache
depending upon worms, ‘a candell of waxe with Henbane seeds, which
must be lighted so that the perfume of the candell do enter into the
tooth.’ This said Dr. Andrew Boorde is too important a personage to be
passed over without some farther notice in this place, being no less
than the Founder of that dignified class of the medical fraternity,
better known by the name of _Merry Andrews_. Dr. Andrew Boorde lived
in the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Queen Mary, and was in the
constant habit of frequenting fairs and markets, at which he harangued
the populace publicly: his speeches were extremely humourous and
occasioned considerable mirth; his successors in this same line
naturally endeavoured to imitate his bright example, and hence this
class of itinerant quacks obtained the generic appellation of MERRY
ANDREWS. Since the humiliating triumph of Quackery displayed at the
Freemason’s tavern, under the presidency of the member for Coventry,
and more recently at Margate, there is reason to believe that this
class of itinerant mountebanks will assume a new and more dignified
appellation, and that in commemoration of the services of their
_philosophical_ president, the worthy member above stated, they will
in future be designated by the name of RANTING PETERS.
Footnote 72:
I have been lately much amused with the lucubrations of a classical
friend, who by way of casting ridicule upon such researches,
undertakes to prove to my satisfaction that WARREN’S BLACKING is no
other than the νασμος μελαναυγες “_Black flowing Splendour_,”
described in the Hecuba of Euripides.
Footnote 73:
This species of delusion, from mistaking the _Post hoc_, for the
_Propter hoc_, always reminds me of the story of the Florentine Quack,
who gave the countryman six pills which were to enable him to discover
his lost Ass,—the pills beginning to operate on his road home, obliged
him to retire into a wood, where he found his ass. The clown soon
spread a report of the wonderful success of the empiric, who in
consequence, no doubt, reaped an ample reward from the proprietors of
strayed cattle.
Footnote 74:
The grant of £5000 to Joanna Stephens, for her discovery of certain
medicines for the cure of the Stone, is notified in the London Gazette
of June, A. D. 1739. See _Liquor Calcis_.
Footnote 75:
Wesley’s Journal, vol. xxix. 290–293.
Footnote 76:
Soon after the invention of the art of Printing, the works of
Dioscorides, Theophrastus, and Pliny, were published in various forms,
and Commentators swarmed like locusts. The eagerness with which this
branch of knowledge was cultivated may be conceived, when it is stated
that the Commentary of Matthiolus on Dioscorides, which was first
printed in 1554, passed through seventeen editions, and that 32,000
copies had been sold before the year 1561; and he tells
us in this work, that he received in its execution the
assistance and reward of Emperors,—Kings,—Electors of the Roman
Empire,—Arch-dukes,—Cardinals,—Bishops,—Dukes, and Princes, ‘which,’
says he, ‘gives greater credit to our labours than any thing that
could be said.’ In very many cases, however, says Dr. Pultney, ‘this
learned Commentator mistook the road to truth, and did but perplex the
science he so industriously laboured to enlighten.’
Footnote 77:
Turner, the father of English Botany, was of opinion, that it was the
Polygonum Bistorta; Munting, a Dutch physician, that it was the
Hydrolapathum Magnum, or Rumex Aquaticus or Great Water Dock, an
opinion which received the sanction of Ray. Others have supposed it to
have been Polygonum Persicaria, and some have considered it as the
Primula Auricula. This one example is adduced to shew the mortifying
uncertainty that involves the history of ancient plants.
Footnote 78:
Meade thinks that the Athenian poison was a combination of active
substances,—perhaps that described by Theophrastus as the invention of
Thrasyas, which, it was said, would cause death without pain, and into
which Cicuta and Poppy entered as ingredients.
Footnote 79:
“Verbenasque adole pingues, et Mascula Thura.”—_Virg. Eclog._ viii.
“Ex Ara hac sume Verbenas tibi.”—_Terent. Andria._
“ara castis
vincta Verbenis.”——_Hor. Od._ xi. _Lib._ iv.
It is a curious fact that in Tuscany the word _Vervena_ is applied to
denote _any_ kind of slips, shoots, suckers, or bundles of plants, at
this very day.
Footnote 80:
AMLYUM, the Starch of wheat, originally denoted a powder that was
obtained without the application of a mill, from α, not, and μυλος, a
mill; thus Dioscorides “Αμυλον ὡνόμασται δἷα τὸ χωρὶς μυλου
κατασκευαζεσθαὶ”—i. e. _because it is prepared without a mill_.
Footnote 81:
Gerard in his Herbal (1597) denominates it, by way of distinction,
Potatoe of _Virginia_, and he recommends it to be eaten as a
_delicate_ dish, not as common food; indeed some time elapsed after
its introduction before it became general, and it was cultivated as an
article of diet in Ireland several years before it was common in
England.
Footnote 82:
The inhalation of the fumes of _Orpiment_ is a practice attributed to
Galen; and one of the most distinguished of his disciples, Rhazes,
recommends it to be inhaled by consumptive patients, in combination
with stimulant and resinous substances, such as _Storax_, _Myrrh_,
_Galbanum_, and _Aristolochia root_. Bennet recommends the same
practice in such cases. Willis informs us that a similar custom
prevailed among certain empirics of his day, and asserts that they
took such pieces of carpet as were dyed with _Orpiment_, and having
cut them into small pieces, exposed them to heat, and, by means of an
inverted funnel, made the patients inhale the vapour. Sir Alexander
Crichton seems disposed to believe that such applications might prove
useful by changing the action of any ulcer to which they were applied.
Footnote 83:
Calomel.—There is some doubt respecting the original meaning of this
word, it literally signifies, _fair_, _black_, καλος, μελας. Sir
Theodore Mayerne is said to have given the name to it, in consequence
of his having had a favourite black servant who prepared it; but is it
not more probable, that its name was derived from the change of colour
which it undergoes from _black_ to _white_, during its preparation?
Another explanation has been also given, viz. quòd _nigro_ humori sit
_bonum_—a _good_ (καλος) remedy for _black_ (μελας) bile. This Theory
derives much support from the black appearance of the stools, which is
usually produced by the use of Calomel, and which was erroneously
attributed to the searching and efficacious nature of the purgative.
The Calomel of Riverius was a compound of _Hydrargyri Sub-muriat:_ ℈j
and _Scammoneæ_ gr. vij, and Mr. Gray thinks that the term Calomel was
first applied to this remedy, as being a mixture of a white and dark
coloured powder.
Footnote 84:
For further information upon this subject the reader may consult my
work on “the Elements of Medical Chemistry.”
Footnote 85:
Dr. Blair thinks that the ancients were led in many instances by the
comparison of habit, to ascribe similar virtues to plants; there does
not however appear to be a trace of what may be called System, in the
writings of Theophrastus, Dioscorides, or Pliny. Cæsalpinus was the
father of botanical system, and he was probably the first who
suggested the idea that the virtues of plants were discoverable by
their structure and alliance to each other. In his preface to his
work, “De Plantis,” he says ‘Quæ enim generis societate junguntur,
plerumque et similes possident facultates.’ This idea was pursued by
Petiver, an apothecary in the city of London, a name well known in the
annals of Botany; there is a paper by him on this subject, in the 21st
volume of the Philosophical Transactions, entitled, “Some attempts to
prove that herbs of the same make and class, for the generality, have
the like Vertue, and Tendency to work the same Effects.” Dr. Murray
has adopted an arrangement founded upon natural character in his
celebrated work entitled, “Apparatus Medicaminum”.
Footnote 86:
Russell’s Nat. Hist. of Aleppo.
Footnote 87:
The student will find an interesting dissertation upon this subject in
a late work, entitled “L’Histoire Naturelle des Medicamens.” Par J. J.
Virey, 1820.
Footnote 88:
Lord Bacon attributes the operation of purgatives to three causes,
viz. 1. to _extreme bitterness_, as in Aloes, 2. to _loathsomeness and
horrible taste_, as in Agaric and black Hellebore, and 3. to _a secret
malignity_, as in Antimony, &c.
Footnote 89:
This might be illustrated by the recital of numerous fallacies to
which our most simple perceptions are exposed from the powers of
association, but I will relate an anecdote, which to my mind
elucidates the nature and extent of such fallacies more strikingly
than any example which could be adduced. Shortly after Sir Humphry
Davy had succeeded in decomposing the fixed alkalies, a portion of
_Potassium_ was placed in the hands of one of our most distinguished
chemists, with a query as to its nature? the philosopher observing its
aspect and splendour, did not hesitate in pronouncing it to be
metallic, and uniting at once the idea of weight with that of metal,
the evidence of his senses was even insufficient to dissever ideas so
inseparably associated in his mind, and, balancing the specimen on his
fingers, he exclaimed, “it is certainly metallic, and _very
ponderous_?” Now this anecdote is not related in disparagement to the
philosopher in question. Who could have been prepared to meet with a
substance, so novel and anomalous as to overturn every preconceived
notion?—A METAL SO LIGHT AS TO SWIM UPON WATER, AND SO INFLAMMABLE AS
TO CATCH FIRE BY THE CONTACT OF ICE!
Footnote 90:
Virey, “Essai d’Histoire Naturelle et Physicolog: sur la
perfectibilité de l’homme.”
Footnote 91:
Second Voyage of Captain Cook, vol. 4.
Footnote 92:
The cause of the green colour of oysters is sometimes an operation of
nature, but it is more generally produced by art, by placing them in
situations where there is a green deposit from the sea, which appears
to consist of the vegetating germs of marine _Confervæ_ and _Fuci_,
and which impart their colour to the oysters. For this object the
Dutch formerly took oysters from beds on our coasts, and deposited
them on their own. Native oysters transported into the Colchester beds
soon assume a green colour. It is unnecessary to refute the popular
error which attributed this change of colour to the operation of
copper.
Footnote 93:
We must admit that some of these allegories are too obvious to be
mistaken. Homer attributes the plague that prevailed in the Grecian
camp to the darts of Apollo; what was meant by this, but that it arose
from the action of a burning sun, upon the marshes and slimy shores of
Troas? and what, again, can be more obvious than the allegory by which
Echo is made the daughter of air and earth?
Footnote 94:
Bacon’s works, vol. 5, p. 470. 4th Edit. London, 1778.
Footnote 95:
Leslie’s Elements of Natural Philosophy.
Footnote 96:
Virg. Georg. iv. 392–402.
Footnote 97:
Dioscorides and Pliny describe a process, which may be considered that
of distillation in its infancy; it consists in obtaining oil from
pitch, by spreading over it while boiling, fleeces of wool, which
receive the vapour and afterwards yield it by expression. In this
country the art of distillation was unknown at the time when the
Romans had possession of it. It is said to have been introduced in the
early part of HENRY II.
Footnote 98:
It was destroyed in the sixth century, by the CALIPH OMAR, the
cotemporary and companion of Mahomet.
Footnote 99:
The Saracens, in their treaty with the Greek Emperors, demanded, by
express articles, the works of the ancients.
Footnote 100:
Garcias as well as Geoffroy and Hill say that Ætius mentions camphor,
but it cannot be found, as Dr. Alston has observed, in that, or in any
other Greek author. There is a _Camphoræ herba_ in Myrepsus; but this
is evidently a different thing.
Footnote 101:
The Records of Physic, if I am not deceived, will afford numerous
instances of similar error, from mistaking figurative expressions for
literal truths. A knowledge of this species of fallacy will explain
the origin of several very extraordinary receipts. I shall select the
following instance, by way of illustration. In many of the ancient
works on Physic, we find the _blood of the goat_ extolled for its
efficacy in dissolving stones, and, from this supposed lithontriptic
virtue, it forms the principal ingredient of the POWDER OF NICOLAUS,
and of the ELECTUARY OF THE QUEEN OF COLEIN. The expression which gave
origin to this belief was evidently allegorical, signifying that the
blood of the goat, by which our Saviour was typified, was capable of
softening the stony hearts of his enemies, or, according to others,
that by his influence, the stony rocks, and veil of the temple were
shatterd. _Browne’s Vulgar Errors._
Footnote 102:
Silver, Mercury, Copper, Iron, Tin, Lead.
Footnote 103:
Agricola de veteribus et novis metallis: Lib. 1.
Footnote 104:
2 Kings, chap. ix. verse 30.
Footnote 105:
It has been already stated, that we are indebted to an Indian for the
discovery of Bark, and it now appears we derived our knowledge of
Mercury to the wildest of the alchemists. May it not then be said that
we are indebted to a _savage_, and a _madman_, for two of our most
powerful remedies?
Footnote 106:
Erasmus, the friend, the correspondent, and the patient of our own
Linacre! Had not modern times, says Sir George Baker, furnished
similar instances, it would have been a matter of astonishment to us
to have heard that Erasmus should have deserted an accomplished
physician whom he so greatly extols in his Epistles, in order to
consult so wild and illiterate an enthusiast as Paracelsus.
Footnote 107:
Paracelsus maintained that the human body is composed of salt,
sulphur, and mercury, and that in these “_three first substances_,” as
he calls them, health and disease consist: that the mercury, in
proportion to its volatility, produces tremors, mortifications in the
ligaments, madness, phrensy, and delirium, and that fevers, phlegmons,
and the jaundice, are the offspring of the _sulphureous_ principle,
while he supposed that the cholic, stone, gravel, gout, and sciatica
derive their origin from salt.
Footnote 108:
Amongst the writers engaged in this contest, no one was more animated
with party spirit than GUY PATIN, who was profuse in his personalities
against those who defended the use of Antimony; he drew up a long
register of the unsuccessful cases in which this medicine had been
employed, which he published under the title of “ANTIMONIAL
MARTYROLOGY.”
Footnote 109:
In the year 1644 Schroeder published a _Chemico_-medical Pharmacopœia,
which delineates with accuracy the pharmacy of these times, and
enumerates almost all the chemical medicines that were known towards
the close of this period.
Footnote 110:
The Dispensatories of London and Edinburgh, the former by Mr. A. T.
Thomson, and the latter by Dr. Duncan, are works which reflect credit
on the age and country in which they were written.
Footnote 111:
The first Pharmacopœia was published at Nuremburg, under the sanction
of its Senate, in the year 1542; for this important act we are
indebted to Valerius Cordus, a young student, who during a transient
visit at that place, accidentally produced a collection of medical
receipts which he had selected from the works of the most esteemed
writers, and with which the physicians of Nuremburg were so highly
pleased that they urged him to print it for the benefit of the
apothecaries, and obtained the sanction of the Senate to the
undertaking; so casual was the circumstance to which we owe the
institution of Pharmacopœias. The London College were among the last
to frame a standard Code of Medicines; most cities in Europe having
anticipated us in the performance of this task; our first Pharmacopœia
was not published until the reign of James the first, A. D. 1618,
exactly a century after the College had received their Charter from
Henry. Successive editions appeared in the following years, viz. in
1650; 1677; 1721; 1746; 1787; 1809.
Footnote 112:
What would be the surprise and gratification of the Pharmaceutist who
lived a hundred years ago, if he could now visit Apothecaries Hall?
the application of steam for the various purposes of pharmacy, and for
actuating machinery, for levigation, trituration, and other mechanical
purposes, is no less useful, in ensuring uniform results, than it is
in abridging labour and economising time. The greatest credit is due
to the gentlemen under whose guidance this national laboratory is
conducted, and more especially to their worthy and public spirited
Treasurer, William Simons, Esq. whose zeal and liberality suggested
and promoted the fitting up of the Steam Laboratory, as well as the
ingenious machine for triturating mercury with lard, or conserve.
Footnote 113:
Since the publication of the last edition of this work, Mr. Archdeacon
Wollaston has paid the debt of nature; his name will be cherished in
grateful remembrance by those who had the good fortune to have been
his pupils; as one of that number I will venture to say, that there
never existed a lecturer on Experimental philosophy, who was more
eminently gifted with those qualifications, upon which the success of
a public teacher must depend. He possessed a peculiar method of
demonstration, a singular vivacity in the manner of conducting the
experiments, and of keeping awake the attention of his auditors during
their progress; while those details of manipulation which would have
proved, in other hands, a source of tedium, he converted into subjects
of the most lively interest.
Footnote 114:
The Chemical Laboratory at Cambridge has produced some valuable
discoveries. _Ex pede Herculem_, let me remind the chemist of the
formation of Nitrous Acid, by passing a current of ammoniacal gas
through the heated Oxyd of Manganese, for which we are indebted to Dr.
Milner. I mention it merely as a whimsical circumstance, that the
greatest degree of cold ever produced, was effected at Oxford, and the
highest temperature, lately, at Cambridge. The researches of Dr. Clark
are highly interesting and important, a succinct account of which has
been published in a small work, entitled, “The Gas Blowpipe, or the
Art of Fusion, by burning the Gaseous constituents of Water.”
Footnote 115:
These views have prevailed upon the Committee of the College, and they
have accordingly restored the Soap to the formula, in the present
edition of the Pharmacopœia; so that the above objection no longer
exists.
Footnote 116:
The only chemical phenomenon which in any manner resembles this,
appears to be that of the rapid acetification of milk, and other
fluids, by the agency of a thunder storm.
Footnote 117:
This practice was introduced into France by Seguin, into Italy by
Couticini, and into Germany by Bischoff.
Footnote 118:
A very ingenious Dissertation has been lately published by M. Virey,
on the ‘Degeneration of Plants in foreign soils,’ which he says may
depend upon 1, _Climate and Station_; 2, _Nutriment_; 3, _Culture_; 4,
_Factitious Mutilation_; 5, _Hybrid Generation_.
Footnote 119:
Women during the period of gestation frequently experience such an
increased irritability as to be affected even in England by various
odours, which at other times would produce no extraordinary
impression.
Footnote 120:
This plant was first described by Gmelin in his _Flora Siberica_, iv.
121. It has obtained a place in the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia. Besides
the effects stated by Dr. Halliday, it is said by different authors to
excite a peculiar creeping sensation in the pained part.
Footnote 121:
Journal Complementaire du Dict. des Sciences Medicales, tom. II.
Footnote 122:
Dr. Murett in his “Short view of Frauds and Abuses,” (A. D. 1669)
charges the Apothecary with “falsifying Medicines;” “They shewed the
Censors,” says he, “_Myrtles leaves_ for _Senna_; a _Binder_ for a
Purger; _Mushrooms_ rubbed over with chalk for _Agaric_; _Hemlock_ for
_Pæony_; _Sheep’s lungs_ for _Fox’s lungs_; and the bone of an _Ox’s
heart_, for that of a _Stag’s heart_.”
Footnote 123:
The editors of the _American Medical Recorder_ (vol. 1, p. 471), in
descanting upon the efficacy of Prussic Acid, very gravely remark,
that they are acquainted with a lady, subject to hysteric affections,
who _always_ derives relief from a dose of CHERRY BRANDY, in which
_Peach kernels_ have been digested; the stimulus of the brandy then
goes for nothing with these blockheads! Zimmerman not unaptly compares
a man who is intoxicated with a favourite opinion, to a passionate
lover, who sees and hears nothing but his mistress.
Footnote 124:
BEZOAR, (from _Pa-zahar_, Persian, a destroyer of poison.) A morbid
concretion formed in the bodies of land animals. Several of them were
formerly highly celebrated for their medicinal virtues; they were
considered as powerful _Alexipharmics_, in so much so, that other
medicines, possessed of alexipharmic powers, were called _Bezoardics:_
so efficacious were these substances formerly considered that they
were bought for ten times their weight of gold. Avenzoar, an Arabian
physician, who practised at Seville in Spain about the year One
Thousand, first recommended it in medicine. A composition of Bezoar
with absorbent powers, has been extensively used under the name of
_Gascoigne_ powder, and _Gascoigne’s Ball_; but the real bezoar was
rarely used on this occasion; Gypsum, or pipe-clay tinged with
ox-gall, proved a less expensive ingredient.
Footnote 125:
ORIBASIUS, a native of Sardes, lived in the fourth century; he was the
friend and favourite of the Emperor Julian, under whom he had great
authority, and acquired considerable wealth. It would be well for the
profession of Physic, and for the public, if crowned heads generally
evinced as much discrimination in the appointment and patronage of
physicians.
Footnote 126:
Three-fourths at least of the QUACK MEDICINES of the present day are
remedies of this description, and are compounded according to such
receipts.
Footnote 127:
Medical Logic. Edit. 2nd, p. 92.
Footnote 128:
The term _sympathy_ has often been objected to, as being too
figurative; it is certainly a metaphor taken from an affection of the
mind, but, as Sir Gilbert Blane very justly remarks, the import of
words ought either to be assumed conventionally according to a
definition, or to be adhered to in the sense affixed to it by
established usage; “by _animal sympathy_,” says he, “is not meant the
intelligible principle of Stahl’s hypothesis, but that mutual
influence of distant parts, so subtle and rapid as in some instances
to be compared to thought or lightning; while in other instances it is
an action more tardy and habitual.” _Medical Logic_, _Edit._ 2nd, p.
123. In the present work, I wish the reader to understand the term
_sympathy_, wherever it may occur, in conformity with the above
definition.
Footnote 129:
_Colchicum_, _Squill_, and many other vegetable diuretics, are of this
nature.
Footnote 130:
The Indian Fig, (_Cactus Opuntia_,) when eaten, renders the urine of a
bloody colour.
Rhubarb has likewise an effect upon the colour of this secretion.
Footnote 131:
This is probably the reason of many bodies producing but little effect
upon the inferior animals. The vegetable eaters are certainly less
affected by vegetable poisons than those animals who exclusively live
upon animal substances: it is thus, that a rabbit can take a very
large dose of opium without any ill effects, while half the same
quantity would poison a dog. It is a curious fact, that a sound horse
can take a very considerable portion of opium with impunity, but if he
be weakened by previous disease, by strong purgatives, or by excessive
bleeding, he is speedily destroyed by a much less dose; (_See Bracy
Clarke’s Reformed Pharmacopœia for Horses._) In this latter case, does
it not appear that the fatal result depends upon the fact of the
digestive organs having been disabled, by debility, from effecting
that decomposition by which under ordinary circumstances, the drug is
disarmed of its potency? What important lights might not be obtained
by the institution of a series of well devised experiments upon the
comparative effects of medicinal bodies upon man and other animals?
The Physiologist has thus availed himself of the resources of the
comparative anatomist, and I feel persuaded, that results equally
beneficial to science would follow a similar inquiry in relation to
the operation of medicines.
In the course of the present work, I hope to shew the truth of this
position by some appropriate illustrations.
Footnote 132:
That the Vena Portarum constitutes one of the avenues through which
certain extraneous bodies enter the circulating current, there cannot
exist a doubt; but a series of well-devised experiments are greatly
wanted for the elucidation of the subject. The Professors of
Veterinary Medicine might on this occasion render us an important
service by some comparative researches.
Footnote 133:
See _Unguent_. _Hydrarg._
Footnote 134:
Treatise on the Materia Medica, vol. I. p. 191.
Footnote 135:
Medical Literature, Edit. 2. (_Pharmacology_,) p. 454.
Footnote 136:
System of Mat. Med. vol. I. p. 132.
Footnote 137:
A system of Materia Medica and Pharmacy, vol. 1. p. 131.
Footnote 138:
_Narcotics_, from νάρκη _Torpedo_; an animal which has the power of
_stupefying_ any thing that it touches.
Footnote 139:
During the severe campaigns of the late war, the Surgeons of the
French army were in the practice of administering Opium and Cayenne
Pepper to the soldiers who were exhausted by fatigue.
Footnote 140:
Treatise on Nervous Diseases, vol. 1. p. 221.
Footnote 141:
Bitterness in vegetables has been supposed to reside in a peculiar
proximate principle, which has been accordingly named the _Bitter
Principle_. Such an opinion, however, does not appear to rest on
sufficient evidence; on the contrary, experiment has shewn that it is
very generally connected with the extractive matter of the plant, as
it is obtained equally by the action of water and alcohol; it is not
volatile, nor are its energies impaired by decoction.
Footnote 142:
Thus Sir H. Davy, in comparing the composition of the soluble products
afforded by different crops from the same grass, found in every trial,
the _largest quantity_ of truly nutritive matter in the crop cut when
the seed was ripe and _the least bitter extractive_, and saline
matter; while in the autumnal crops these relations were found
inverted. Elem. of Agricult. Chem.
Footnote 143:
Molina, in his history of Chili, speaking of the Potatoe, says, “It is
indeed found in all the fields of this country, but the plants that
grow wild, called by the Indians _Maglia_, produce only very small
roots of a bitter taste.” Dr. Baldwin also found the wild parent of
the potatoe plant at Monte Video, and Mr. Lambert informs us that this
statement has been confirmed by Captain Bowles, who has not long since
returned from the South American station; he says, “it is a common
weed in the gardens, bearing small tubers, but _too bitter_ for use.”
Royal Institution Journal, No. XIX.
Footnote 144:
Discourses on the Elements of Therapeutics and Materia Medica, by N.
Chapman, M. D. Philadelphia, 1819.
Footnote 145:
Thus it has been found by experiments, that the Menyanthes Trifoliata,
(the Water Trefoil,) which on account of its bitterness has been used
as a substitute for Hops, is a cure for the rot in sheep, when given
in doses of a drachm of the powdered leaves; and Dr. William Bulleyn,
the cotemporary of Turner, the father of English Botany, observes in
his work, entitled “THE BULWARK OF DEFENCE,” that _Tormentil_, in
pastures, prevents the rot in sheep.
Footnote 146:
αρωμα, which is compounded of αρι, very, and οδμη, or οσμη, smell.
Footnote 147:
The origin of this term is derived from the superstitious custom of
curing such complaints by incantations in verse (_Carmina_), or
perhaps it may be understood metaphorically as expressive of the
instantaneous relief which these medicines are capable of affording;
operating, as it were, _like a charm_.
Footnote 148:
When tannin is present in grasses, as Sir H. Davy found in that of
_aftermath crops_, it is voided in the excrement by animals who feed
upon it, together with the bitter extractive, saline matter, and woody
fibre. (Elem. of Agricult. Chem. Appendix, p. lxi.) We may therefore
infer by analogy that it does not enter into the circulation.
Footnote 149:
Various combinations, into which different metallic salts have
generally entered as ingredients, have at different periods been
extolled for their efficacy as _Styptics:_ Helvetius published an
account of a preparation composed of the filings of iron and tartar,
mixed to a proper consistence with French brandy, and it was long used
in France, Germany, and Holland, under the name of HELVETIUS’S
STYPTIC.
EATON’S STYPTIC. After the styptic of Helvetius had been discarded
from the Continent, it was brought into this country, and for a long
time continued to be employed with confidence, under the new title of
Eaton’s Styptic. It is now made in several different modes, and
consists chiefly of an alcoholic solution of _sulphate of iron_, with
some unimportant additions.
Footnote 150:
This theory, however, did not originate with Dr. Majendie, for
Chiarac, a French Physician of the 17th century, drew the same
conclusion from an experimental enquiry (Histoire de l’Academie Royale
des Sciences, p. 12. An. 1700.)
Footnote 151:
Upon the very same principle, a person may die from suffocation, in
consequence of an injury in the brain; the respiratory muscles being
unable to sustain the function of breathing, for want of a due supply
of nervous influence. This happens in cases of Apoplexy, and in
poisoning by Narcotics.
Those who wish for farther information upon this subject may consult
the chapter on “THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSES AND PHŒNOMENA OF SUDDEN
DEATH,” in my work on “MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE,” Vol. 2. p. 16.
Footnote 152:
Hippocrat. de Diœta. lib. iii. et alibi passim.
This predilection of the ancients for Emetics is the more
extraordinary, as they were acquainted with those only which were of
the most violent and unmanageable description; the Veratrum or White
Hellebore, was sometimes fatal.
Footnote 153:
Few discoveries in physiology have thrown greater light upon this
important subject than that of M. Majendie, published in his JOURNAL
DE PHYSIOLOGIE EXPERIMENTALE, (1^{er} numero—Janvier, 1821) in a paper
entitled, “Memoir sur le Méchanisme de L’Absorption.” The results
contained in this essay are the more interesting to me, as they were
read at the Academy of Sciences at Paris, some time after the
publication of the Third Edition of my PHARMACOLOGIA, and it will be
observed, in what a satisfactory manner they confirm the views which I
offered at that time, respecting the influence of venesection in
accelerating the absorption of Mercury. In the Fourth Edition
(published in October, 1820, p. 115,) these views were farther
extended, and as I could not have been influenced by the experiments
of M. Majendie, which were not published until some time afterwards,
it is very fair to conclude, that when two persons arrive at the same
result by different trains of investigation, such a result must be
correct. The conclusions established by the experimental inquiries of
M. Majendie, with regard to absorption, appear to me to be so
important, in reference to the object of the present work, that I
shall pause, in this place, for the purpose of furnishing the reader
with a short account of them. M. Majendie states, that while
performing the experiment of injecting warm water into the veins of a
living animal, he first conceived the idea of observing what effects
would be produced upon the function of absorption by the artificial
plethora, thus occasioned; having accordingly injected a quantity of
water into the venous system of a middle-sized dog, he introduced a
small portion of an active substance, whose effects were well known,
into his side, when he was surprised to find that its usual operation
was not manifested until after an interval much longer than usual; the
same experiment was afterwards repeated upon another animal, and with
similar results. In a third experiment, as much water (about two
pounds) was injected, as the animal could sustain without destruction,
in which case the poisonous substance produced no effect whatever, the
powers of absorption appearing to be entirely suspended: and having
waited during half an hour for the occurrence of those symptoms which,
under ordinary circumstances, would have manifested themselves in two
minutes, M. Majendie concluded that if vascular congestion be the
cause of the suspension of absorption, the function ought to be
restored by the removal of this artificial condition, an opinion which
he proceeded to verify by experiment; the jugular vein of the animal,
under trial, was accordingly opened, and the ingenious operator had
the satisfaction to observe the effects of the poison gradually
developing themselves in proportion as the blood flowed. M. Majendie
next proceeded to confirm the truth of his position, by an experiment,
the converse of those above related; an animal was bled, to the amount
of about half a pound, and the poisonous substance applied to the
pleura of the animal, as in the foregoing experiments, when it
appeared that those effects which, under ordinary circumstances, were
not evident until after a period of twelve minutes, manifested
themselves after an interval of only thirty seconds. In order to shew
that these results actually arose from vascular distention, and not
from the artificial state of dilution in which the blood was placed,
M. Majendie instituted the following experiment: a considerable
quantity of blood was drawn from the vein of a dog, and replaced by a
similar quantity of warm water, after which a measured quantity of Nux
Vomica in solution was introduced into the side, when the poisonous
effects were found to take place with the same rapidity as if the
blood had not been mixed with water.
Footnote 154:
The practical application of this fact may be useful, and digestion,
in certain cases, may be thus promoted by the simple expedient of
changing the quality of our bread.
Footnote 155:
Since the publication of this opinion, in the 5th edition of the
Pharmacologia, Dr. Hamilton has honoured me by a letter on the
subject, but I am still bound to confess that my sentiments remain
unaltered.
Footnote 156:
The Melampodium, or Black Hellebore, was recommended as an agent of
this description in the strongest terms, by Mead; Savin (Juniperus
Sabina) is another vegetable which has been generally considered as a
specific Emmenagogue; with some authors, the Rubia Tinctorum, Madder;
with others, the Sinapis alba have been regarded as remedies of this
nature; and lately Polygala Senega has been extolled by the American
practitioners; in modern times, however, few substances have been more
confidently recommended as uterine stimulants than the Secale
Cornutum, or Ergot, but of which I have no practical knowledge.
Footnote 157:
Saline bodies would appear to be the peculiar stimuli of these organs,
the principal use of which is to separate such saline matter from the
blood, as would otherwise accumulate in the system. That these saline
diuretics actually pass off by the kidneys, may be satisfactorily
shewn by an examination of the urine, in which the bodies in question
may be chemically detected. Let any person swallow several doses of
Nitre, taking care that the bowels are not disturbed by the medicine,
and he will find by dipping some paper into his urine, and afterwards
drying it, that it will deflagrate, and indicate the presence of
nitre.
Footnote 158:
The _Secondary_ Diuresis which sometimes takes place under such
circumstances, and succeeds Catharsis, may offer an apparent exception
to this law; but this must not be confounded with that which is the
result of a _Primary_ action upon the urinary organs by the
absorption, and consequent contact, of a specific Stimulant.
Footnote 159:
Certain mineral waters, containing cathartic salts in a state of
extreme dilution, if insufficient to excite the bowels, sometimes pass
off by the kidneys; an effect which can always be prevented by
accompanying their exhibition with some laxative.
Footnote 160:
See Sir Gilbert Blane’s Medical Logic, Edit. 2, page 190.
Footnote 161:
The cutaneous discharge is very materially modified by the state of
the atmosphere, in its relations to moisture and dryness: when the air
contains much moisture it is a bad conductor of the perspirable
matter, which therefore, instead of being carried off in an insensible
form, is condensed upon the surface; hence we appear to perspire
greatly upon the slightest exercise, whereas the cuticular discharge
is at such times absolutely less. We have all experienced the
sensation of heat, and disposition to sweating, during the moist
weather which so frequently occurs in this country in April and May,
the wind being at the time stationary at south-west or south. On the
contrary, during the prevalence of an east wind, the most violent
exercise will scarcely prove diaphoretic, and yet the quantity of
cutaneous exhalation is far greater than during that state of
atmosphere when the slightest exercise deluges us with perspirable
matter.
Footnote 162:
LOMMIUS de Febribus.
Footnote 163:
De Medicina. Lib. iii. c. 7.
Footnote 164:
This practice is still cherished by the vulgar, especially in some of
the more remote districts of the kingdom. It is with this view that
the Cornish nurse continues to keep down the excess of population, by
administering Gin and Treacle, in her smoky chimney corner, to
children labouring under measles, in order to _throw out_ the
eruption.
Footnote 165:
_M. Du Hamel_ has recorded the cases of two countrymen, considerably
advanced in life, who were cured of Dropsy by remaining for some time
in a baker’s oven, soon after the bread had been drawn. _Varikbillan_,
ninth Caliph of the race of the Abassides, is said to have been cured
by a nearly similar method. His physician caused him to enter a
lime-kiln soon after the lime had been removed, when in the course of
a few days he was totally cured of his dropsy. The ancients excited
sweating in this disease, by burying the patient up to the neck in
heated sand or ashes (_Celsus_, Lib. iii. c. 30.), and Lysons cured
cases by placing his patients in rooms heated to a very high
temperature.
In the history of the Royal Academy of Sciences, for 1703, a case is
related of a woman, who, tired out by the protracted Dropsy under
which her husband laboured, _charitably_ administered to him a very
large dose of opium, with the intention of despatching him, but the
medicine immediately produced such a copious sweat that it restored
him to health!
Footnote 166:
σιαλος, saliva; et αγω, excito.
Footnote 167:
I of course except its application in the form of vapour, in which
state it proves extremely active. See Hydrargyrum.
Footnote 168:
Medical Logic, Edit. 2. p. 75.
Footnote 169:
Transactions of a Society for the Improvement of Medical and
Chirurgical knowledge, Vol. iii. p. 119. London, 1822.
Footnote 170:
Medical and Physical Journal for October, 1811.
Footnote 171:
De Sed. et Caus. Morb. Epist. xiv. art. 27.
Footnote 172:
Comment. ad Aph. 271.
Footnote 173:
This is one of the most ancient superstitions which have descended to
us. It was customary in Greece, when any one sneezed, to exclaim Ζῆθὶ,
‘May you live;’ or Ζευ σῶσον, ‘God bless you.’ Aristotle, in his
problems, has attempted to account for the origin of the custom, but
unsatisfactorily; Pliny, (Nat. Hist. lib. 28. c. 2) asks—“Cur
Sternutantes salutentur?”
Footnote 174:
Eberle’s Treatise on the Materia Medica.
Footnote 175:
It is said that whenever Dunning, the celebrated barrister, was called
upon to make the finest display of his eloquence, whether forensic or
parliamentary, he constantly applied a blister to his chest, which he
found to have the effect of imparting an unusual tone and vigour to
his body, and elevation to his mind.
Footnote 176:
From Setum a Horse hair, a substance which was formerly used for the
accomplishment of this object.
Footnote 177:
It sometimes happens that the stomach and digestive organs are so
weakened by disease as to lose their control, or what Dr. Fordyce
called their ‘governing power,’ in which case they would appear to be
unable to prevent the matters which they contain from acting
chemically upon each other, and occasioning decompositions and new
combinations: in such cases substances are sometimes developed in the
internal organs by the action of disease, which are capable of
producing a chemical effect upon the fluids; for instance,—an acid is
not unfrequently generated in the bowels of children which decomposes
the bile and produces a green precipitate, and green stools are the
consequence; in other cases the acid combines with the _Soda_ of the
bile, and the precipitate thus occasioned is thick, viscid, very
bitter, and inflammable, and we have stools looking like pitch. In
Yellow Fever, and in several other diseases, the bile which is brought
up by vomiting is frequently of a vivid green colour, and some writers
have attributed the phenomenon to a morbid condition, or action of the
liver or gall bladder; the fact however is, that the bile itself
undergoes a chemical change in the Duodenum and Stomach. That bile
does undergo such a change from decomposition, is proved by a variety
of facts observed to take place _out_ of the body; it is well known,
for instance, that the fæces of infants, although yellow when voided,
frequently become green after some time, and Dr. Heberden observes, in
his Commentaries, that the urine of a certain jaundiced patient, which
was of a deep yellow, became after a few hours green: in such cases it
is probable that an acid is generated by the reaction of the elements
of which the bile consists.
Footnote 178:
System of Materia Medica, vol. 1. p. 453.
Footnote 179:
The same fact has been long known by the Divers in the Indian
Pearl-fisheries; see my Work on Medical Jurisprudence, Introduction,
Vol. 1. p. v.
Footnote 180:
See a paper upon this subject by Mr. Brodie, Phil. Trans. 1811.
Footnote 181:
Medical Logic, Edit. 2. p. 50.
Footnote 182:
From αντὶ against, and λὶθος a stone.
Footnote 183:
From λὶθος, and θρυπτω to break.
Footnote 184:
The kidneys have a more obtuse sensibility, and not such energetic
activity as other glands possess; vital action is less concerned in
the secretion they carry on, and their functions more easily fall
under chemical and hydraulic explanations.—(Richerand.)
Footnote 185:
An Inquiry into the Nature and Treatment of Gravel, Calculus, and
other diseases connected with a deranged operation of the Urinary
Organs; by W. Prout, M. D. F. R. S.
Footnote 186:
On the Chemical History and Medical Treatment of Calculous Disorders,
by A. Marcet, M. D. F. R. S.
Footnote 187:
Journal of the Royal Institution, Vol. VI.
Footnote 188:
Medical Transactions of the College of Physicians, Vol. VI.
Footnote 189:
The ancients considered the urine as a kind of extract of animal
substances, a true lixivium, by which every thing impure in the animal
economy was washed away, and hence they gave it the name of Lotium.
Footnote 190:
Mr. Brande first stated the existence of this acid in urine; but
Berzelius expressed his doubts respecting the fact. The experiments of
Dr. Marcet, however, are certainty favourable to the conclusion of the
former chemist, and Dr. Prout informs us that he has himself seen
small calculi discharged from the bladder composed principally of the
carbonate of lime.
Footnote 191:
The reader will find some interesting observations upon this subject
in Dr. Prout’s Treatise, p. 22.
Footnote 192:
The name of Uric Acid was suggested by Dr. Pearson: it is, however, as
Dr. Marcet very justly remarks, objectionable, on account of the close
resemblance which the term bears to that of Urea, a substance totally
distinct from Lithic Acid.
Footnote 193:
Recherches physiologiques et médicales sur les causes, les symptomes,
et le traitement de la gravelle, 8vo. Paris. 1818.
Footnote 194:
ULTIMATE PRINCIPLES OF LITHIC ACID.
According to M. Berard, and adopted by M. According to Dr. Prout.
Majendie.
Azote 39·16 31·12
Carbon 33·61 40·00
Oxygen 18·89 26·26
Hydrogen 8·34 2·22
—————— ——————
100·00 100·00
Footnote 195:
This fact derives its pathological interest from the probability that,
in certain states of disease, the Lithic acid assumes this peculiar
modification, giving to the sediments of urine those beautiful hues
which were formerly considered by Proust, as the effect of an acid,
which he named the Rosacic; now as the Purpuric acid, or rather the
Purpurate of Ammonia, says Dr. Prout, is nothing more than Lithic acid
modified by the action of Nitric acid, and as I have already shewn
that the Pink and Lateritious sediments occasionally contain nitric
acid in some peculiar state of combination, the nature and origin of
the colouring matter cease to be problematical.
Footnote 196:
Whence is derived the large quantity of Phosphoric acid which is daily
evacuated from the system?—The researches of modern chemistry have
furnished a very satisfactory solution of this problem, by
demonstrating its presence in those animal and vegetable substances
which are used by us as food. Mr. Barry, in prosecuting his
interesting and important experiments on the preparation of
Pharmaceutical Extracts _in vacuo_, discovered the curious fact, that
Phosphoric acid is to be found in all the extracts in a soluble state;
and on extending the investigation, says he, it was ascertained that
this acid, besides that portion of it which exists as phosphate of
lime, is contained in a vast variety of vegetables, and more
especially in those which are cultivated. Medico-Chirug. Trans. Vol.
10, p. 240.
Footnote 197:
The urine of infants and nurses contains very little phosphate of lime
and phosphoric acid; it is not until after ossification is finished,
that these elements are found in abundance in the urinary fluid. That
of old men, on the contrary, contains a great quantity of them; the
bony system, already overcharged with phosphate of lime, refuses to
admit more of it. This saline substance would ossify every part, as it
does sometimes in the arteries, ligaments, cartilages, and membranes,
if the urine were not to remove the greater part of this superabundant
portion. In Rachitis it is by the urine that the phosphate of lime
passes off, the absence of which causes the softness of bones.
(Richerand). If we might be allowed to theorise, I should say, that
this disease depends upon a deficient action in the powers of
assimilation, in consequence of which the phosphoric acid is incapable
of entering into its assigned combinations, and is therefore
eliminated as excrementitious. Dr. Glisson considered the disease to
depend upon some fault in the spinal marrow, whence he termed it
Rachitis, from ῥακὶς Spina Dorsi.
Footnote 198:
Transactions of Stockholm.
Footnote 199:
CYSTIC OXIDE, discovered by Dr. Wollaston in 1815: it does not affect
vegetable colours, and has all the chemical habitudes of an oxide.
Footnote 200:
Dr. Marcet discovered two calculi, which were not referable to any of
the known species; but they are not introduced into the following
table, as they may never again occur; at all events, from their
extreme rarity, they cannot be considered as objects of practical
interest. To one of these he has given the name of Xanthic Oxide,
because it forms a lemon coloured compound when acted upon by Nitric
acid. To the other nondescript calculus he has bestowed the
appellation of Fibrinous, from its resemblance to Fibrine.
Footnote 201:
I am by no means disposed to reject altogether, as a popular fallacy,
the general opinion in favour of the anti-lithic virtues of malt
liquor; the observations which have been already offered (page 79)
will explain how such agents may occasionally operate in assisting
digestion. In the observations made upon the Bills of Mortality in the
year 1662, by an ingenious citizen, concerning the increase of some
diseases, and the decrease of others, it is observed “The Stone and
Strangury decreaseth, from the drinking of Ale.”
Footnote 202:
In consultation with Dr. Baillie, some few months before his death, he
said to me “although I have never published the opinion, I am
satisfied that after a patient has long laboured under diseased liver,
the blood becomes surcharged with alkaline matter.”
Footnote 203:
See an explanation of this term in the note, at page 112.
Footnote 204:
It is, says Dr. Prout, a very old observation, that injuries of the
back produce _alkaline urine_; “it also appears,” continues this
author, “to hold in other animals as well as in man; thus I have
frequently observed jaded and worn-out horses pass great quantities of
lime in their urine; I have known the same also to take place in dogs,
and particularly of the sporting kinds; and in both these instances
have thought it probable, that the circumstance was connected with
some strain or injury of the back produced by over-exertion, or other
causes.”
Footnote 205:
I have in my possession a splendid specimen of this triple salt, in
large and well defined crystals, covering a portion of a decayed beam;
it was sent to me by my friend Mr. Marshall, from whom I learnt that
it had been taken from a privy belonging to a public house in
Southwark. I lent the specimen to the late Mr. Wilson, in order that
he might exhibit it in his lectures before the College of Surgeons,
and he has published a description of it in his work on the Urinary
and Genital Organs.
Footnote 206:
A question has arisen respecting the comparative efficacy of the two
fixed alkalies upon these occasions. See _Sodæ Sub-carbonas_.
Footnote 207:
For an account of the celebrated remedy of Mrs. Stephens, see _Liquor
Calcis_.
Footnote 208:
Journal de Physiologie; Juillet, 1823.
Footnote 209:
For a farther account of this extraordinary law of Electro-Chemistry,
the reader may consult my work on the ELEMENTS OF MEDICAL CHEMISTRY.
Footnote 210:
These experiments have been repeated at the Jardin des Plantes, with
similar results; it farther appears that a certain quantity of
_Nitrate of Potass_ added to the water injected into the bladder will
expedite the decomposition.
Footnote 211:
This, it must be confessed, is singularly unfortunate, if the opinion
already expressed be true (page 121) viz. that at least two-thirds of
the whole number of calculi originate from this acid.
Footnote 212:
The word _Antidote_ is derived from αντὶ, _against_, and διδωμὶ, _I
give_; as being a medicine given _against_ poison, either by way of
cure or preservative. The word is also sometimes used in a more
general sense, for any compounded medicine; thus _Peter Damian_ speaks
of a person who in his whole life never took an antidote. It is
likewise used by some authors in a less proper sense, for any remedy
against any disease, chiefly if it be inveterate, and arise from some
ulcer or abscess; and lastly, the term has been used to signify a
perpetual form of medicines, otherwise called _Opiates_, or more
properly _Confections_.
Footnote 213:
The reader will find this subject treated more fully in the second
volume of my work on MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE.
Footnote 214:
See the history of _Theriaca_ at page 28 note.
Footnote 215:
JOHN, king of Castille, as Tissot relates, was poisoned by a pair of
boots, prepared by a Turk; HENRY IV, by gloves; LOUIS XIV fearing a
project to poison PHILIP V, prohibited his opening letters, or putting
on gloves (_Tissot Traité des Nerfs_, _T. 1._ _P. 11._ _page 13_;)
Plouquet has the following remark upon this subject, “Huc et ignota
illa venena pertinent, quibus epistolæ chirothecæ, et ejusmodi infici,
et vim adeo toxicam induere dicuntur, ut lectio ejusmodi epistolæ,
indutus chirothecæ subitam mortem causentur.” (_Comment. Med. super
Homicid._ page 184.) POPE CLEMENT VII is said by Zacchias to have been
poisoned by the fumes of a taper, (_Quæst. Med. Leg._); and a priest
is reported to have offered to destroy QUEEN ELIZABETH by poisoning
her saddle. (_Sir Edward Coke, in the trial of Sir John Hollis._)
Bishop Burnet, in the history of his own times (vol. 2. p. 230.) says,
that some believed CHARLES the Second to have been poisoned through
the medium of snuff.
Footnote 216:
This conceit does not appear to have been confined to the ignorant
alone, for we learn from Spratt’s History of the Royal Society, that
very shortly after the institution of that learned body, a series of
questions was drawn up by their direction, for the purpose of being
submitted to the Chinese and Indians, which clearly shews their belief
in the possibility of such an operation, viz. “Whether the Indians can
so prepare that stupifying herb, Datura, that they make it lie several
days, months, years, according as they will have it, in a man’s body,
without doing him any hurt, and at the end kill him without missing
half an hour’s time?”
Footnote 217:
Dr. Mead adopted this opinion, but he became so convinced of its
inadequacy that, in the later editions of his work on Poisons, he
withdrew the hypothesis. It is hardly necessary to observe that upon
its abandonment, a host of popular antidotes at once fell into disuse;
for as long as the injury was supposed to arise from mechanical
irritation, oils, fats, and other similar remedies were held capable
of obtunding the acrimony. So has the abandonment of other conceits
and hypotheses cleared away many absurd articles from the list of
Antidotes; see page 26.
Footnote 218:
The introduction of poisons into the body through the medium of the
circulation of the blood is frequently alluded to by the physiologists
of the seventeenth century. I have lately met with a curious passage
in a work entitled “Popular Errours in Physick, first written in
Latine by the learned physitian, James Penrose, Doctor in Physick.
London, 1651.” “The venome is carried by the veines and arteries, as
appeares in that all the blood of them that have been bitten by a
viper doth turne into a pale greennesse. And seeing that the veines in
the papps are so very slender, and doe not come unto the heart, but
with a great many long windings, I affirme, and it is more probable,
that if the viper be applyed to the feet, which are farthest remote
from the heart, it will sooner infect the heart than if to the papps,
but soonest of all if it be applied to the armes. And now the story of
CLEOPATRA comes to my minde. PETRUS VICTORIUS blames the painters,
that paint Cleopatra applying the aspe to her papps, seeing it is
manifest out of PLUTARCH in the life of ANTONIUS, and out of PLINIE
likewise, that she applyed it to her arme. ZONARAS relates that there
appeared no signe of death upon her, save two blew spots on her arme.
CÆSAR also in her statue which he carryed in triumph, applyed the aspe
to her arme; for in the armes there are great veines and arteries,
which doe quickly, and in a straight way convey the venome to the
heart, whereas in the papps the vessels are slender. And therefore in
SAINT PAUL the miracle was so much the greater, in that he felt no
harme from the viper, which layd hold on his hand, for if it had
assailed him on the breast, he had had respite enough to take some
antidote.”
Footnote 219:
There can be no doubt but that death has been produced by the
mechanical operation of various insoluble bodies; although we cannot
believe the numerous tales recorded on the subject of diamond dust
(supposed to constitute the basis of the celebrated “Powder of
Succession”) or of powdered glass, &c. Numerous cases are recorded
where life has been destroyed by the lodgement of substances in the
intestines; and we have lately heard of the fatal effects produced by
alvine accumulations from the habitual use of Magnesia. With respect
to the danger from the ingestion of glass and enamel in powder, there
still exists much difference of opinion; Caldani, Mandruzzato, and M.
Le Sauvage, report experiments made upon men and animals, in which no
bad consequences followed; on the other hand, Schurigius (Chylologia)
and Cardanus (De Venenis) cite instances where persons have died of
ulcerations of the stomach from such causes; and M. Portal, Foderé,
(Medicine Legale) Plouquet (Comment. super Homicid.) Stoll, (Ratio
Medendi, part vi. p. 60) Gmelin (Hist. General de Ven. mineral.) Frank
(Man. de Toxicol.) furnish testimony in support of the opinion which
assigns to such bodies a highly deleterious action.
Footnote 220:
This mark denotes that the substance, against which it is placed, may
also act by being absorbed.
Footnote 221:
Signifies that the article has also a local action.
Footnote 222:
See “Experiments and Operations on the Different Modes in which Death
is produced by certain Vegetable Poisons.” By B. C. Brodie, Esq. F. R.
S. in the 181st Volume of the Philosophical Transactions for the year
1811.
Footnote 223:
M. ’Lallemand has published the history of a fœtus, in which the brain
and spinal marrow were equally deficient, notwithstanding which, it
even exceeded the usual size, the heart was also perfect, and it was
evident that the circulation had been properly performed. No sooner
however was the monster born than it perished, because the diaphragm
and other muscles of respiration were unable to perform their
functions without the aid of nervous excitement; no air was therefore
inhaled into the lungs, and in a few minutes the heart ceased to
contract from the deficient supply of oxygenized blood. See MEDICAL
JURISPRUDENCE, Vol. ii. “On the Physiological Causes, and Phœnomena of
Sudden Death.”
Footnote 224:
It is a very curious fact, that the _Oil_ of Tobacco should differ so
essentially in its physiological action from the Infusion of that
vegetable poison; the former we have stated, affects the brain only,
the latter we now learn, when taken into the alimentary canal,
suspends the action of the heart. This apparent anomaly at first led
Mr. Brodie, as he has since informed me, to suspect the accuracy of
his experiments: and I suggested to him, whether a probable
explanation might not be derived from the late chemical researches
into the composition of tobacco, which have shewn the existence of two
active principles, viz. _Nicotin_, and an _Essential Oil_? Where an
infusion is employed, we seem to obtain the influence of the former,
and the effects are displayed upon the heart; but where the oil is
applied, the _Nicotin_ has been removed, and the brain is the organ
principally affected—see Tabaci Folia.
Footnote 225:
Dry Vomit of Marriott. This once celebrated vomit, called Dry, from
its being exhibited without drink, consisted of equal proportions of
Tartarized Antimony and Sulphate of Copper.
Footnote 226:
Sydenham relates a case of poisoning by Corrosive Sublimate; which was
successfully treated by copious draughts of water, and repeated
vomiting (Opera Medica, Epist. 1, p. 200); and Orfila, in his
laborious work on poisons, presents us with a mass of satisfactory
evidence upon the same subject.
Footnote 227:
Circumstances, however, may occur, which will render it even
judicious, with certain precautions, to administer a solvent, in order
to remove the particles of the substance, which sometimes adhere with
such obstinacy to the coats of the stomach as to defy the exertions of
an emetic to detach them, especially if the poison be arsenic; but let
the practitioner remember that this practice can never be allowed
until all that can be ejected by vomiting or purging has been
previously removed; then perhaps the ingestion of Magnesia, or an
Alkaline Salt, as proposed by Mr. Marshall, might be admissible, but
it should be quickly followed up by fresh emetics and purgatives.
Footnote 228:
London Medical Repository, August, 1817.
Footnote 229:
The truth of this statement has been very satisfactorily established
by the experiments of ORFILA (Toxicologie générale considerée sous les
Rapports de la Physiologie, de la Pathologie, et de la Medicine
légale) as well as by several that have been performed in this
country.
TORTOSA (Istituzioni di Med. For.) has remarked that Opium may act
mortally without losing much of its weight in the stomach—I should
question the truth of this assertion.
Footnote 230:
Vegetable acids are in Nature rarely the vehicles of poisons, the most
deleterious plants being inert in those parts that are impregnated
with acid; the pulp of the fruit of the Strychnus, amongst many
others, offers an illustration of this fact. Virey.
Footnote 231:
Notwithstanding this fact, we find Venesection recommended in works on
Toxicology, as a safe precaution to be used against the inflammatory
action produced by arsenic.
The application of a ligature above an abraded surface to which a
poison has been applied, prevents its effects upon the constitution,
not so much by obliterating the capacity of the vessels, as by
inducing a local plethora, and so suspending the process of
absorption.
Footnote 232:
_Escharotic_ from ἐσχαρόω, _crustam_ induco, to scab over, to burn
into a crust.
Footnote 233:
Or in a still more striking manner, by holding over the surface of the
sore a piece of white paper moistened by the mixed solutions of
Nitrate of Silver and Arsenious Acid, when the disengaged Ammonia will
by the operation of double affinity enable the Arsenious Acid to
decompose the salt of Silver, and to display the presence of the
Arseniate of that metal by its characteristic yellow indication. I am
not acquainted with any test for Ammonia so summary and satisfactory
as this. See Arsenicum in Vol. 2 of this work.
Footnote 234:
There are four species of worms generated in the human intestines,
viz. The Tænia, or tape-worm—Tricocephalus, or Trichuris—Ascaris
Vermicularis, or Ascarides—and Lumbricoides.
Footnote 235:
It is a very curious fact that vegetable bitter should be so essential
to the wellbeing of the higher order of animals, as explained at page
79, and yet prove so generally destructive to insects. Flies are
almost immediately destroyed by an Infusion of Quassia, and Nature has
protected the ear from the invasion of insects by providing an
intensely bitter secretion.
Footnote 236:
The reader is also referred to an account of Majendie’s experiments as
related at page 86 of this volume.
Footnote 237:
Fish, especially those of the cetaceous tribe, constantly decompose
water, and live upon its hydrogen.
Footnote 238:
Rumford’s Essays, Vol. 1. p. 194–202.
Footnote 239:
I selected it as the exclusive subject of my Lectures before the Royal
College of Physicians, during the year 1820.
Footnote 240:
It was wisely said by Lord Bacon, “that Man should observe all the
workmanship, and the particular workings of Nature, and meditate which
of those may be transferred to the Arts.” Advancement of Learning,
Book v. 148. For a further illustration of these views, the partiality
of an author may perhaps be excused if he refer the reader to his
paper “On the Recent Sandstone,” published in the first volume of the
Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.
Footnote 241:
The practitioner must receive the term _similar_, conventionally, as
expressed at page 71. Many of those substances which we are at present
bound to consider _similar_, will no doubt, require to be transplanted
into other classes as the progress of physiological knowledge shall
elucidate their modes of action. In this attempt to teach the Art of
Medicinal Combination, I have endeavoured to reduce the propositions
it comprehends to the greatest degree of generality of which they are,
at present, susceptible.
Footnote 242:
Numerous isolated statements of the same tendency may be adduced, but
these cannot invalidate the claim of Dr. Fordyce, as the first person
who generalized the fact, and applied it with success to practice.
DIEMERBROECK, in his notes upon the Theriaca Andromachi, observes that
the composition is a more efficacious medicine from the concurrent
powers of so many ingredients, alike in virtue: and Quincy, in his
Lectures on Pharmacy, which were published by Dr. Shaw in 1723, says
“those fetid gums which are generally prescribed in Hysteria, as
Ammoniacum, Galbanum, &c. may be conjoined with advantage, because
from a concurrence of properties, they all conspire to the same end.”
Footnote 243:
Such was the nature of the “Mustacea” of the Romans, which were a
species of cake, used at weddings, and consisted of meal, aniseed,
cummin, and several other aromatics; their object was to remove or
prevent the indigestion which might be occasioned by eating too
copiously at the marriage entertainment. It must be acknowledged that
this compound was better adapted for such a purpose than the modern
Bride-cake, to which it gave origin. Cato (de R. R. c. 121) has given
us a receipt for the Roman bride-cake.
Footnote 244:
Dr. Majendie goes so far even as to assert, that by varying the
different preparations of the _same_ Narcotic, we shall be better able
to keep up its action on the animal œconomy, without an increase of
its dose. He adds, “Some English writers have denied the truth of this
observation: but they have not given any reasons for their
scepticism.—Why should it not be true?”
Footnote 245:
It would even appear probable that in some cases mercurial influence
has, after its subsidence, been renewed by doses of Opium: a
remarkable instance of this kind is related in Hufeland’s Journal
(vol. ix.) in which an old woman is said to have fallen into a
considerable salivation after every dose of Opium; she had previously
applied to the physician for an extensive ulceration over her body,
and had taken a considerable quantity of mercury; but the effects had
subsided, until renewed by the opium.
Footnote 246:
It has been observed under the history of Emetics (p. 84), that in
cases of profound intoxication, or in those of violent wounds and
contusions of the head, vomiting will not take place, however forcibly
the stomach may be goaded by an emetic, whereas if the brain be only
partially influenced, as by incipient intoxication, or by a less
violent blow on the head, its irritability is increased instead of
being paralysed, and that vomiting under such circumstances is excited
by the slightest causes; just so is it with regard to Narcotics, a
powerful dose so paralyses the nervous system, that the stomach cannot
be made to reject its contents, as every one must have observed in
cases of narcotic poisoning, while smaller doses, like lesser injuries
of the head, dispose the stomach to sickness.
Footnote 247:
Sir Gilbert Blane has advanced an ingenious hypothesis to explain the
cause of the fœtid breath of persons under the influence of mercury;
which might perhaps also shew why certain remedies are rendered more
efficient by combination with mercury. One of the active effects of
mercury, says Sir Gilbert, is to _alter the natural sensibility of the
Lacteals_, so that when under its influence, they absorb
indiscriminately that which is excrementitious and nutritive; hence
the smell of the breath, since the fœtid particles are carried into
the circulation, and thrown off in the halitus of the lungs, or by the
salivary glands, in consequence of the mouth of the lacteals losing
that selecting tact, whereby in their sound state they reject whatever
is offered to them, except the chyle. Now if mercury acts as the
“_Soporata Offa_” to the lacteals, it is evident that its combination
with active matter may, on some occasions, facilitate the absorption
of the latter.
Footnote 248:
In some cases, however, the energy of an active bitter would seem to
be diminished by an alkali; and it may therefore be more prudent to
administer such substances at different periods. I apprehend that the
powers of _Squill_ are thus invalidated by a fixed alkali.
Footnote 249:
The Arabian and Greek physicians scarcely noticed the leaves, but
always employed the pods of Senna; a fact which will explain the
operation of this plant, as observed by them.
Footnote 250:
Mac Culloch on Wine. Edit. 2. p. 42.
Footnote 251:
If the facts stated in this section be true, we are bound to recognise
two orders of medicinal elements,—the one comprehending those that
possess an inherent and independent activity,—the other, those that
are in themselves inert, but which are capable of imparting impulse
and increased energy to the former when combined with them. As this is
a new view of the subject of vegetable combinations, no apology is
necessary for the introduction of new terms for its explanation; I
therefore propose to designate the former of these SUBSTANTIVE, and
the latter, ADJECTIVE constituents. When the structure of vegetable
remedies shall have been thoroughly examined upon this principle of
combination, much medicinal obscurity will be removed, and probably
some pharmaceutical improvements of value suggested; at all events it
will teach a lesson of prudent caution to the pharmaceutic chemist; it
will shew the danger of his removing this or that element from a
vegetable compound, merely because he finds, upon its separation, that
it is inert. I dwell the more upon this point, because I feel that
there never was a period in the history of medicine, at which such a
caution was more necessary; for while the poly-pharmacy of our
ancestors has driven the physician of the present day into a
simplicity of prescription that on many occasions abridges his powers
and resources, the progress of chemical knowledge has diffused through
the class of manufacturing chemists a bold spirit of adventure and
empiricism,—a mischievous propensity to torture our best remedies, in
order to concentrate or extract the parts which they consider to
constitute their essential ingredients.
A Memoir has lately been presented to the PHILOMATIC SOCIETY OF PARIS,
by M. Robiquet, on the subject of _Aroma_, which affords some
important analogies in proof of the law of combination, which I am now
endeavouring to elucidate. From the experiments of this laborious
chemist it would appear, that odours are not as Fourcroy supposed,
_the effect of the simple solution of certain bodies in air_, but that
for their developement, some third body (coinciding in its office with
my ADJECTIVE constituent) possessing in itself none of the
characteristic odour, is absolutely necessary as an intermede, varying
in its nature according to that of each odorous body, in the same way
that the mordant requires to be varied by the dyer, according to the
nature of the colouring matter which it is intended to fix on the
cloth;—thus Ambergris has in itself very little odour, but the
addition of Musk developes a very strong and decided one; this also
happens in a less degree with Lavender, and the perfumers therefore
add a small quantity of musk to the distilled water of this plant. In
other cases, Ammonia lends, as it were, its volatility to bodies, the
odour of which without such an auxiliary, would be scarcely sensible;
this is exemplified by the practice of perfumers exposing their musk
and other substances to the atmosphere of privies when they lose their
power: (_Paul Amman: Manduct: ad Mat: Med:_) so again in order to give
pungency to snuff it is made to suffer the commencement of
fermentation, in which case ammonia is generated; and it is a curious
fact that the odour of the best snuff may be destroyed by mixing with
it a little tartaric acid, by which its ammoniacal salt is
neutralized. In some instances the _adjective_ ingredient seems to be
Sulphur, as in the essential oils of some cruciform plants, and
particularly in that of mustard seed, for M. Robiquet found that this
oil lost its odour by being kept in contact with a metallic surface,
and that an inodorous oil remained, while the metal became a
sulphuret: perhaps, adds M. Robiquet, it may be sometimes necessary
for the full and exquisite developement of odour in these bodies to
add another vehicle, thus the addition of a little Acetic acid
heightens the odour of Mustard.
Iron has little, or no odour; but when volatilized with hydrogen, its
odour is very powerful. The smell of copper and brass must depend upon
some circumstance not well understood.
Footnote 252:
Astruc, and other practitioners of the same school, always premised a
mercurial course with venesection: it is probable that many of the
anomalies observed in the modern application of this remedy may have
arisen from an inattention to the diet of those who are under
mercurial influence. Mercury is in itself a most powerful stimulant,
and ought therefore to be accompanied with depletion and low diet;
besides which, the experiments of Majendie have shewn how greatly such
a state of the system will expedite the effects of the mercurial
remedy.
Footnote 253:
Dr. Eberle, of Philadelphia, in a work lately published, has quoted
the above passage, and remarks, that he has long been acquainted with
the fact which it announces; although he proposes to account for it by
a different train of reasoning; he considers that Nauseants encourage
mercurial ptyalism, by favouring an afflux to the salivary glands. The
learned author must allow me to congratulate him upon this fortunate
discovery; unless his patients be blessed with as much apathy as was
ever assumed by the Gilbertine order of Benedictines, he need never in
future despair of influencing them by mercury. He has only to condemn
the refractory to meagre fare, and then to tantalize them, as poor
Sancho was, in his government, with the sight, or rather smell, of a
savoury dish, and he will without doubt secure his object,—but, to be
serious, if Dr. Eberle’s views be correct, how will he explain the
modus operandi of _fear_, as related in the text? for the tendency of
fear is to _diminish_ the salivary secretion, as will be hereafter
mentioned.
Footnote 254:
Fear, contrary to joy, decreases, for a time, the action of the
extremities of the arterial system, as is seen by the sudden paleness
which succeeds, and the shrinking or contraction of the vessels of the
skin. M. de Haen relates the case of a painter who suffered
convulsions, which were succeeded by a return of his colic. In this
case the poison which had been, for a long time, admitted into his
constitution in consequence of his daily employment, was, by the
passion of anger, immediately brought into action. It was formerly
observed by Citois, that the inhabitants of the province of Poitou,
who had suffered anxiety of mind on account of any misfortune to
themselves or family, were particularly susceptible of the disease.
Footnote 255:
How admirably do the results of Majendie’s experiments coincide with
this reasoning; see page 84; and yet Dr. Eberle, in the work quoted
below, appears unwilling to admit such a theory.
Footnote 256:
A treatise of the Materia Medica, and Therapeutics, by J. Eberle, M.D.
In two volumes. Philadelphia, 1822.
Footnote 257:
In the same manner is the salivary secretion immediately influenced by
the operation of the mind; the sight of a delicious repast to a hungry
man is not more effectual in exciting it, than is the operation of
fear and anxiety in repressing and suspending it. Whence we are led to
believe, that the Hindoo Ordeal by Rice may have occasionally assisted
in the ends of Justice. This ordeal was conducted in the following
manner. The persons suspected of any crime being assembled in a ring,
a certain portion of dried rice was given to each, which they were
directed to chew for some minutes, and then to turn it out of their
mouths upon the leaves or bark of a tree. Those who were capable of
returning it in a pulpy form were at once acquitted, while those from
whose mouths it came out dry, were pronounced guilty. See Medical
Jurisprudence, Introduct. Vol. 1. p. viii.
Footnote 258:
The capacity of our digestive organs sufficiently testifies that
nature never intended them for the reception of highly concentrated
food, while this idea is farther strengthened by perceiving how
sparingly she produces concentrated aliment; the saccharine matter of
esculent fruits is generally blended with acidulous and mucilaginous
ingredients; and the oleaginous principle of seeds, kernels, and other
similar substances, is combined with farinaceous matter: the capacity
observable in the organs of graminivorous animals evidently shews that
they were also designed for a _large bulk_ of food, and _not_ for
provender in which the nutritive matter is concentrated; the
gramineous and leguminous vegetables do not present their nutritive
matter in a separate state, nor is the animal furnished with an
apparatus by which he can separate the chaff and straw from the
grain,—the obvious inference is, that he was intended to feed
indiscriminately on both.
Some years ago I constructed a Logometric scale of Equivalents,
analogous in principle to that which I have now introduced under the
title of the “MEDICINAL DYNAMETER,” to shew the relative nutritive
strength of different vegetables, and to work problems connected with
them; I soon found, however, that unless _bulk_ was taken into
calculation, it was incapable of furnishing even an approximation to
truth.
Footnote 259:
Med. Repos. Nov. 1822.
Footnote 260:
A Practical Inquiry into Disordered Respiration, p. 243.
Footnote 261:
D. Young’s Medical Literature, Edit. 2. p. 570.
Footnote 262:
The vegetable kingdom presents us with many natural compounds of this
kind; several of which might be pressed into the service of medicine
with much advantage. With respect to the number and variety of such
substances, it must be confessed that our Pharmacopœia contains but a
meagre bill of fare.
Footnote 263:
The same reasoning will explain why English hops, that contain more
Gallic Acid and Tannin than those imported from the Continent, are
found to be superior as preservatives of beer.
Footnote 264:
Therapeutics, vol. 2. p. 470.
Footnote 265:
This subject has been ably illustrated by Mr. R. Phillips, in his
translation of the London Pharmacopœia, by a series of vary striking
and instructive diagrams.
Footnote 266:
See my work on Medical Chemistry: Sect. Precipitation.
Footnote 267:
An ingenious application of this law has been made for the purpose of
purifying Epsom Salts. See _Magnesiæ Sulphas_; and also my work on
Medical Chemistry, _Art: Solution_.
Footnote 268:
Amœnitates Academ; T. 7. p. 307.
Footnote 269:
See also a paper in the MEDICAL TRANSACTIONS, vol. 2. entitled,
“Several extraordinary instances of the cure of Dropsy, by GEORGE
BAKER, M. D. Read September 9, 1771.”
Footnote 270:
The most subtle of all poisons,—_the matter of febrile contagion_,—is
certainly modified in activity by the degree of moisture in the
atmosphere influencing its solubility; the Plague is said to be most
common in Egypt after the inundation of the Nile, a period at which
the atmosphere is necessarily saturated with water; according to the
account of Sir Robert Wilson, the English and Turkish armies that
marched to Cairo escaped contagion, while the troops that remained
stationary on the moist shore of Aboukir, were very severely visited.
On the other hand, the _Harmattan_, a wind experienced on the western
coast of Africa, between the Equator and fifteen degrees _North
Latitude_, blowing from north-east towards the Atlantic, and which, in
consequence of its passage over a very extensive space of arid land,
is necessarily characterized by excessive dryness, puts an end to all
Epidemics, as the Small Pox; and infection at such a time does not
appear to be easily communicable even by art. _Philosophical
Transactions_, vol. 21.
The difficulty of communicating infection to animals during a dry
state of the air, as remarked on the Western Coasts of Africa, during
the blowing of the _Harmattan_, agrees with some observations on
Plague by the French physicians, as this complaint first made its
appearance in the French army during a moist state of the air in
Syria, when it lay under the walls of Jaffa in February, 1800.
It is a well known fact that volatile bodies are sooner converted into
a gaseous state by the presence of water in the atmosphere; this is
strikingly exemplified by the greater rapidity with which _Limestone_
is burnt and reduced to quick-lime in moist weather, and by the
assistance which is rendered in a dry season, by placing a pan of
water in the ash-pit; so again the perfume of flowers is most sensible
when the air is humid, as during the fall of the evening dew, or in
the morning when the dew evaporates, and is dissipated by the rays of
the rising sun; for the same reason the stench of putrid ditches and
common sewers, is conveyed to the organs of smell much more speedily
in summer previous to rain, when the air is charged with moisture.
Footnote 271:
They are previously calcined, but not burnt to lime, to an extent only
that may destroy their tenacity, and render them fit for levigation.
Footnote 272:
A similar custom is common to the Indians of the whole of Asia, and of
America; for the practice of the South American Indians, see
_Humboldt’s Personal Narrative_. In India, Betel, variously
compounded, is employed for the purpose above stated. The mixture more
commonly used in Ceylon consists of quick-lime, Arecanut, and Tobacco,
wrapped in Betel leaf. On ordinary occasions it is only masticated;
but to repress the painful calls of hunger, the juice is swallowed.
Footnote 273:
Vol. viii. p. 33.
Footnote 274:
Dr. MacCulloch, in illustration of this subject, states, that ink,
paste, and seeds, are among the common articles which suffer from such
a cause, and to which this remedy is easily applicable. With respect
to articles of food, such as bread, cold meats, or dried fish, it is
less easy to apply the remedy, on account of the taste; cloves,
however, and other spices whose flavours are grateful, may sometimes
be used for this end. It is notorious that gingerbread, and bread
containing caraway seeds, are far less liable to mouldiness than plain
bread. The effect of cloves in preventing the mouldiness of ink is
generally known; and the same result may be obtained by oil of
lavender in a very minute quantity, or by any other of the perfumed
oils. Russian leather, which is perfumed with the tar of the Birch
tree, is not subject to mouldiness, as must be well known to all who
possess books thus bound; they even prevent it from taking place in
books which are bound in calf, and near which they may happen to lie.
Paste is another perishable article, and although _Alum_ which is used
by the book-binder will certainly preserve it longer than it would
remain useful without it, still it is not very effectual. _Rosin_,
sometimes used by the shoemaker, answers the purpose better, and
appears to act entirely on this principle; it is however far less
effectual than even oil of turpentine; _Lavender_, and the other
strong perfumes, as _Peppermint_, _Anise_, and _Bergamot_, are
perfectly effectual, even in a very small quantity, and paste may be
thus preserved for any length of time.
Footnote 275:
Medical Logic, Edit. 2. p. 192, _note_.
Footnote 276:
It appears from what has been stated under Section I. B. with respect
to DIURETICS, that some medicines not only assist, but actually DIRECT
the operation of the substances with which they may be associated, and
that many remedies act in unison with those they are joined with; thus
_Nitre_ in conjunction with _Squill_ is diuretic; in conjunction with
_Guaiacum_, diaphoretic; for these reasons I hesitated whether I ought
not to have added a fifth _constituent_, and restored the “_Dirigens_”
of ancient authors; enough, however, has been said to enable the
practitioner to appreciate the importance of such a law of medicinal
combination.
Footnote 277:
Dr. Percival in his Essays, ingenuously exemplifies this error by
stating a case which occurred in his own practice. “I ordered,” says
he, “a combination of Camphor and Balsam of Copaiba in the form of
pills, but the apothecary informed me that he was unable to form them
into a mass, since they liquefied like treacle.” I may here observe
that the addition of a small portion of the coagulated yolk of an egg,
would have rendered the mixture practicable.
Footnote 278:
This would occur, if in making the Pilulæ Ferri Compositæ, we were to
substitute the Liquor Potassæ for the Sodæ Sub-carbonas.
Footnote 279:
The “Pharmacopœia Bateana” contains a Formula for a “Tinctura
Antiphthisica,” which is stated to be “a truly good medicament in
those consumptions which proceed from ulcers of the lungs.” The
following is the Receipt—℞. Sacch: Saturn: ℥ij—Sal Martis ℥j—Infus:
Spir: Vin: ℔j—Dose from twenty to forty drops. In this case an
insoluble Sulphate of Lead must be formed, which will render the
medicine, as far at least as its saturnine effects are concerned,
completely inert!
Footnote 280:
This fact has been very satisfactorily proved by the failure of the
practical attempts which were made by Dr. Macbride of Dublin, to
improve the art of tanning leather by the use of Lime-water, instead
of plain water, which he conceived would extract the virtues of Oak
Bark more completely. The reader who is desirous of a more detailed
account of this plan must refer to Phil. Trans. Vol. lxxiii. part 1,
Art. 8.
Footnote 281:
We trust these observations will not create any alarm in the worthy
Citizen; he may, with as much safety as pleasure, continue the
laudable practice of regaling himself and friends with a cup of strong
tea, in spite of the Turtle soup they may have taken, and that too
without the least danger of converting their stomachs into tanneries,
or their food into leather.
Footnote 282:
For a highly ingenious, and important extension of these views, see
Aqua Marina. (Note.)
Footnote 283:
M. Dive, an apothecary of Mont de Marson, has lately announced that a
current of carbonic acid, when passed through a solution of Tartrate
of Potass, partly decomposes it; and he ascribes to the same agent the
production of the Bi-tartrate in the juice of the grape during its
fermentation: accordingly, by mixing neutral tartrate with fermentable
materials, we shall produce Cream of Tartar in the fermented liquor.
Journal de Pharm. Octob. 1821. p. 487.
Footnote 284:
In one remarkable case related by this Physician, the operation of the
unbruised mustard-seed is stated to have been promoted by combining it
with a decoction of _Broom-tops_. Query, Was not the adjunct in this
case the only efficient part of the remedy?
Footnote 285:
The word “_Venenum_,” was employed by the ancients to signify both a
_poison_ and a _medicine_; in the former of these acceptations it is
used by Virgil in the following passage:
“Picus equum domitor, quem capta cupidine conjunx
Aurea percussum virga, versumque VENENIS,
Fecit avem Circe, sparsitque coloribus alas.”
Æneid. Lib. vii.
In the latter sense it is used by Plautus—
“Quia sorbitione faciam ego te hodie mea
Item, ut Medea Peliam concoxit senem,
Quem medicamentis, et suis VENENIS dicitur
Fecisse rursus ex sene adolescentulum
Item ego te faciam.”
Footnote 286:
See the dissertation on the operation of _Emetics_, page 84.
Footnote 287:
Cases and Observations, illustrating the influence of the Nervous
System, in regulating animal heat, by H. Earle, Esq.; published in the
7th volume of the Medico-Chirurgical Transactions.
Footnote 288:
By the use of this word I wish to be distinctly understood as
expressing only certain _effects_, without any regard to the causes
that may produce them. The phenomena of _Accumulation_ may on some
occasions depend upon the absolutely increased quantity of the
substance in the body, as in the instance of mercurial action, while
in others they may perhaps arise from the system becoming more and
more sensible to its stimulus. The history of Poisons would afford
some interesting illustrations of these views, and in another work
(Medical Jurisprudence, Vol. 2, p. 148), I have proposed a subdivision
of these bodies, under the title of “_Accumulative_ Poisons.”
Footnote 289:
“Diary of an Invalid.”
Footnote 290:
Med. Transact. Vol. 1, p. 5.
Footnote 291:
See Historical Introduction.
Footnote 292:
The Mechanical Physicians attempted to adjust the doses of medicines
according to the constitution, by a mathematical rule; thus they say,
“the doses are as the squares of the Constitution.” And in the
Edinburgh Medical Essays, there is actually a formal attempt to
correct the errors of this rule. See “An Essay towards ascertaining
the doses of vomiting and purging Medicines, by Dr. CHARLES BALGUY,
Physician at Peterborough.” Vol. 1. 167.
Footnote 293:
While this sheet was passing through the press, an anecdote was
related to me, which is well calculated to illustrate the mischief
that may arise from abbreviated prescriptions. One of our most eminent
surgeons having occasion to direct the application of a Lead Plaster
(Emplast: Lythargyi. P. L. 1787), he abbreviated the term as
follows—_Emp. Lyth:_ in the haste of compounding, the _h_, perhaps
carelessly written, was easily mistaken for _t_, and the chemist
accordingly sent the _Emplast: Lyttæ_! As it was applied to the
Pudenda, it is not necessary to state the distress of the patient, and
the dismissal of the practitioner, which followed.
Footnote 294:
Camphor, unless it be presented to the stomach in a state of minute
division, is liable to occasion heat and uneasiness in that organ.
Fothergill’s Med. Observ. vol. i. p. 432.
Footnote 295:
In some cases the subject to be pulverized has been previously exposed
to heat, but the doubtful influence of exalted temperature upon
vegetable bodies, ought to afford us a lesson of extreme caution; the
astringency of the stalks of the Artichoke is entirely destroyed by
being gently heated in an oven, for after this operation they no
longer strike a black colour with the salts of iron: another example
is afforded us in the effects of heat upon Starch, which is thus
changed into a species of gum, no longer producing a blue colour with
Iodine, and which is known in commerce under the name of “British
Gum.”
Footnote 296:
It is perhaps not generally known, that the sugared plumbs sold to
children consist very frequently of Plaister of Paris; the
introduction of such a substance into the intestines may often prove a
source of mischief. I also understand, that it is no uncommon fraud to
adulterate biscuits with the same substance. I confess I felt a great
inclination to oppose the practice, lately suggested, of improving bad
flour by the addition of Magnesia; I object to the introduction of any
foreign and insoluble substance into our daily bread, and I am
satisfied that the result of medical experience will sanction such an
objection.
Footnote 297:
Edition 2. 1823.—I shall avail myself of the present opportunity to
recommend this work to the perusal of every student who is ambitious
to become acquainted with the Literature of his profession.
Footnote 298:
Dr. Davy informs me that the _Veddahs_, a savage race inhabiting the
wilds of Ceylon, even in that hot climate, effectually preserve their
venison in honey.
Footnote 299:
There is one circumstance which sometimes renders the powder of
liquorice objectionable upon such occasions; it is liable to irritate
the fauces and occasion coughing: for this reason I always avoid its
use in cases of pulmonary irritation.
Footnote 300:
Some extracts become so hard, that in the state of pill they pass
unchanged; this has occurred to me with the _extract of logwood_.
Astringent vegetable matter, in combination with iron, is frequently
characterised by a hardness that is not exceeded by ebony, and which
is perfectly insoluble; the action of iron upon the petals of the red
rose furnishes a very striking instance of this fact; if the petals be
beaten in an iron mortar, for some hours, they ultimately become
converted into a paste of an intensely black hue; which, when rolled
into beads and dried, is susceptible of a most beautiful polish, still
retaining the fragrance of the rose. I have seen a necklace of this
description; indeed these beads form an article of extensive commerce
with the Turks, and are imported into Europe, through Austria, under
the name of _Rose Beads_ or _Rose Pearls_.
Footnote 301:
Crell’s Annals, 1798. vol. 1.
Footnote 302:
A remedy may even owe its virtues to a precipitation, produced by
admixture, as I have already stated.
Footnote 303:
See my work on MEDICAL CHEMISTRY, Sect. Cohesion.
Footnote 304:
Clyster from κλύζω eluo, to wash out.
Footnote 305:
Practical Observations on the Treatment and Cure of several Varieties
of Pulmonary Consumption; and on the Effects of the Vapour of Boiling
Tar in that Disease. By Sir A. Crichton, M. D. F. R. S. &c. London,
1823.
Footnote 306:
Pliny (Nat Hist. Lib. xxiii. cap. 6.) has the following interesting
allusion to the subject of Tar fumes, “Silvas eas duntaxat quæ picis
resinæque gratia raduntur, utilissimus esse phthisicis aut qui longa
ægritudine non recolligent vires, satis constat; et illum cæliaëra
plus ita quam navigationum Ægyptiani proficere, plus quam lactes
herbedos per montium æstiva potus.”
Footnote 307:
Εμβροκη, from βρεκω, _irrigo_.
Footnote 308:
_Illinire_, to besmear.
Footnote 309:
κολλυρὶον. This term was formerly applied to any medicament, solid or
liquid, employed to restrain defluxions; from κωλύω, _inhibo_ to stop,
and ῤοῦς _fluxio_, a running.
Footnote 310:
καταπλασσω _illino_, to besmear.
Footnote 311:
See _Pharmacopœia Chirurgica_.
Footnote 312:
Annales de Chimie, vol. xxxiii. p. 52.
Footnote 313:
A respectable Oilman of the name of STERRY, in the Borough, prepares a
plaster of this description, which is sought after with great avidity.
What a blessing it would be upon the community if every nostrum were
equally innocuous!
Footnote 314:
Persons who are exposed to fatigue by the standing posture, such as
washerwomen, &c. are particularly liable to sores of the legs, which
may be prevented and cured by affording this artificial support.
Footnote 315:
In my Lectures I have usually employed different colours for the
purpose of expressing the objects of each ingredient in a formula; in
this manner very useful and instructive charts might be constructed:
this hint may perhaps induce the industrious student, who is anxious
to become a master in the art of prescribing, to attempt a synopsis
upon this plan.
Footnote 316:
_In these Formulæ the Bark is decomposed, by the alkali; the
combination of the_ Kinic acid _and_ Cinchonia _being torn asunder;
but as the preparation is not filtered, the febrifuge principle is
taken into the stomach in a state of activity._
Footnote 317:
_This formula is introduced, as a combination supported by authority,
although it may be questioned whether its adoption can be sanctioned
upon principle. Let us decypher the intention of the different
ingredients by their_ KEY LETTERS. _The basis is Squill, to which
Digitalis is added, for the purpose we perceive of acting in unison
with it, and Calomel, which succeeds it, is intended to promote and
direct the diuretic Basis; two fœtid gums next present themselves to
our notice, and these are shewn by the bracket to exert a combined
action, depending, as the Key Letter announces, upon the medicinal
similarity, but acting in the general scheme of the formula, as shewn
by the exterior letter, for the purpose of fulfilling a second
indication, distinct and different from that which the Basis is
designed to answer, i. e. to produce, not a diuretic, but an
antispasmodic and stimulant effect; an important question then arises
for our consideration—Is the latter part of the formula consistent
with the former, or is the stimulant effect of the Gums compatible
with the sedative operation of Digitalis?_
Footnote 318:
Abĭes ab abeo, quod in cœlum longe abeat.
Footnote 319:
Dr. Maton, in his appendix to Mr. Lambert’s work on the genus _Pinus_,
observes that the _Thus_ of the ancients, (λὶβανος) does not appear to
have been the product of any species of Pinus, although we are
informed by Dioscorides (Lib. 1. c. 7.) that Pine resin was often
substituted for it. He describes, moreover, a method of distinguishing
between the two kinds; “Resin of the Pine,” says he, “when thrown into
the fire dissipates itself in smoke, whereas Frankincense burns with a
brisk flame, and with an odour that serves to detect the imposition.”
“Some authors, adds Dr. Maton, have considered the genuine λὶβανος
(_Thus_) to have been obtained from the Juniperus Lycia, and to
constitute the Olibanum of our shops, but I cannot find any passage in
the ancient authors sufficiently precise to corroborate this
conjecture.” Op: citat:
Footnote 320:
From α not, and ψὶντος pleasure.
Footnote 321:
Mouldiness is a peculiar plant, propagated by seeds, infinitely small;
Reaumur found the interior of an addled egg mouldy, hence the seeds
must have passed through the pores of the shell! Dr. Macculloch has
lately announced the curious fact, that the propagation of mouldiness
may be prevented by the presence of aromatic substances. See p. 177,
_Note._
Footnote 322:
This fact has enabled the Chemist to prepare an indelible ink, not
affected by acids.
Footnote 323:
KEYSER’S ANTIVENEREAL PILLS consist of this mercurial salt, triturated
with Manna.
Footnote 324:
Vinegar quenches the thirst, and is particularly refreshing after much
bodily exertion. It was this property that invigorated the soldiers of
Hannibal in their progress over the Alps; it is absurd to imagine that
Livy meant to assert that the rocks were _dissolved_ by Vinegar: the
expression is only metaphorical. See Sodæ Murias.
Footnote 325:
The varieties of vinegar known in commerce, are three, viz. _Wine_
Vinegar, _Malt_ Vinegar, and _Sugar_ Vinegar; to which may now be
added that from wood, and which is described under the title of ACIDUM
ACETICUM FORTIUS, or Acidum Aceticum, _e ligno destillatum_.
Footnote 326:
I apprehend that the superior power of animal charcoal, over that of
vegetable origin, in removing colouring matter, depends upon the
peculiar texture of the former. At the same time it must be
acknowledged, that there are certain phenomena which would appear to
indicate the existence of a chemical difference in these substances;
thus if Lime water be boiled with _animal_ charcoal, the whole of the
lime will be abstracted from the water, whereas the same effect is not
produced by the action of charcoal of _vegetable_ origin. See Liquor
Calcis.
Footnote 327:
The Sulphuric acid is added for the purpose of preserving the vinegar
from decomposition.
Footnote 328:
This quantity includes the alkali necessary to saturate the Sulphuric
acid which is allowed to be added. 145 grains of alkali is the
standard fixed by act of Parliament, which will be found to coincide
with the atomic weights of these bodies.
Footnote 329:
By _real_ Acetic acid is meant such an acid as occurs in a dry
acetate; it cannot exist uncombined with water, or a base.
Footnote 330:
This is a very ancient preparation, thus Ausonius,
“Scillato decies si cor purgeris aceto
Anticipitesque tuum Samii Lucomonis acumen.”
Footnote 331:
In following the directions of the College the first pint is rejected,
and this, according to Mr. Phillips (Remarks on the Pharmacopœia)
contains a notable quantity of acid. Hence Distilled Vinegar can never
be so strong as the Vinegar from which it is distilled.
Footnote 332:
Or it may be detected, in very minute quantities, by the elegant test
lately employed by Dr. Marcet, and which I have frequently repeated in
my Lectures with considerable satisfaction. It consists in adding a
little sulphuric acid with a small quantity of muriate of soda, and
then immersing a little gold leaf in the mixture, when after boiling
it, if any nitric acid should have been present, the gold leaf will be
dissolved.
Footnote 333:
It had been long known that by the destructive distillation of any
kind of wood, an acid is obtained, which was formerly considered of a
distinct and peculiar nature, and termed Acid Spirit of Wood, and
afterwards Pyroligneous Acid. Glauber appears to have been the first
chemist who was aware of its true nature, for he speaks of it as the
“Vinegar of Wood.” It was however reserved for Fourcroy and Vauquelin
to demonstrate its composition by experiment, and they have
accordingly proved beyond doubt that it is merely the Acetic acid,
contaminated with Empyreumatic oil and Bitumen. The address of modern
chemists has at length enabled them to get rid of every trace of these
latter ingredients, and to furnish an acid perfectly devoid of any
foreign flavour. The crude pyroligneous acid, as it is first received,
is rectified by a second distillation in a copper still, in the body
of which about 20 gallons of viscid tarry matter are left from every
100. It has now become a transparent brown vinegar, having a
considerable empyreuma; it is then redistilled and saturated with
quick-lime, and the liquid acetate is evaporated to dryness and
submitted to gentle torrefaction, in order to dissipate the
empyreumatic matter, and lastly the calcareous salt is decomposed by
sulphuric acid, when a pure, perfectly colourless, and grateful
vinegar rises in distillation.
Footnote 334:
This instrument was invented by Messrs. Taylors for this particular
purpose; the principle consists in forming a neutral salt with dry
hydrate of lime and the acid to be examined, and then taking the
specific gravity of the solution. Act 58. G. III. c. 65, § 8.
Footnote 335:
It may be necessary to state, that the Pharmaceutist should never
purchase acetic acid of greater strength than that of 75° of the
Acetometer, when it is intended for dilution, for although he might
thus avoid the expense of carriage, the saving will be more than
counterbalanced by the excessive duty levied upon acids above that
standard. There is moreover a great loss in the preparation of strong
acids, so that the manufacturer cannot afford to sell them at a price
which is merely proportional to their strength. Acid of 75° is
regularly kept by Messrs. Beaufoy for dilution, and if mixed with
eleven parts of pure water is equivalent to the common distilled
vinegar of the Pharmacopœia.
Footnote 336:
It ought to have been 1·048 of 55° Fah: but the error lies in the
scale of Taylor’s Acetometer, which appears to be incorrect at this
point.
Footnote 337:
I believe that no manufacturer, except Messrs. Beaufoy, makes an acid
stronger than this; the College sample was obtained from that house.
Footnote 338:
The Reviewer of Mr. Phillip’s Translation of the Pharmacopœia, in the
Royal Institution Journal for July, 1824, has fallen into an important
error upon this subject, against which it may be necessary to caution
the reader; he says, “the term ‘_diluted acetic acid_’ is properly
enough applied to Distilled Vinegar, but the process of distillation
might well have been rejected; for all medical purposes a dilute acid,
composed of one part of the concentrated acid, contained in the
Materia Medica, and four parts of water, is preferable. Of this
mixture, or of distilled vinegar, the specific gravity should be
1·009, and 1000 grains should saturate 145 grains of Sub-carbonate of
Soda.” The reviewer has mistaken the acid of sp. gr. 1·043 mentioned
by Phillips, as the strongest he has met with, for the Pharmacopœia
acid of sp. gr. 1·046; for, should he dilute the latter with only four
times its weight of water, he would produce a compound containing
5·686 per cent. of real acid, or one considerably stronger than the
strongest malt vinegar, and twice the strength of distilled vinegar.
The reviewer takes this occasion to indulge his favourite passion for
abusing the Pharmacopœia, and he asks with an air of sarcasm, Where
was Dr. Paris during the late revision? I answer—engaged in the
discharge of my duty as a humble member of the Committee, and I can
assure him that nothing which he has yet urged has convinced me that I
have failed in its fulfilment, or erred in its execution:—but it is
now my turn to enquire, and I do so with perfect good humour, where
the reviewer could have been when he composed the above passage? that
he was _not at home_, is I think sufficiently evident from the
statement which I have just offered.
Footnote 339:
A very useful practical application has been made of the Pyroligneous
Acid, for the purpose of correcting the excessive fœtor attendant upon
mortification. Dr. Samuel W. Moore of this city, (to whom we are
indebted for the suggestion,) has detailed the particulars of a case
of extensive mortification of the cheek, resulting from the use of
mercury, in which the acid was applied, and with the happiest success.
In a case of cancerous breast, it was also used with the same object,
and with similar effect. The mode of using it is simply to apply
pieces of lint or linen wet with the acid to the part affected. See
New-York Medical Repository, Vol. 22. p. 237.—_Ed._
Footnote 340:
AROMATIC VINEGAR is merely an acetic solution of camphor, oil of
cloves, of lavender, and of rosemary. The acetic acid used for this
purpose is about 145° of the acetometer, containing 68·5 per cent. of
real acid. A preparation of this kind may be extemporaneously made by
putting ʒj of Acetate of Potass into a phial with a few drops of some
fragrant oil, and in m xx of Sulphuric Acid.
THIEVES VINEGAR, or MARSEILLES VINEGAR, is a pleasant solution of
essential oils and camphor, in vinegar; the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia has
given a formula for its preparation under the title of “Acetum
Aromaticum.” The repute of this preparation as a prophylactic in
contagious fevers is said to have arisen from the confession of four
thieves, who, during the plague of Marseilles, plundered the dead
bodies with perfect security, and, upon being arrested, stated on
condition of their lives being spared, that the use of Aromatic
Vinegar had preserved them from the influence of contagion. It is on
this account sometimes called “Le Vinaigre des quatre voleurs.” It was
however long used before the Plague of Marseilles, for it was the
constant custom of Cardinal Wolsey to carry in his hand an orange,
deprived of its contents, and filled with a sponge which had been
soaked in vinegar impregnated with various spices, in order to
preserve himself from infection, when passing through the crowds which
his splendour or office attracted. The first Plague raged in 1649,
whereas Wolsey died in 1531. The French Codex has a preparation of
this kind, consisting of an acetic infusion of various aromatic herbs
and camphor, which is termed “Acetum Aromaticum Alliatum,” seu
“Antisepticum” _vulgo_ “des Quatre Voleurs.” p. 108. The German
Dispensatories abound with Medicated Vinegars, chiefly aimed against
Pestilential Diseases.
Footnote 341:
The more familiar of these are _Bitter Almonds_, the _Cherry Laurel_
(Lauro Cerasus,) the leaves of the _Peach tree_, the kernels of fruit,
pips of apples, &c. The prussic acid would appear to be most abundant
in the thin pellicle that envelopes the kernel; the fleshy parts of
these fruits do not contain it, and even the berries of the _Lauro
Cerasus_ may be eaten with impunity; and yet the distilled water, and
oil of this plant are the most destructive of all narcotic poisons, as
was evinced by the murder of Sir Theodosius Broughton, by Laurel
Water; and by the untimely fate of Dr. Price, of Guildford, in the
year 1782, who professing to convert Mercury into Gold, offered to
repeat his experiments before an adequate tribunal, but put a period
to his existence before the appointed day, by a draught of Laurel
Water. Consistent with theory, the watery extract of Laurel is
harmless, a fact easily explained, since the narcotic acid is entirely
volatilized before the fluid can assume the consistence of an extract.
The Laurel Water as a medicinal agent appears to have been long known.
Linnæus, informs us that it was frequently used in Holland, in
pulmonary consumption. (_Amænitat. Academ._ vol. iv. p. 40.) The Bark
of the _Prunus Padus_, or Bird Cherry Tree, was ascertained to contain
Prussic acid, by M. Bergemann, in 1811, and it is certainly a curious
fact, as Dr. Granville has observed, that superstitious people should
have selected the berries of this shrub to form necklaces, which are
hung round the neck of children to prevent fits and allay cough from
teething. For farther information upon this subject, the reader may
consult “The Chronological recapitulation respecting the Introduction
of the Prussic acid into the Practice of Physic,” in the work of Dr.
Granville, above cited.
Footnote 342:
See Journal of Science and the Arts, No. xxv.
The following table comprehends their results.
Quantity of liquid Acid. Specific Gravity. Real Acid per Ct.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
100·0 0·9570 16
66·6 0·9768 10·6
57·0 0·9815 9·1
50·0 0·9840 8·0
44·4 0·9870 7·3
40·0 0·9890 6·4
36·4 0·9900 5·8
33·3 0·9914 5·3
30·8 0·9923 5·0
28·6 0·9930 4·6
25·0 0·9940 4·0
22·2 0·9945 3·6
20·0 0·9952 3·2
18·2 0·9958 3·0
16·6 0·9964 2·7
15·4 0·9967 2·5
14·3 0·9970 2·3
13·3 0·9973 2·1
12·5 0·9974 2·0
11·8 0·9975 1·77
10·5 0·9978 1·68
10·0 0·9979 1·60
Footnote 343:
For a detailed account of this poison, see my work on Medical
Jurisprudence, vol. ii. p. 398.
Footnote 344:
It seems to be a contest for a shadow.
Footnote 345:
We agree with our author in the general estimate which he forms of the
Prussic Acid. The experience of practitioners in this country has by
no means confirmed the high expectations originally entertained of
this article. _Ed._
Footnote 346:
The only mineral substances in which this acid has been found is the
_Fer Azuré_ of Haiiy, and a new substance which is found accompanying
Welsh Culm, and of which I have given an account in the first volume
of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,
although in this latter instance it is probably a product, not an
educt.
Footnote 347:
The following is the chemical reasoning upon which this process is
founded. “The prime equivalent of prussic acid is exactly one-eighth
of that of the mercurial peroxide. But as the prussiate of mercury
consists of two primes of acid to one of base, or is in its dry
crystalline state a _By-cyanide_, we have the relation of one to four
in the formation of that salt, when we act on the peroxide with cold
prussic acid.” Hence is derived the above simple rule of analysis.
(Journal of Science and the Arts.) Upon the same principle it has been
already stated, that the quantity of real acetic acid, in any given
sample of distilled vinegar may be discovered by the test of carbonate
of lime, see _Acid. Acetic. Fort._ They furnish beautiful
illustrations of the practical importance of the doctrine of Definite
Proportions.
Footnote 348:
This offers a striking example of the confusion produced by the
constant changes in chemical nomenclature; in the former editions of
this work, the term _Hydro_ was prefixed to _Muriatic Acid_, as an
epithet expressive of the presence of _water_, whereas the same word
is now used to denote the existence of _Hydrogen_ as one of its
elements.
Footnote 349:
Dr. Powell directs only _two_ parts of acid; but this is evidently too
little, for it appears by Dr. Wollaston’s scale, that 3 parts of salt
require 2½ of oil of vitriol for their decomposition; and in addition
to this, the oxide of manganese will require a farther addition to
convert it into a sulphate.
Footnote 350:
As Chlorine is by pressure condensable into a liquid, tubes containing
a small quantity of it, and hermetically sealed, might be very
usefully employed for this purpose, since by breaking off the
extremity, the chlorine would instantly assume the gaseous state, and
diffuse itself through the apartment.
Footnote 351:
There is a curious illustration of this fact in the German
“_Ephemerides_;” the case of a person is described who had taken so
much Elixir of Vitriol that his keys were rusted in his pocket, by the
transudation of the acid through his skin!
Footnote 352:
Nitric acid may be considered as one of the most efficient agents in
our possession for exciting prompt vesication. For this purpose, we
believe it was first used in the epidemic Cholera of the East Indies,
and the success which attended it in that fatal disorder suggested its
application in a variety of other diseases. The mode of using it is to
rub the surface intended to be vesicated, with the pure acid, and as
soon as pain is produced, to neutralize the acid by washing the part
with a solution of salt of tartar. If the object is to continue the
irritation, a common blister may be laid upon the part. _Ed._
Footnote 353:
_Nitrous acid gas_ is a combination of nitrous gas and oxygen.
Footnote 354:
ELIXIR OF VITRIOL. The preparation sold under this name is the Acid:
Sulph: Aromat: E. and is imperfectly ætherial in its nature. It is a
grateful medicine. A spurious article is often sold for it, which is
nothing but the diluted acid, coloured by the addition of a tincture.
I will take this occasion to state, that the term Elixir is of Arabian
origin, viz. Elechschir, or Elikscir, i. e. an Essence, or pure mass
without any dregs.
Footnote 355:
The Dublin college, on the authority of Willdenow, admits the A.
Neomontanum, as the species of Aconite which has always been used in
medicine; although the other colleges, in consequence of a botanical
error of Stöerck, who introduced it into practice, direct the A.
Napellus.
Footnote 356:
See note under the article opium.
Footnote 357:
Axunge, from its being used as the grease of wheels, ab Axe rotarum
quæ unguuntur.
Footnote 358:
DR. SMELLONE’S OINTMENT FOR THE EYES. It consists of half a drachm of
Verdigris finely powdered and rubbed with oil, and then mixed with an
ounce of yellow Basilicon, (Ceratum Resinæ, P. L.)
Footnote 359:
Alcohol is a term of Alchemical origin, and signified the pure
substance of bodies, separated by sublimation from the impure
particles, as Alcohol Antimonii, &c.
Footnote 360:
Garlic, leeks, and onions constitute a tribe of culinary vegetables
that has undergone great vicissitudes in reputation: amongst the
Egyptians the onion and leek were esteemed as divinities, thus
Juvenal,
“O sanctas gentes quibus hæc nascuntur in hortis
NUMINA!”
while by the Greeks, garlic was detested, although their husbandmen
had been from the most remote antiquity in the habit of eating it,
which Æmilius Macer explains by supposing that its strong odour was
useful in driving away the venomous serpents and insects by which they
were infested.
Horace alludes to this custom in his 3d Epode, which he composed in
consequence of having been made violently sick by garlic at a supper
with Macænas.
“Cicutis Allium nocentius
O dura Messorum ilia!”
The most powerful antidotes to the flavour of this tribe of vegetables
are the aromatic leaves and seeds of the UMBELLIFERÆ; thus the
disagreeable odour of a person’s breath after the ingestion of an
onion is best counteracted by parsley; and if leek or garlic be mixed
with a combination of aromatic ingredients, its virulence will be
greatly mitigated and corrected, nor does the fact seem to have
escaped the observation of the husbandman in Virgil,
“Allia, Serpyllumque, herbas contundit olentes.”
Eclog. 2. line 11.
And the fact itself offers an additional illustration of the important
principle of combination, discussed at page 148.
Footnote 361:
TAYLOR’S REMEDY FOR DEAFNESS. Garlic infused in oil of almonds, and
coloured by alkanet root.
Footnote 362:
Dr. Sibthorpe, in his Flora Græca, states that the Aloe Vulgaris is
the true Aloe described by Dioscorides.
Footnote 363:
From the action which aloes exercises over the large intestines it has
long been supposed that the continued use of it caused the production
of hemorrhoids. It would seem hardly possible that an opinion, so
generally received, could be without some foundation; and, no doubt,
in many cases it may produce such an effect. In my own experience,
however, I do not recollect to have met with it in a single instance,
even where its use had been continued for several months in
succession.
_Ed._
Footnote 364:
ANDERSON’S PILLS consist of the Barbadoes Aloes with a proportion of
Jalap, and Oil of Aniseed.
HOOPER’S PILLS.—Pil. Alöes cum Myrrha, (Pil. Rufi) Sulphate of Iron,
and Canella Bark, to which is added a portion of Ivory Black.
DIXON’S ANTIBILIOUS PILLS.—Aloes, Scammony, Rhubarb, and Tartarized
Antimony.
SPEEDIMAN’S PILLS.—Aloes, Myrrh, Rhubarb, Extract of Chamomile, and
some Essential Oil of Chamomile.
DINNER PILLS—LADY WEBSTER’S, OR LADY CRESPIGNY’S PILL. These popular
pills are the “Pilulæ Stomachicæ,” vulgo, “Pilulæ ante cibum” of the
Codex Medicamentarius Parisiensis. Editio Quinta, A.D. 1758. viz. ℞.
Aloes optimæ ʒvj, Mastiches, et Rosarum rubrarum āā ʒij, Syrupi de
Absinthio q, s, ut fiat massa,—the mass is divided into pills of 3
grains each. The operation of this pill is to produce a copious and
bulky evacuation, and in this respect experience has fully established
its value. It is difficult to explain the modus operandi of the
Mastiche, unless we suppose that it depends upon its dividing the
particles of the Aloes, and thereby modifying its solubility.
FOTHERGILL’S PILLS.—Aloes, Scammony, Colocynth, and Oxide of Antimony.
PETER’S PILLS.—Aloes, Jalap, Scammony, and Gamboge, equal part
ʒij—Calomel ʒi.
RADCLIFFE’S ELIXIR—℞. Aloes Socot: ʒvi, Cort:—Cinnamon et Rad: Zedoar:
āā ʒss—Rad: Rhei ʒi.—Coccinel: ʒss—Syrup: Rhamni f℥ij—Spirit: Tenuior:
oj—Aquæ Puræ f℥v.
BEAUME DE VIE, see Decoct: Aloes compositum.
THE ELIXIR OF LONGEVITY, of Dr. Jernitz of Sweden. This is an aromatic
tincture, with Aloes.
Footnote 365:
The best mode of using alum as a styptic is that of a _tepid saturated
solution_. In this form it proves much more efficacious in arresting
hemorrhage than in the usual way of applying it. Dr. Scudamore, to
whom we are indebted for this observation, has detailed some striking
and interesting experiments satisfactorily proving its correctness.
See “Scudamore on the Blood.” p. 157.—_Ed._
Footnote 366:
GODFREY’S SMELLING SALTS. This highly pungent preparation is obtained
by resubliming the common sub-carbonate of ammonia with pearlash, and
a proportion of rectified spirit. The sub-carbonate of potass in this
case, abstracts a fresh portion of carbonic acid from the ammoniacal
salt. Its atomic composition has not yet been ascertained, but it will
probably be found to consist of equal atoms of carbonic acid and
ammonia, and must therefore be a true Carbonate.
Footnote 367:
It appears that this is not the only article that has suffered in its
quality by the cheap materials which have been brought into the market
from those works. I understand that the practical chemist can obtain
little or no Naphtha from the Barbadoes Tar, owing to its adulteration
with the residue of the gas light process.
Footnote 368:
NOYAU.—Crème de Noyau. Bitter Almonds blanched 1 oz. Proof spirit half
a pint, Sugar 4 oz. It is sometimes coloured with cochineal. The
foreign Noyau, although differently prepared, is indebted to the same
principle for its qualities. It is a liqueur of a fascinating nature,
and cannot be taken to any considerable extent without danger; the
late Duke Charles of Lorraine nearly lost his life from swallowing
some “Eau de Noyau,” (water distilled from Peach kernels) too strongly
impregnated. Journal des Debats, 22, Decembre, 1814.
Footnote 369:
ALMOND PASTE. This Cosmetic for softening the skin and preventing
chaps, is made as follows: Bitter almonds blanched 4 oz.; the white of
an egg; rose water and rectified spirit, equal parts, as much as is
sufficient.
Footnote 370:
For the derivation of this term, and remarks thereon, see p. 38.
(Note).
Footnote 371:
The fecula of various grains are employed as articles of diet for the
sick, e. g. SAGO, prepared from the pith of the Cycas Circinalis, its
granular form is imparted to it by passing it, when half dry, through
a coarse sieve. SALOP, from the Orchis Mascula. TAPIOCA from the root
of the Jatropa Manhiot. By expressing the root of this plant, the
juice of which is extremely acrid, and baking the cake that is left,
an alimentary substance is prepared called CASSAVA, the peculiar merit
of which, like tapioca, is to swell and soften in water, and thus to
make an excellent pudding. ARROW ROOT is from the Maranta Arundinacea.
The arrow root however, usually sold, is the fecula of potatoes; 100
lbs. of which would yield about 10 lbs. of fecula, and it is worthy of
remark that for this purpose frozen potatoes answer as well as those
not spoiled by the frost. Dr. Ainslie, in his Materia Medica of
Hindostan, informs us that “an excellent Arrow root, if it may be so
called, is now prepared in the Travancore country from the root of the
Curcuma Angustifolia, no way inferior to that obtained from the
Maranta Arundinacea.”
Footnote 372:
The method of deducing the value of seeds, from their relative
weights, appears to have been one of the earliest instances of the art
of taking specific gravities; thus Pliny (Nat. Hist. lib. xviii.)
estimated the relative weights of several species of grain.
Footnote 373:
CHAMOMILE DROPS. The nostrum sold under this name is a spirit
flavoured with the essential oil of Chamomile. It is very obvious that
it cannot possess the bitter tonic of the flowers.
Footnote 374:
THE EVERLASTING PILL of the ancients consisted of _metallic_ Antimony,
which being slightly soluble in the gastric juice was supposed to
exert the property of purging as often as it was swallowed. This was
economy in right earnest, for a single pill would serve a whole family
during their lives, and might be transmitted as an heir-loom to their
posterity. We have heard of a Lady who having swallowed one of these
pills, became seriously alarmed at its not passing; upon sending
however for her physician, he consoled her with the assurance that it
had already passed through a hundred patients with the best effect.
Footnote 375:
The manner of doing it among the Turks, is described by Shaw and
Russel. Chateaubriand also remarks, “The women of Athens appear to me
smaller and less handsome than those of the Morea, their practice of
painting the orbits of the eyes blue, and the ends of the fingers red,
is disagreeable to the stranger.” Dr. Badham has also given us an
interesting note upon this subject in his learned Translation of
Juvenal. Sat. II. 1. 141. See also the present work, p. 49.
Footnote 376:
The Sulphuret of Antimony is an ingredient in SPILSBURY’S DROPS. See
Hydrargyri Oxy-murias. Dr. Duncan also observes that it seems to
constitute a quack remedy which has acquired some reputation in
Ireland for the cure of cancer, where it is used as an external
application to the sore.
Footnote 377:
This saline body was first made known by Adrian de Mynsicht in his
Thesaurus Medico-chymicus, published in 1631; although it appears
probable that the preparation was suggested by a treatise, entitled
“Methodus in Pulverem,” published in Italy in 1620. This book, written
by Dr. Cornachinus, gives an account of a method of preparing a powder
which had been invented by Dudley, Earl of Warwick, and which had
acquired considerable celebrity in Italy; this powder was composed of
Scammony, Sulphuret of Antimony, and Tarter, triturated together.
Footnote 378:
There is a Tartrate of Antimony, but it can scarcely be made to
crystallize; it easily assumes a gelatinous form; and it may be here
observed that Antimony is one of those metals whose oxides seem to
combine with difficulty, and to form compounds of little permanency
with acids, unless there be present at the same time an alkali or
earth; and their solutions, in most cases, yield, on dilution, a white
precipitate.
Footnote 379:
The compound of Tartarized Antimony and Bark, is said to purge, and to
constitute the “Bolus ad Quartanas” of the French physicians.
Footnote 380:
The Sugar is added with a view to prevent the ointment from becoming
rancid.
Footnote 381:
NORRIS’S DROPS. A solution of tartarized antimony in rectified spirit,
and disguised by the addition of some vegetable colouring matter. I am
credibly informed that the original recipe contained opium, but that
which I have examined, and which was procured from a respectable
agent, yielded no indications of its presence.
Footnote 382:
Hard water has a tendency to produce diseases in the spleen of certain
animals, especially sheep: this is the case in the eastern side of the
island of Minorca, as we are informed by Cleghorn. The mischievous
tendency of bad water, where it cannot be corrected by some chemical
process, would seem to be best counteracted by bitter vegetables.
Virey supposes that this circumstance first induced the Chinese to
infuse the leaves of the tea plant.
Footnote 383:
Alpini informs us that Elephantiasis is endemial in Egypt; Galen
ascribes it to the impure waters of the Nile, and Lucretius adopted
the same opinion.
“Est Elephas morbus, qui propter flumina Nili
Gignitur Ægypto in Medio.”
Footnote 384:
Dr. Percival observes that bricks harden the softest water, and give
it an aluminous impregnation; the common practice of lining wells with
them, is therefore very improper, unless they be covered with cement.
Footnote 385:
The same strumous affection occurs at Sumatra, where ice and snow are
never seen; while, on the contrary, the disease is quite unknown in
Chili and Thibet, although the rivers of these countries are chiefly
supplied by the melting of the snow with which the mountains are
covered. The trials of Captain Cook, in his voyage round the world,
prove the wholesomeness of _Ice water_ beyond a doubt; in the high
southern latitudes he found a salutary supply of fresh water in the
ice of the sea; “this melted ice,” says sir John Pringle, “was not
only sweet but soft, and so wholesome as to shew the fallacy of human
reasoning unsupported by experiments.”
Footnote 386:
I take this opportunity of observing that I have made analyses of
several of those springs in Cornwall, which have from time immemorial
enjoyed a reputation in the neighbourhood for curing diseases, amongst
which were the waters of Holywell, so named from its supposed virtues,
and those of Permiscen Bay, equally extolled for their medicinal
qualities. But I have only been able to detect minute quantities of
carbonate of lime, derived from infiltration through banks of
calcareous sand. See Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of
Cornwall, Vol. I.
Footnote 387:
See “Remarks on the Pump water of London,” by W. Heberden, M. D. in
the 1st. vol. of the Medical Transactions; also, Acad. Royale des
Scienc. 1700, Hist. pag. 58. Perrault Vitruve. L. VIII. c. 5.
Footnote 388:
I am informed by a respectable chemist in this town, that he sells a
large quantity of alum for this very purpose, as well as to publicans
for the sake of clearing their spirituous liquors; for the same end,
we are told, that the wine merchants in Paris put into each cask of
wine as much as a pound of alum.
Footnote 389:
This is particularly the case with respect to the water of the River
Thames; for as it contains but a small proportion of saline matter, it
is remarkably soft, although it holds suspended mud, and vegetable and
animal debris, which occasion it to undergo a violent change on being
kept: a large volume of carburetted and sulphuretted hydrogen gases is
evolved, and it becomes black and insufferably offensive; upon racking
it off however into large earthen vessels, and exposing it to the air,
it gradually deposits a quantity of black slimy matter, and becomes as
clear as crystal, and perfectly sweet and palatable, and is
exceedingly well adapted for sea store. “THE NEW RIVER WATER” contains
a small proportion of muriate of lime, carbonate of lime, and muriate
of soda; it differs also in its gaseous contents: 100 cubic inches of
New River Water contain 2·25 of carbonic acid, and 1·25 of common air,
whereas the water of the Thames contains rather a large quantity of
common air, and a smaller proportion of carbonic acid.
Footnote 390:
The law which determines such combinations has been investigated with
singular ingenuity and success by Dr. Murray, (Transactions of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1816). Berthollet had already established
the important fact, that combinations are often determined by the
force of cohesion, in such a manner, that in principles acting on each
other, those on which this force operates most powerfully, in relation
to the fluid which is the medium of action, are combined together;
hence from a knowledge of the solubility of the compounds which
substances form, we may predict what combinations will be established
when they act on each other, those always combining which form the
least soluble compounds. It is for the extension of these views, and
for the useful application of them, that we are indebted to Dr.
Murray, who justly observes that if the force of cohesion can so far
modify chemical attraction, as to establish among compound salts
dissolved in any medium, those combinations whence the least soluble
compound are formed, we are entitled to conclude that the reverse of
this force, i. e. the power of a solvent, may produce the opposite
effects, or cause the very reverse of these combinations to be
established, so that in a concentrated medium the least soluble will
be formed, and in a dilute one, the more soluble compounds will be
established. Hence follows the simple rule by which the actual state
in which saline bodies exist in a solution may be determined, viz.
that in any fluid containing the elements of compound salts, the
binary compounds existing in it will be generally those which are most
soluble in that fluid, and the reverse combinations will only be
established by its concentration favouring the influence of cohesion.
It appears that by simply evaporating a saline solution we may produce
changes in its composition, and obtain products which never existed in
its original state of dilution; thus, suppose muriate of magnesia and
sulphate of soda to be dissolved in water, as is actually the case in
the water of the ocean, and the solution to be concentrated by
evaporation from heat; the combinations of sulphate of magnesia and
muriate of soda, being on the whole less soluble in water, this
circumstance of inferior solubility, or the force of cohesion thus
operating, actually determines the formation of these compounds; and
the production of sulphate of magnesia from the bittern is to be
explained upon this principle. Since it appears therefore that the
influence of solubility is most important, temperature, to whose
dominion it is under all circumstances subject, must necessarily be
alike powerful; let us exemplify this fact by the action of the very
salts under consideration; it has been just stated that muriate of
magnesia and sulphate of soda decompose each other in a concentrated
solution at a high temperature, producing muriate of soda and sulphate
of magnesia, but at temperatures below 32° the reverse actually takes
place, muriate of soda and sulphate of magnesia reacting, and being
converted into sulphate of soda and muriate of magnesia; a fact
evidently owing to the relation of the solubility of these salts to
temperature. Muriate of soda has its solubility scarcely altered,
either by heat or cold; sulphate of soda is, in these respects,
completely the reverse; hence at an elevated temperature, muriate of
soda is the least, and sulphate of soda the most soluble salt, whilst
at a low temperature, the reverse of this happens. All the
circumstances of this investigation are most interesting; the medical
practitioner will at once perceive its importance, as enabling him to
appreciate the real nature of saline solutions, and even in many
instances to preserve their identity. See Aquæ Minerales.
Footnote 391:
There is a precaution respecting the preservation of these waters for
analysis with which the chemist ought to be acquainted; it will be
fully explained by the relation of the following anecdote. M. Wurza,
on examining some bottles of Chalybeate water, could detect no signs
of iron in them, and on seeking for the cause of this circumstance, he
discovered it in the astringent nature of the corks which had combined
with the metallic substance, and abstracted it from the water.
Footnote 392:
The Mineral Springs in the United States more especially deserving of
notice, are those of Saratoga and Ballston in the State of New-York,
and of Schooley’s Mountain in New-Jersey. Of the two first, various
analyses have been published by different chemists, but with so little
uniformity of result as to leave their true chemical character still
in a state of uncertainty. An account of these discrepancies may be
seen in the New-England Journal of Medicine and Surgery for 1817. As
the analyses of Dr. Steel appear upon the whole to be most
satisfactory, we shall quote them. One gallon of the water was the
quantity used in the experiments.
BALLSTON.
1. _Public Spring._ Temperat. 50° Fahr.
Muriate of Soda, 159.
Carbonate of Soda, 9.
Carbonate of Lime, 75.5
Carbonate of Magnesia, 2.5
Carbonate of Iron, 7.
—————
253. grs.
Carbonic Acid 210 cubic inches.
2. _Low’s Spring._ Temperat. 52°.
Muriate of Soda, 142.
Carbonate of Soda, 10.
Carbonate of Lime, 64.5
Carbonate of Magnesia, 1.5
Carbonate of Iron, 6.
—————
224. grs.
Carbonic Acid 220 cubic inches.
3. _New Spring._ Temperat. 50°.
Muriate of Soda, 145.
Carbonate of Soda, 12.
Carbonate of Lime, 61.5
Carbonate of Magnesia, 9.
Carbonate of Iron, 7.5
—————
235. grs.
Carbonic Acid 159.5. cubic inches.
SARATOGA.
1. _Congress Spring._ Temperat. 50°.
Muriate of Soda, 471.5
Carbonate of Lime, 178.476
Carbonate of Soda, 16.5
Carbonate of Magnesia, 3.356
Carbonate of Iron, 6.168
———————
676. grs.
Carbonic Acid 343 cubic inches.
More recently this Spring has been analyzed by the late Professor DANA,
and, according to him, the constituents in one quart of water are the
following:
Bi-carbonate of Lime, 51.080 grs.
Bi-carbonate of Soda, 18.478
Chloride of Sodium, (common salt,) 97.080
Chloride of Magnesium, (Mur. of 9.140
Magnesia,)
Silex, with a trace of Iron, 1.500
———————
177.278 grs.
Uncombined Carbonic Acid Gas, 36.90 cubic inches.
Azote, 1.80
—————
38.70[393]
2. _Columbian Spring._ Temperat. 50°.
Muriate of Soda, 201.5
Carbonate of Soda, 22.5
Carbonate of Lime, 121.
Carbonate of Magnesia, 1.5
Carbonate of Iron, 7.5
—————
354. grs.
Carbonic Acid 236 cubic inches.
3. _High rock Spring._ Temperat. 48°.
Muriate of Soda, 210.
Carbonate of Soda, 18.
Carbonate of Lime, 115.
Carbonate of Magnesia, .5
Carbonate of Iron, 4.5
—————
348. grs.
Carbonic Acid 243 cubic inches.
SCHOOLEY’S MOUNTAIN.
According to the analysis of Dr. M‘Nevin, these waters consist of
Extractive, 0.92
Muriate of Soda, 0.43
Muriate of Lime, 2.40
Muriate of Magnesia, 0.50
Carbonate of Lime, 7.99
Sulphate of Lime, 0.65
Carbonate of Magnesia, 0.40
Silex, 0.80
Carbonated Oxyd of Iron, 2.00
Loss, 0.41
—————
16.50
The diseases in which the Ballston and Saratoga waters have been
recommended are dyspepsia, hypochondriasis, hysteria, dropsy,
paralysis, chronic gout, rheumatism, chlorosis, suppression of the
menses, and diseases of the bladder and kidneys. The waters of
Schooley’s Mountain, besides their general utility in diseases of the
digestive organs, have proved eminently successful in calculous
affections. _Ed._
Footnote 393:
New-York Med. and Phys. Journal, No. 21. p. 73.
Footnote 394:
For the same purpose the French employ a pomatum prepared with the
oxide of bismuth, and it is said to answer the intention.
Footnote 395:
PERMANENT INK FOR MARKING LINEN. This preparation is a solution of
nitrate of silver, thickened with sap green, or cochineal. The
preparing liquid, or Pounce liquid, as it is technically called, with
which the linen to be marked is previously wetted, is a solution of
soda, boiled with gum, or some animal mucilage. It is a curious
circumstance, that if potass be used for this purpose, the marking ink
will run.
Footnote 396:
Nitrate of Silver is commonly called an Escharotic. This, however,
gives no just idea of the properties of this valuable article, or of
the uses to which it may be applied. As a local application in cases
of external inflammation, punctured wounds, and ulcers, I have found
it a remedy of surpassing utility. It is to Mr. Higginbottom that we
are indebted for the full developement of this subject.—See “An Essay
on the use of Nitrate of Silver, in the cure of Inflammation, Wounds,
and Ulcers.” _Ed._
Footnote 397:
Horse-radish; horse-mint; bull-rush; &c. These epithets are Grecisms;
ιππος and βους, i. e. horse and bull, when prefixed to any word,
signified no more than great; thus the great Dock, Hippo-lapathum, and
the horse of Alexander from the size of his head was named Bucephalus.
Footnote 398:
An infusion of horse-radish is a very ancient remedy in disorders of
the stomach. In Paulus Ægineta we shall find a letter written by
Carytius Antigonus, in which it is highly recommended for such a
purpose.
Footnote 399:
The chemist may satisfy himself of this fact by heating some arsenious
acid on a piece of platinum foil, and alternately raising and
depressing it into the blue flame of the spirit, when corresponding
changes in odour will take place.
Footnote 400:
It will probably afford a satisfactory explanation of the circumstance
mentioned by Dr. Percival, that the workmen who solder silver
filligree with an arsenical alloy, are never affected by the fumes.
Dr. Percival does not appear to have been in the least aware of the
probable reason of this fact; he says, “This solder is melted by the
flame of a lamp directed by a blow-pipe; the greatest part of the
arsenic is evaporated by the blast and flame, and some part also of
the rest of the solder, and yet the men appear to enjoy as good
health, and to live as long as other artists! Amongst other examples
of the truth of this observation, I lately saw in the manufactory at
the Soho at Birmingham, a man of more than fifty years of age, who had
soldered silver filligree for thirty-five years, and had regularly,
during that period, passed from eight to ten hours daily in his
occupation, and yet he was fat, strong, active, cheerful, and of a
complexion by no means sickly; neither he nor his brother artists use
any means to counteract the effect of their trade.” Dr. Rotheram, in a
letter to Dr. Percival, comments upon this fact, and says, “how far
the fluxes used in soldering the filligree may fix the parts of the
arsenic, or from what cause these workmen might escape, I dare not
say, but I should notwithstanding strongly suspect the fumes of this
very volatile and caustic mineral to be very prejudicial.”—I have
shewn above that arsenious acid is readily decomposed when heated in
contact with an oxidable metal, and I apprehend that this fact will
explain the reason why the fumes of the alloy in question are disarmed
of their virulence.
Footnote 401:
In my work on Medical Jurisprudence, (Vol. ii. p. 216) the reader will
find a very full account of the symptoms produced by this poison.
Footnote 402:
PLUNKETT’S OINTMENT, consists of arsenious acid, sulphur, and the
powdered flowers of the Ranunculus Flammula, and Cotula Fœtida,
levigated and made into a paste with the white of an egg, and applied,
on a piece of pig’s bladder, to the surface of the cancer.
PATE ARSENICALE. This favourite remedy of the French surgeons consists
of 70 parts of cinnabar, 22 of sanguis draconis, and 8 of arsenious
acid, made into paste with saliva, at the time of applying it. This
combination, observes a periodical writer, is similar, with the
exception of the ashes of the soles of old shoes, to that recommended
by Father Cosmo under the name of “Pulvis Anti-carcinomatosa.”
DAVIDSON’S REMEDY FOR CANCER, arsenious acid, and powdered hemlock.
Footnote 403:
In the Journal de Medicine, the following case of a woman is related
who was killed by her husband having insinuated powdered arsenic into
the vagina, at the moment of enjoying the conjugal rites. “A woman at
Leneux, department de l’Ourthe, aged 40, having died after a short
illness, attended with considerable tumefaction of the genital parts,
uterine hemorrhage, vomiting, and purging, the body was inspected by
order of the mayor, when the surgeons reported that they found the
vulva in a state of gangrene, the abdomen much distended with air, and
the intestines inflamed and gangrenous. The culprit was arrested,
convicted, and executed.” In the Acts of the Society of Medicine of
Copenhagen, a similar crime is recorded, committed also by a peasant;
in this latter case, although some small pieces of arsenic were found
within the vagina, yet, some doubting the possibility of this species
of poisoning, the magistrates consulted the College of Medicine of
Copenhagen, who decided the question in the affirmative, by
instituting a series of experiments upon horses.
SINGLETON’S EYE SALVE, OR GOLDEN OINTMENT. Under this name is sold a
preparation which consists of sulphuret of arsenic (orpiment) with
lard, or spermaceti ointment. The Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitrico Oxydi
of the London College is also sold under the same title.
DELCROIX’S POUDRE SUBTIL, “for removing superfluous hair in less than
ten minutes.”! This fashionable depilatory appears upon examination to
consist of Quick-lime and Sulphuret of Arsenic, with some vegetable
powder. It is, however, so unequally mixed, that in submitting it to
analysis, no two portions afforded the same results. It can scarcely
be necessary to state, that such a composition is incapable of
fulfilling the intention for which it is so confidently vended.
In Paris, arsenic forms the basis of several blistering cerates. Such
applications cannot be safe.
Footnote 404:
This substance may be considered as consisting of charcoal, in a state
of extremely minute division, and the sub-carbonate of potass. It is
prepared by deflagrating, in a crucible, two parts of Super-tartrate
of Potass with one part of Nitrate of Potass.
Footnote 405:
In order to close the end of the tube, where a blow-pipe is not to be
procured, the end is to be placed in a common fire, until it is
completely softened, and a pair of small tongs being at the same time
made red hot, the tube is to be withdrawn from the fire, and then
heated and pinched by the tongs, and at the same time bent up at an
acute angle, so as to be brought parallel to the body of the tube. The
tube is then to be heated a second time, and being again firmly
pinched by the hot tongs, the end will be found to be completely
impervious. Where a glass is not at hand Mr. R. Phillips says a common
draught phial may be made to answer the purpose, especially a _ten
drachm_ phial, for it is long in proportion to its diameter. In using
it, however, care must be taken that the suspected powder and black
flux do not reach the bottom, for, on account of its thickness, it
will readily break on the application of heat. The phial must
therefore be heated laterally by means of a spirit lamp.
Footnote 406:
Dr. Bostock has informed us that the best proportions for this coating
are one part of common pipe clay, to three parts of fine sand; which
are to be well kneaded together, and reduced to such a state of
tenacity that the lute will readily adhere to the tube, and its
different parts unite, without forming a visible seam, (Edinb. Med. &
Surg. Journ. April, 1809.)
Footnote 407:
Should the operator be unable to procure a spirit lamp, a very
convenient substitute may be provided in the following manner. Let a
piece of tin plate, about an inch long, be coiled up into a cylinder
of about ⅜ths of an inch in diameter, and, if the edges be well
hammered, it is not necessary to use solder. Perforate a cork,
previously fitted to a phial, and put a cotton wick through the short
tin tube, and the tube through the cork. The lamp is now complete, and
will afford a strong flame, taking care of course not to prevent the
rise of the spirit by fitting the cork too closely.
Footnote 408:
In the celebrated case of Kesler, who was tried in the state of
New-York some few years ago, for having poisoned his wife with
arsenic, this very question was agitated, and gave rise to much
learned controversy. The physicians originally called to examine the
body of the deceased, found, on dissection, the stomach and intestines
highly inflamed, and on the inner surface of the stomach, particles of
a vitreous appearance. These particles were subjected to various
chemical tests, all of which very strikingly concurred in confirming
the suspicion that they were arsenic. Upon this, in connexion with the
other testimony adduced in the case, the prisoner was found guilty and
condemned to death. The minutes of the trial were transmitted by the
presiding judge (Yates) to Governor Clinton, who submitted the
professional part of them to Dr. M‘Nevin of New-York, for his opinion
in relation to it. Thus called upon, Dr. M. seems to have considered
that his only duty was to find fault. Objections were accordingly
raised against every test hitherto employed by the best chemists for
the detection of arsenic. They were all pronounced to be uncertain,
and “_the only thing to be relied on_,” according to him, was “_the
exhibition of the metal itself in its metallic lustre and state_.” In
consequence of this difference of opinion, the execution of Kesler was
suspended by the Governor, and the whole case referred by him to the
Legislature. That distinguished body appointed a committee to
investigate the business, and the result was that the original verdict
of the jury was confirmed by the Legislature, and the criminal was
executed. It must furnish a source of the purest gratification to the
medical witnesses concerned in this case, to find their opinions so
unequivocally and so justly confirmed by an authority so high as Dr.
Paris. For a detailed account of this trial we refer to Beck’s Medical
Jurisprudence, vol. 2, p. 239.—_Ed._
Footnote 409:
If any trifling opacity occur in a simple solution of arsenic, when
assayed by the nitrate of silver, it may be considered as the effects
of some casual impurities; this is further demonstrated by bringing
over the surface of the arsenical liquid, a piece of blotting paper,
or a stopper, moistened with a solution of ammonia, when there will
instantly form a copious yellow precipitate of arsenite of silver. If
this experiment be performed on a surface of glass, laid over white
paper, the result is very striking and beautiful.
Footnote 410:
Annals of Philosophy, vol. x, p. 60.
Footnote 411:
London Medical and Physical Journal, January, 1818.
Footnote 412:
In Wine and Porter, the solvent is probably Tartaric acid, for the
Arsenite of Silver is soluble in this as well as in the acetic and
nitric acids. In Tea the solvent would appear to be Tannin. The
Arsenite of Silver is likewise dissolved by the Tartaric acid, and
also, but not so readily, by the Citric and Acetic acids.
Footnote 413:
This opinion has lately received ample confirmation from the
experiments of Dr. Christison, (Edinb. Med. and Surg. Journal, July,
1824) who has shewn that the process of Orfila is objectionable on the
three following grounds, viz.
1st. The colour is very seldom so entirely destroyed but that the
precipitates produced by some of the tests still deviate to a certain
degree from their characteristic tints; and although the colour of the
fluid be even destroyed entirely, it often re-appears in the
precipitates.
2d. Although the Chlorine destroys the colour, it does not also take
from the fluid its solvent action on the arsenical precipitates.
3d. In fluids decolorized by Chlorine, and containing no Arsenic, some
of the tests produce precipitates, not only precisely the same with
those which they cause in the decolorized solutions of Arsenic, but
likewise very similar in appearance to those caused in a pure aqueous
solution of Arsenic.
Footnote 414:
The experiments by which I ascertained this fact were made soon after
the publication of Mr. Phillips’s paper, and long before I saw Dr.
Christison’s communication in the Edinburgh Journal. I merely mention
this circumstance to add greater weight to the experimental evidence,
for when different persons arrive at the same conclusion without any
communication with each other, the strongest possible testimony is
afforded. I may also add that my suspicions were raised to the
probability of the fact by a knowledge of the action of charcoal upon
lime water. In a philosophical point of view the fact is one of great
interest; it seems to connect the phenomena of mechanical and chemical
attraction. We have evidently a body removed from the state of
solution by mechanical means.
Footnote 415:
The following is the formula for its preparation. Dissolve ten grains
of lunar caustic in ten times its weight of distilled water, to this
add, _guttatim_, liquid ammonia, until a precipitate is formed:
continue cautiously to add the ammonia, repeatedly agitating the
mixture until the precipitate is nearly redissolved. The object of
allowing a small portion to remain undissolved is to guard against an
excess of ammonia. Wherever the test is used, the liquid to which it
is added ought to be quite cold.
Footnote 416:
This is very important, for an excess of ammonia redissolves the
yellow precipitate, and therefore defeats the object of the test. The
fixed alkalies, in excess, have not such a property.
Footnote 417:
The great impression made upon the public mind in Cornwall, by the
above trial, produced a disposition to regard the cause of every
sudden death with more than usual jealousy. See a Report of this trial
in the Appendix of our work on Medical Jurisprudence.
Footnote 418:
In consequence of a report having arisen that a young woman had died
after an illness of forty-eight hours, and been hastily buried at
Madron, the magistrates of that district issued their warrant for the
disinterment of the body, and requested my attendance at the
examination. It appeared upon dissection that the immediate cause of
death had been inflammation of the intestines; the stomach was found
to contain a considerable portion of liquid, which was carefully
collected and examined; no solid matter could be discovered in it. It
appeared to consist principally of the remains of a quantity of
penny-royal tea, which had been the last thing administered to the
deceased. This was divided into several portions, and placed in
separate wine glasses, and submitted, in the presence of the sheriff
and other gentlemen, to a series of experiments, amongst which the
following may be particularized, as bearing upon the question at
issue.
1st. A few drops of a solution of sub-carbonate of potass were added
to the liquid, in one of the glasses, when its colour, which was
before of a light hazel, was instantly deepened into a reddish yellow;
the sulphate of copper was then applied, when a precipitate fell down,
which every one present immediately pronounced to be of a _vivid
green_ hue, but in pouring off the supernatant liquid, and
transferring the precipitate upon white paper, it assumed a blue
colour, without the least tinge of green; the explanation of the
phenomenon, and the fallacy to which it gave rise, was obvious: the
yellow colour, imparted to the liquid by the alkali, was the effect of
that body upon vegetable extract, and will generally take place on
adding it to the infusions of vegetable substances.
2nd. To another portion of the liquid, the ammoniaco-nitrate of silver
was added; a slight turbidness arose, but no yellow precipitate
occurred.
3rd. After adding a fixed alkali, the surface of the liquid was
touched with a stick of lunar caustic, but no yellow precipitate was
produced.
4th. The liquid was next assayed in a watch-glass, for a phosphate of
soda, by endeavouring to form a triple salt with magnesia and ammonia,
as suggested by Dr. Wollaston; the result proved that phosphate of
soda was not present. It is unnecessary to pursue the relation of the
experiments; I conceive that sufficient evidence has been adduced to
establish the truth of the explanation. I have frequently repeated the
first experiment, substituting for the gastric infusion, a decoction
of onions, and with similar results.
Footnote 419:
This explanation applies equally to the objection lately advanced by
Dr. Porter, of the University of South Carolina, who in observing on
the tests for arsenic, remarks, that an appearance similar to
Scheele’s Green, is produced by the carbonate of potass when added to
a solution of copper containing coffee, but without arsenic, more
striking than if a weak solution of arsenic be used. Silliman’s
Journal, iii. 365.
Footnote 420:
Annals of Philosophy, New Series, No. III. for March, 1821.
Footnote 421:
The habitudes of arsenious acid with the nitrates were first observed
by Kunkel; nitrous vapour is disengaged, part of the oxygen being
absorbed by the arsenious acid, by which an arsenite of potass is
formed.
Footnote 422:
Dr. Bostock confesses that where less than three-fourths of a grain
were used, he could not say that the metallic crust was clearly
perceptible; and Dr. Black considered that one grain was the smallest
quantity which could be distinctly recognised by such a process. Dr.
Jaeger (Dissertatio Inauguralis, Stuttgard, 1808) also observes, that
he has been enabled to recognise the tenth of a grain of arsenious
acid, although mixed with sugar, by its odour, when thrown upon
burning coals! I must be allowed to question this fact; Dr. Jaeger, no
doubt, believed that he recognised the alliaceous odour, but it must
have been the effect of imagination. Dr. Bostock observes that, if
Arsenic be mixed with either an animal or vegetable substance, the
smoke and smell arising from those bodies, when heated, will
altogether prevent our recognising its odour. He found that when a
quantity of Arsenic was mixed with an equal weight of flour, and
placed upon iron at a low red heat, so as not to cause the flour to
inflame, the suffocating smoke that arose from the latter could be
alone perceived; nor was it possible to discover that any thing had
been mixed with it (Edinb. Med. Journal.) This objection of Dr.
Bostock is true in fact, although it admits of a different
explanation, for at a low temperature the Arsenious acid would be
volatilized without decomposition; in which case no alliaceous odour
can be developed. Dr. Traill has lately asserted (Annals of
Philosophy, Feb. 1824) that he has recognised the alliaceous odour
during the volatilization of 1/78th of a grain of the metal. I do not
question the truth of this assertion, but there must have been an
address in the manipulation which we cannot expect to find in ordinary
experimenters.
Footnote 423:
Assafœtida was used by the ancients as a condiment, under the name of
σιλφὶον, _Laserpitium_, (Pliny); and according to Kempfer, the
Persians use it for the same purpose. The Arabian writers on the
materia medica class this article among their Mobehyat
(_Aphrodisiaca_). The term Assafœtida is derived from the monks of the
Salernian school; some of the writers of the middle ages call it Opium
Cyrenaicum, i. e. the Juice from Cyrene.
Footnote 424:
TOLU LOZENGES. Sugar 8 oz. Cream of Tartar 1 oz. Starch 2 drachms.
Tinct. Toluiferæ Balsami E. one fluid-drachm, mucilage of Gum
Tragacanth q. s.
Footnote 425:
_Belladonna_, so called from the juice of its berries being used as a
cosmetic by the Italian women, to make their faces pale.
Footnote 426:
The root of this plant seems to partake of the same qualities as the
leaves, but is perhaps less virulent:
“Or have we eaten of the insane root,
That takes the reason prisoner.”
_Macbeth._
The Belladonna is supposed by Sauvage to be the plant that produced
such extraordinary effects upon the Roman Soldiers during their
retreat, under the command of Anthony, from the Parthians, when they
are said to have “suffered great distress for want of provisions, and
were urged to eat unknown plants; among others they met with a herb
that was mortal: he that had eaten of it lost his memory and his
senses, and employed himself wholly in turning about all the stones he
could find, and after vomiting up bile, fell down dead.” (Plutarch’s
Life of Anthony.) The Scotch historian Buchannan relates, “that the
Scots mixed a quantity of the juice of the Belladonna (_Solanum
Somniferum_) with the bread and drink which by their truce they were
to supply the Danes with, which so intoxicated them that the Scots
killed the greater part of Sweno’s army.”
Footnote 427:
FUMIGATING PASTILLES. Benzoin generally constitutes the chief
ingredient in these compositions, to which may be added any variety of
odoriferous substances; the following formula may be offered as a
specimen: ℞. Benzoin ʒj, Cascarillæ ʒss, Myrrh ℈j, Olei nuc. moschat.
ol. Caryophyll. āā gr. x. potassæ nitratis ʒss, carb. ligni ʒvj.
mucilag. gum. Trag. q. s.
Footnote 428:
VIRGIN’S MILK. A spirituous solution of Benzoin mixed with about
twenty parts of rose water, forms a cosmetic long known by this name.
Under the same title also a very different preparation is sold, vid.
Liquor Plumbi sub-acetatis.
FRIAR’S BALSAM, WADE’S DROPS, JESUIT’S DROPS.—These preparations are
nothing more than the Tinctura Benzoini composita.
PECTORAL BALSAM OF HONEY.—Is merely the tincture of Benzoin, or that
of Tolu.
ESSENCE OF COLTSFOOT.—This preparation consists of equal parts of the
Balsam of Tolu, and the Compound Tincture of Benzoin, to which is
added double the quantity of rectified Spirit of Wine; and this
forsooth is a Pectoral for Coughs! If a patient with a pulmonary
affection should recover during the use of such a remedy, I should
certainly designate it as a lucky Escape, rather than as a skilful
Cure.
Footnote 429:
The Pearl Powder of Perfumers is obtained from the nitric solution of
Bismuth, by adding a proportion of muriatic acid, and then
precipitating by a small quantity of water. In this way it is obtained
in the form of minute scales of a pearly lustre.
Footnote 430:
The gas which arises from the combustion of mineral coal will produce
the same effect. It is related of a lady of fashion, who had
incautiously seated herself too near the fire, at a quadrille party,
that her countenance changed on a sudden from a delicate white to a
dark tawney, as though by magic. The surprise and confusion of the
whole party had such an effect upon the disfigured _fair one_, that
she was actually dying from apprehension, when the physician dispelled
their fears by informing his patient that nothing more was necessary
than for her to abstain from the use of mineral cosmetics, and to
trust in future to those charms which Nature had bestowed upon her.
Footnote 431:
L. F. Jacobi de Bismutho. Erford, 1697.
Footnote 432:
Journal de Medicine, 1786, T. 68. p. 49.
Footnote 433:
Vol. iv. p. 156.
Footnote 434:
In this country Bismuth has enjoyed for some years a reputation
exceedingly high. Dr. Samuel W. Moore, of New-York, was the first to
call the attention of the American medical public to it, in a valuable
dissertation which was published in the year 1810. In this Essay are
recorded a number of cases illustrative of the salutary effects of
this medicine in spasmodic pain and other troublesome affections of
the stomach. In addition to its use in gastric disorders, Dr.
Carmichael, of Virginia, has administered it with success in the
treatment of Intermittents. _Ed._
Footnote 435:
Very lately our attention has been particularly called to this plant
by Dr. E. G. Ludlow of New-York, who speaks of it in terms of high
commendation. He says “the diseases in which I have used it are
exclusively those of the Chylopoietic viscera, as dyspepsia, diarrhœa
and cholera. For the removal of pain and flatulence in the bowels,
which may be enumerated among the most frequent and distressing
symptoms of the first stage of indigestion, Calamus is superior to any
other carminative; by virtue of its aroma it creates a strong
sensation of warmth in the stomach, increasing its action without
sensibly augmenting the force of the circulation, while its powerful
bitter principle gives permanent tone to the relaxed state of the
fibres.” New-York Med. & Phys. Journal, No. 11. p. 321. The Tincture
is the preferable form of administering the Calamus. The dose is from
℥ss to ℥j. _Ed._
Footnote 436:
THE SPECIFIC OF HERRENSCHWAND, which formerly excited so much interest
in Germany, consisted of 10 grains of Camboge with 20 of Sub-carbonate
of Potass; although it is said, that on its being analyzed by order of
Elizabeth of Russia, there were also found in it both Mercury and
Arsenic.
Camboge is also the basis of the SPECIFIC OF CLOSSIUS.
GOLDEN SPIRIT OF SCURVY GRASS. This is merely a solution of Camboge in
the Spir: Armoraciæ comp:
Footnote 437:
Although the Camphor of commerce is generally furnished by the Laurus
Camphora, yet it is abundantly yielded by many other plants. It is
said that what is imported from Sumatra is the product of the
Dryobobans Camphora. It is also contained in the roots of the
Cinnamon, Cassia, and Sassafras laurels, and in those of Galangale,
Zedoary, and Ginger; in Cardamom seeds and Long Pepper. The essential
oils of Lavender, Sage, Thyme, Peppermint, Rosemary, and those of many
other labiate plants yield camphor by distillation. Camphor may be
also artificially formed by driving a stream of muriatic gas through
oil of turpentine; this factitious product, however, is to be
distinguished from native camphor in not being soluble in weak nitric
acid, and also in not being precipitated by water from its solution in
strong nitric acid.
Footnote 438:
The collection of the Materia Medica at the College of Physicians
contains a beautiful specimen of native Camphor in the wood: having
selected from it as perfect a crystal as I could find, I requested my
friend and publisher Mr. W. Phillips, well known for his researches in
crystallography, to undertake its examination; and he observes that
“The crystal of native Camphor (in the wood) appears as a flat
octohedron; but the primary form is a right rhombic prism of 51° 36′
and 128° 24′. by measurement with the reflective goniometer on
cleavage planes: the octohedral appearance arises from the deep
replacement of four of the solid angles of the prism, by as many
planes.”
Footnote 439:
AN ODONTALGIC REMEDY in great repute consists of a solution of camphor
in oil of turpentine; a fluid-ounce of which will dissolve two
drachms.
Footnote 440:
Although the London College, for reasons sufficiently weighty, were
induced on a former occasion to transfer the Blistering fly from the
genus Cantharis to that of Lytta, the Committee for revising the late
Pharmacopœia determined, on the authority of Latreille, to restore it
to its former genus. The work of Latreille, “Genera Crustaceorum et
Insectorum” holds the highest rank in Entomology of any hitherto
published.
Footnote 441:
Cantharidin may be obtained by the following process: Boil the
cantharides in water until all the soluble parts are extracted; filter
the decoction, and evaporate to the consistence of an extract. Digest
this extract in concentrated alcohol, then pour off the alcohol and
evaporate it; if sulphuric acid be then added to this extract, it will
take up the Cantharidin, which may be obtained in a tolerably pure
state by evaporation. The crystalline plates may be afterwards freed
from the adhering colouring matter by alcohol.
Footnote 442:
Annales de Chémie, tom. lxxvi.
Footnote 443:
It forms the basis of the once celebrated diuretic of Tulpius, called
Lithonthrypticum Tulpii, from its supposed efficacy in stone. The
other ingredients were Cardamoms, made into a Tincture with Rectified
Spirit, and Spirit of Nitric Æther.
Footnote 444:
He was cited before the censors of the College of Physicians in 1693,
and committed to Newgate by a warrant from the President; but he was
acquitted upon the plea that—bad practice must be accompanied with a
bad intention to render it criminal. He published his vindication in a
small tract, entitled “De tuto Cantharidum usu interno.” The issue,
says Dr. Quincey (Pharm: p. 152) ruined the unhappy Doctor, but taught
his prosecutors the safety and value of his practice. The following
was his formula. Of egg-shells calcined ʒss; Camphor ℈j; Spanish flies
℈ss; and Venice turpentine q, s, to make nine pills; three of which
were to be swallowed every three hours.
Footnote 445:
Not less than sixteen species of the genus Cantharis have already been
discovered in this country, by the industry of our Entomologists;
most, if not all, of which possess vesicating powers. Of these the
most common is the Lytta vittata, or potatoe fly. The medicinal
virtues of this insect were first discovered in 1797, and found to be
fully equal to those of the Spanish fly. Dr. Barton says “from
frequent employment of the two articles, I cannot hesitate to prefer
the American to the foreign fly. Long keeping, provided it be
carefully kept, does not materially impair the blistering property of
the Lytta vittata. At the end of three or four years after being
collected, I have found it equal in power to the shop Cantharides.” By
the late Dr. Dana, Prof. of Chemistry in the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of New-York, the Lytta vittata was made the subject of
analysis, and found to contain _Cantharidin_. _Ed._
Footnote 446:
Journal de Physique, p. 173, 1820.
Footnote 447:
RYMER’S CARDIAC TINCTURE. In the earlier editions of this work an
erroneous account of this medicine has been given, in consequence of a
spurious specimen having been examined: the following analysis is now
confidently presented to the profession. It is an infusion of
Capsicum, Camphor, Cardamom seeds, Rhubarb, Aloes, and Castor in Proof
Spirit, with a very small quantity of Sulphuric acid.
Footnote 448:
LARDNER’S PREPARED CHARCOAL consists of cretaceous powder, or chalk
finely powdered, rendered grey by the addition of charcoal, or Ivory
black.
Footnote 449:
CONCENTRATED SOLUTION OF CHARCOAL. A preparation is sold under this
absurd name for cleaning the teeth, and is nothing more than a
tincture of Catechu. The name was probably suggested by the
experiments of Mr. Hatchett, who succeeded in producing artificial
tannin by the action of Nitric acid upon Charcoal.
Footnote 450:
In cases of obstinate constipation of the bowels, charcoal is one of
the most efficient remedies in the whole Materia Medica. Many cases
have yielded to it which had resisted every other cathartic medicine
previously used. Dr. Daniell, of Savannah, to whom we are indebted for
an interesting paper on this subject, states as the result of his
experience, “that the most speedy, as well as the most certain relief,
is to be obtained from the free use of Charcoal. If it does not wholly
relieve, it always very much mitigates the pain in six or eight hours
from the period of its first administration; and within my
observation,” he adds, “the patient has always been entirely composed
before the operation of the medicine upon the bowels.” “In relation to
the dose of this medicine,” he states that “the rule which I have
pursued is to give it as freely and as frequently as the stomach will
allow. The quantity required is considerable. It has a happy influence
in lulling the irritability of the stomach, when nothing else which I
have used, would control the nausea and vomiting of the patient; thus
fulfilling the double intention of first alleviating a very
distressing symptom, and then removing the disease itself. I usually
give from one to three table-spoonsful of Charcoal every half hour or
hour: whenever the stomach becomes overcharged with the medicine, the
excess is thrown off, and the stomach is again quiet. I give it in
lime water, milk, or water alone—the vehicle having appeared to me
unimportant.” Philadel. Journal of Med. and Phys. Science, Vol. 5. p.
120. Ed.
Footnote 451:
See an account of Charcoal, as a test for Arsenic, and remarks
thereon, p. 308.
Footnote 452:
Dr. Maton in a learned critical and botanical note to a paper on the
Cardamom, by Mr. White, Surgeon of Bombay, (Trans: Lin: Soc: v. x,
229,) called the genus, of which it consists, Elettaria, a
nomenclature which was accordingly adopted by the College in their
late Pharmacopœia; but, says Sir James Smith, as this name is of a
barbarous origin, (viz. from Elettaria, the Malabar name of the
plant.) we should greatly prefer that of Matonia; a suggestion which
has been since adopted by Mr. Roscoe of Liverpool, in his description
of the Scitamineœ. The College has therefore the gratifying task of
erasing the term Elettaria from their Materia Medica, and of
substituting for it a name no less known than respected by the Medical
profession.
Footnote 453:
ESSENCE OF COFFEE. The Cassia pulp is said to form the basis of this
article.
Footnote 454:
The ancients erroneously considered them as the testicles of the
beaver, and Æsop relates that the animal bit them off, when pursued by
the huntsman, whence some have derived its name, _a castrando_; the
true origin however of the word is from γαστωρ, i.e. animal
_ventriculosum_, from his swaggy and prominent belly.
Footnote 455:
BATEMAN’S PECTORAL DROPS consist principally of the Tincture of
Castor, with portions of camphor and opium, flavoured by anise seeds,
and coloured by cochineal.
Footnote 456:
It was formerly supposed to be a mineral production: and hence the
term Terra Japonica. Hagedorn and Boulduc were among the first who
opposed this error, and who established the fact of its vegetable
origin (Mem. de l’Acad. des Sciences de Paris, A. 1709. p. 228.)
Footnote 457:
So called from Chiron the Centaur, who is said to have employed it to
cure himself of a wound accidentally received by letting one of the
arrows of Hercules fall upon his foot.
Footnote 458:
KIRKLAND’S NEUTRAL CERATE. Is formed by melting together ℥ viij of
Lead Plaster with f℥iv of olive oil, into which are to be stirred ℥iv
of prepared chalk; when the mixture is sufficiently cooled f℥iv of
acetic acid, and ʒiij of pulverized Acetate of lead are to be added,
and the whole is to be stirred until nearly cold.
MARSHALL’S CERATE. ℞. Palm. Oil ℥v. Calomel ℥i, Acetate of Lead ℥ss,
Nitrate of Mercury ℥ij.
COLD CREAM (Ceratum Galeni.) Ol: Amygdal: ℔j, Ceræ alb: ℥iv; melt,
pour into a warm mortar, and add, gradually, Aq: Ros; oj. It should be
very light and white. Gray’s Supplement.
Footnote 459:
There are no less than twenty-five distinct species of Cinchona,
independent of any additions which we may owe to the zeal of Humboldt
and Bonpland; and Mr. A. T. Thomson, in his London Dispensatory,
states that in a large collection of dried specimens, of the genus
Cinchona, in his possession, collected in 1805, both near Loxa and
Santa Fé, he finds many species which are not mentioned in the works
of any Spanish botanist.
Footnote 460:
See London Medical and Physical Journal. Vol. v. p. 33.
Footnote 461:
ESSENTIAL SALT OF BARK. It is highly necessary that the public should
know that the preparation sold under this empirical title, has no
relation whatever to the late discoveries of Pelletier. It is merely
an extract prepared by macerating the bruised substance of bark in
cold water, and submitting the infusion to a very slow evaporation.
Footnote 462:
The designation of Cinchonin, consistent with the principles of
chemical nomenclature, must now have a termination in _a_, and the
name Cinchonia appears preferable to that of Cinchonina.
Footnote 463:
The following is the process by which Cinchonia may be prepared. Take
a pound of Pale Bark, bruised small, and boil it for an hour in three
pints of a very dilute solution of pure Potass. After the liquid has
cooled, it must be strained through a fine cloth with pressure, and
the residuum be repeatedly washed and pressed. The cinchona, thus
washed, is to be slightly heated in a sufficient quantity of water,
adding muriatic acid gradually until litmus paper is slightly
reddened. When the liquid is raised nearly to the boiling point, it is
to be strained, and the cinchona again pressed. To the strained
liquor, while hot, add an ounce of sulphate of magnesia, and after
this add a solution of potass, till it ceases to occasion any
precipitate. When the liquor is cold, collect the precipitate on a
filtre, wash and dry it, and dissolve it in hot alcohol. On
evaporation of the spirit, the cinchona will crystallize.
Footnote 464:
Thus, as we have stated, 100 parts of Cinchonia unite with 13·021 of
Sulphuric acid, while the same weight of Quina requires for saturation
not more than 10·91 of the same acid.
Footnote 465:
SULPHATE OF QUINA. As this preparation is considered the most active
form of the salifiable principle of bark, I have subjoined the most
approved formula for its preparation. Boil for half an hour two pounds
of the appropriate bark in powder, in sixteen pints of distilled
water, acidulated with two fluid-ounces of sulphuric acid; strain the
decoction through a linen cloth, and submit the residue to a second
ebullition in a similar quantity of acidulated water; mix the
decoctions, and add by small portions at a time, powdered lime,
constantly stirring it to facilitate its action on the acid decoction.
(Half a pound is near the quantity requisite.) When the decoction has
become slightly alkaline it assumes a dark brown colour, and deposits
a reddish brown flocculent precipitate, which is to be separated by
passing it through a linen cloth. The precipitate, is to be washed
with a little cold distilled water and dried. When dry it is to be
digested in rectified spirit, with a moderate heat for some hours; the
liquid is then to be decanted, and fresh portions of spirit added till
it no longer acquires a bitter taste. Unite the spirituous tinctures,
and distil in a water-bath till three fourths of the spirit employed
has distilled over. After this operation there remains in the vessel a
brown viscid substance covered by a bitter, very alkaline and milky
fluid. The two products are to be separated and treated as follows. To
the alkaline liquid add a sufficient quantity of sulphuric acid to
saturate it; reduce it by evaporation to half the quantity; add a
small portion of charcoal, and after some minutes ebullition, filter
it whilst hot, and crystals of Sulphate of Quina will form. The brown
mass is to be boiled in a small quantity of water, slightly acidulated
with sulphuric acid, which will convert a large portion of it into
Sulphate of Quina. The crystals are to be dried by bibulous paper. Two
pounds of bark will, it is said, yield 5 to 6 drachms of the sulphate;
of which eight grains are considered equivalent to an ounce of bark.
It has been prepared in this country by several manufacturing
chemists, especially by Mr. Pope of Oxford Street, whose zeal and
industry in Pharmaceutic experiments entitle him to great
commendation. The superior price of the bark, however, from the duty
in this country, as well as that of alcohol, must prevent us from
entering into competition with the French in its manufacture, and it
has accordingly been found more œconomical to import, than to prepare
it.
Footnote 466:
Journal de Physiologie. No. 1, p. 90.
Footnote 467:
Upon this point however a difference of opinion has existed; M. Halle
entertained considerable fears on the subject, which were supported by
M. M. Larrey, Emery, Duponchel, and others, who communicated to the
Société Médicale d’Emulation, facts which excited their apprehensions.
The question, however, has been set at rest both in this country and
on the Continent. They are perfectly harmless.
Footnote 468:
Cinchonia has been detected in other vegetables besides the Bark, as
in the root of Cusparia, and in the berries of Capsicum, while in the
bark of Cascarilla, a substance bearing a much nearer relation in
medicinal effect to the Bark, its presence has not yet been
discovered. It is said that experiments have been lately made by M. M.
Robiquet and Petroz on the Bark of the Carapa, which has been
successfully used in several parts of America in the cure of agues,
and that they have found in that bark a salifiable basis analogous to
Quina.
Footnote 469:
In Brande’s Journal for January 1830, it is announced that Serturner
has discovered other vegeto-alkalies in the Bark, besides the
Cinchonia and Quinia.—One in particular he has ascertained, which he
calls _Chinioidia_, existing in combination with a resinous sub-acid
substance. This exists in the red and yellow bark with the Cinchonia
and Quinia. It has more alkaline power and capacity of saturation, as
well as greater medical power than any other vegeto-alkali in the
Cinchona, but it resembles them in its insolubility in water, its
colour and taste. According to Serturner, the febrifuge power of the
_Chinioidia_ is as superior to that of the Cinchonia and Quinia as
these are to the Bark.—In his hands it succeeded in many cases where
the Sulphate of Quinia had failed. _Ed._
Footnote 470:
It was under this form that the celebrated empiric Talbor used to
administer it in the paroxysms of Intermittents, and so successful was
his practice, that Louis XIV. was induced to purchase at a large price
the secret of his specific; and Charles the Second very unjustly
protected him against the power of the College, and appointed him one
of his physicians.
Footnote 471:
Mr. Thompson has suggested the probability of this circumstance having
arisen from the admixture of a species of bark, lately introduced into
Europe from Martinique, resembling the Cinchona Floribunda, and which,
by an analysis of M. Cadet, was found to contain iron. (London Disp.
Edit. 3. p. 247.)
Footnote 472:
This plant is found in abundance in Piedmont, principally in the
marshes, where of course it is most needed. Nature is very kind in
this respect, for the particular situation which engenders endemic
diseases, is generally congenial to the growth of the plants that
operate as antidotes to them.
Footnote 473:
Dr. Davy, in a letter to me upon this subject, says, “there are two
kinds of oil of cinnamon procured in Ceylon, one of greater, the other
of less specific gravity than water. In distillation they come over
together. On what the difference depends I do not know, nor am I aware
that the subject has yet been investigated.”
Footnote 474:
From experiments made with _Veratria_, it appears that its effects on
the human system are analogous to those of the Colchicum itself. In
chronic rheumatism comparative trials to a great extent were
instituted by Dr. Bardsley, and with very similar results. The
_Veratria_ was generally administered in doses of from 1/4 gr. to ½
gr. three times a day. _Ed._
Footnote 475:
With this opinion Mr. A. T. Thomson coincides, for in the 3d edition
of his Dispensatory, he says, “the thick old bulb begins to decay
after the flower is perfectly expanded, and the new bulbs, of which
there are always two formed on each old bulb, are perfected in the
following June; from which time until the middle of August, they may
be taken up for medicinal use.”
Footnote 476:
EAU MEDICINALE DE HUSSON. After various attempts to discover the
active ingredient of this Parisian remedy, it is at length determined
to be the colchicum autumnale which several ancient authors, under the
name of hermodactyllus, have recommended in the cure of gout, as
stated in the historical preface to this work. The following is the
receipt for preparing this medicine. Take two ounces of the root of
colchicum, cut it into slices, macerate it in four fluid-ounces of
Spanish white wine, and filter. See Veratri Radix (_note_).
Dr. WILSON’S TINCTURE FOR THE GOUT. This is merely an infusion of
colchicum, as Dr. Williams of Ipswich has satisfactorily shewn. Since
the discovery of colchicum being the active ingredient of the Eau
medicinale, numerous empirical remedies have started up, containing
the principles of the plant in different forms.
The expressed juice of the colchicum is used in Alsace to destroy
vermin in the hair: it is very acrid, and excoriates the parts to
which it is applied.
Footnote 477:
Dr. Davy, however, informs me that he is acquainted with a fatal
instance from an excessive dose of these seeds, viz. ʒj, taken by a
medical man for gout. On dissection, most of the viscera, more
especially the brain and intestines, exhibited great sanguineous
turgescence, and appearances of inflammation.
Footnote 478:
This preparation, or the Seeds, may be procured for trial, from the
house of Savory, Moore, and Davidson, of New Bond Street.
Footnote 479:
WARD was originally a footman, and, during his attendance upon his
master on the Continent, obtained from the Monks those receipts which
afterwards became his nostrums. It may be observed that this
Confection appears to be well adapted for the cure of that species of
Piles which probably attended the sedentary and luxurious habits of
the monks.
Footnote 480:
Dr. Chapman recommends the liberal use of the Copaiva in the very
commencement of Gonorrhœa, disregarding ardor ruinæ, chordee, and
every other symptom of inflammation that may be present. Than this, we
do not know a medical precept more erroneous in theory, or more
mischievous in practice. We are convinced that a great majority of
gleets may be traced to the premature use of balsam Copaiva, and other
stimulating articles in the inflammatory stage of the disease.—_Ed._
Footnote 481:
Cūbĕba—Indis Cubab; Avicennæ Kebâba. It makes short the penultima,
because Actuarius and other modern Greeks call it κουπεπερ, κόμπεπερ,
and κομβεβα.
Footnote 482:
See “Practical Observations on the use of Cubebs, in the cure of
Gonorrhœa,” by H. JEFFREYS, Esq.
Footnote 483:
It is very questionable whether Cubebs is entitled to any other
preference over the copaiva, than that it is not so liable to derange
the digestive organs. As a specific for gonorrhœa it has received
praise altogether too unqualified. The most convenient form in which
it can be given is that of Tincture. _Ed._
Footnote 484:
Cŭminum makes long the penultima, thus—
“Rugosum Piper et pallentis grana Cumini:”
Pers: Sat: v.
This line of the satirist also records an opinion which is worthy
notice, that Cumin will make those who drink it, or wash themselves
with it, or as some say, who smoke it, of a pale visage. This belief
is mentioned by Dioscorides; and Pliny informs us that the disciples
of Porcius Latro, a famous master of the art of speaking, were
reported to have used Cumin, in order to imitate that paleness which
their master had contracted by his studies; thus too Horace,
——Proh si
“Pallerem casu, biberent exsangue Cuminum.”
Epist. 19. Lib. 1, lin: 18.
Footnote 485:
It may be here observed that Copper, in its metallic form, exerts no
action on the system. A most striking instance of this fact occurred
during my hospital practice, in the case of a young woman who
swallowed six copper penny-pieces with a view of destroying herself;
she was attended by Dr. Maton and myself in the Westminster Hospital
for two years, for a disease which we considered visceral, but which
was evidently the effect of mechanical obstruction, occasioned by the
coin. After a lapse of five years she voided them, and then confessed
the cause of her protracted disease, during the whole course of which
no symptom arose which could in any way be attributed to the poisonous
influence of copper. Dr. Baillie, in his morbid anatomy, relates a
case, in which five halfpence had been lodged in a pouch in the
stomach, for a considerable time, without occasioning any irritation;
and Theodore Gardelle, after his conviction for the murder of Mrs.
King, in Leicester Square, swallowed a number of halfpence, for the
purpose of destroying himself, but without producing any ill effects.
Mr. A. T. Thomson relates also two cases of halfpence being swallowed
by children, in one of which the copper coin remained six months in
the intestines, and in the other two months. The filings of copper
were formerly a favorite remedy in rheumatism, a drachm of which has
been taken with impunity for a dose. It appears therefore that
metallic copper does not undergo any change in the digestive organs by
which it is converted into a poison, notwithstanding the presence of
substances, which, out of the body, would at once render it
destructive, as we have too many cases to shew, from the careless use
of copper utensils in cookery. It is, however, a very important fact,
that copper cannot be dissolved while tin is co-existent in the
mixture, hence the great use of tinning copper utensils; and farther,
it is asserted that untinned coppers are less liable to be injurious
when pewter spoons are used for stirring, than when silver ones are
employed for that purpose; the explanation of this fact is to be
sought for in the well-known principle of Electro-Chemistry, and which
has lately been applied with so much ingenuity by the illustrious
President of the Royal Society, for the protection of copper on the
bottom of ships, by the juxta-position of small discs of Tin or
Iron.[486] For the same reason, M. Proust has shewn that the tinning
of kitchen utensils, which consists of equal parts of tin and lead,
cannot be dangerous from the presence of the latter metal, since it is
sufficient that the lead should be combined with tin, in order to
prevent it from being dissolved in any vegetable acid. M. Guersent
therefore is wrong when, speaking of the tinning of copper vessels, he
says, “it is a light veil, which conceals the danger, instead of being
a true preservative, and that it only inspires a security often
fatal.” Some recent experiments however, of Dr. Bostock, have shewn
that, in consequence of the volatility of acetic acid, copper is not
protected by the juxta-position of discs of tin; since the acid under
such circumstances ceases to form a part of the galvanic circle. The
poisonous effects of the _salts_ of Copper have been strikingly
illustrated during the prosecution of Sir H. Davy’s experiments above
alluded to, for it is found that when the copper sheathing of ships is
not protected by the contact of another metal, they are uniformly free
from marine animals, but that where the solution of the copper is
prevented by galvanic action, the bottoms soon become covered with
every species of sea insect.
Footnote 486:
For a further explanation of this curious fact the student may consult
my work on Medical Chemistry.
Footnote 487:
BATES’S AQUA CAMPHORATA.—Sulphate of copper is the base of this
preparation, which was strongly recommended by Mr. Ware. The following
was his recipe: ℞. Cupri Sulph. Boli Gallic, a. a. gr. xv. Camphoræ
gr. iv. solve. in aq. fervent. f℥iv, dilueque cum aquæ frigidæ oiv ut
fiat Collyrium.
Footnote 488:
It is said to have been introduced into this country from Ceylon. See
the observations made upon the subject of the narcotics used by the
Indians, _page 9_.
Footnote 489:
The seeds undoubtedly contain, in an eminent degree, all the
properties of the plant. It was in the seeds that Brandes first
discovered the Daturia.
Footnote 490:
The oriental beverage, Sherbet, from the Arabic word Sherb, to drink,
so celebrated in eastern song, is a decoction of barley-meal and
sugar, perfumed with roses, orange flower, violet, or citron.
Footnote 491:
LISBON DIET DRINK. Decoctum Lusitanicum.—℞. Sarsap: concis: Rad:
Chinæ, āā ʒj—Nucum Jugland: Cortice Siccatarum, No. xx. Antimonii
Sulphureti ℥ ij. Lapidis Pumicis pulverisat;—Aquæ distillat: lib:
x.—The powdered antimony and pumice stone are to be tied in separate
pieces of rag, and boiled along with the other ingredients. The use of
the pumice stone is merely mechanical, to divide the antimony.
Footnote 492:
It is said that M. Royer has lately succeeded in obtaining from
Digitalis its active basis; to which he has given the name of
_Digitalin_. It was procured by digesting the plant in æther, and
treating the solution with hydrated oxide of lead. It appears as a
brown pasty substance, capable of slowly restoring the blue colour of
reddened litmus paper; very bitter, and deliquescent. It was difficult
to obtain it crystallized, but a drop of its solution in alcohol,
evaporated on glass, over a lamp, when examined by the microscope,
exhibited abundance of minute crystals. (Bib. Univ. xxvi. 102.)
Farther experiments, however, are required to establish the truth of
this statement.
Footnote 493:
See London Medical Repository, Vol. xii. No. 67.
Footnote 494:
A person of the name of STERRY, in the Borough, prepares a plaster of
this description, which is sought after with great avidity. What a
blessing it would be upon the community, if every nostrum were equally
innocuous!
Footnote 495:
Pharmacopœia Chirurgica, p. 89.
Footnote 496:
Diachylon, a δὶα et χυλος succus, i. e. a Plaster prepared from
expressed juices. It has been asserted that all the pharmaceutical
names beginning with _Dia_, are of Arabian origin, this however is not
the fact; we frequently meet with the expression in Galen, η δὶα
δικτάμνου ὴ δια δυοἷν ἁριστολοχιοὶν ἠ δι, &c. &c.
Footnote 497:
At Apothecaries’ Hall, this plaster, as well as others, is made in a
steam apparatus which is so well regulated, that a uniform temperature
of 210° Fah. is insured during the whole process.
Footnote 498:
BAYNTON’S ADHESIVE PLASTER. (Strapping.) Differs only from this
preparation in containing less resin, six drachms only being added to
one pound of the litharge plaster. This excellent plaster is sold
ready spread on calico.
COURT PLASTER. Sticking Plaster. Black Silk is strained and brushed
over ten or twelve times, with the following preparation. Dissolve ℥ss
of Benzoin in f℥vi of rectified spirit: in a separate vessel, dissolve
℥j of Isinglass in oss of water; strain each solution, mix them, and
let the mixture rest, so that the grosser parts may subside; when the
clear liquor is cold, it will form a jelly, which must be warmed
before it is applied to the silk. When the Plaster is quite dry, in
order to prevent its cracking, it is finished off with a solution of
_Terebinth: Chia_, ℥iv, in _Tinct: Benzoes_ f℥vj.
CORN PLASTER. The green coloured plaster sold under this title is
usually composed of 3 parts of wax, 4 of Burgundy pitch, and 2 of
common turpentine; to which is added one part of verdegris.
Footnote 499:
Mystery is rarely practised but as the cloak of imposture; it is
therefore unnecessary to add, that Mr. Barry made no difficulty in
stating the following to be the formula by which it was prepared.
A tincture of Bark, made with rectified spirit, was distilled until
the whole of the spirit was driven off, the remaining solution was
then left to cool, after which the resin that floated on the surface
was removed, and the residuum inspissated at a low temperature.
Footnote 500:
BARCLAY’S ANTIBILIOUS PILLS. Take of the Extract of Colocynth ʒij,
Resin of Jalap (extract Jalap) ʒj, Almond Soap ʒjss, Guaiacum ʒiij,
Tartarized Antimony, grs. viij, essential oils of Juniper, Carraway,
and Rosemary, of each gtt. iv, of syrup of Buckthorn, as much as will
be sufficient to form a mass, which is to be divided into sixty-four
pills.
Footnote 501:
REFINED LIQUORICE. This article, which is sold in the form of
cylinders, is made by gently evaporating a solution of the pure
extract of liquorice with half its weight of gum arabic, rolling the
mass, and cutting it into lengths, and then polishing, by rolling them
together in a box: many impurities however are fraudulently introduced
into this article, such even as glue, &c.
Footnote 502:
The juices of the Iris root, and Bryony root, and those of many other
plants, allow their medicinal elements to separate and subside in a
similar manner, leaving the supernatant liquid perfectly inert; if we
must have a generic name to express such a substance, it should be
termed a feculence, rather than a fecula.
Footnote 503:
“Observations on the nature and preparation of the Elaterium,” read at
the Medical Society of London, April 24, 1819, and which were
published in the Medical Repository, vol. xii, No. 67.
Footnote 504:
When it has a dark green colour, approaching to black, is compact, and
very heavy, and breaks with a shining resinous fracture, we may reject
it as an inferior article.
Since the publication of my experiments upon the ordinary Elaterium of
Commerce, I have been favoured by Mr. Barry with the results of his
trials upon the Elaterium made by W. Allen &. Co. according to the
improved process of Dr. Clutterbuck; of the first sample, he found
that out of ten grains, 5·5 were soluble in spirit of the specific
gravity ·809, of the second 6·2, and of the third 6·4; of that
prepared by the same process at Apothecaries’ Hall, 6 grs. were
soluble. The residue, insoluble in the spirit, was administered to a
patient, and ascertained to be perfectly inert. This report confirms
beyond a doubt the great superiority of the Elaterium when prepared,
without pressure, according to the suggestion of Dr. Clutterbuck.
Footnote 505:
“I have the Cos Lettuce planted about eight inches asunder in rows,
between which there is sufficient space to enable persons to pass up
and down without injuring the plants. I commence my operations just
before the plant is about to flower, by cutting off an inch of the
stem; the milky juice immediately exudes, and is collected on pieces
of Wove Cotton, about half a yard square. As soon as this becomes
charged, it is thrown from time to time into a vessel containing a
small quantity of water, which when sufficiently impregnated is
evaporated at the common temperature of the atmosphere, by exposure in
a number of shallow dishes. The LACTUCARIUM, in a few hours, is found
adhering to the vessels in the form of an Extract, but differing from
every other in all its sensible properties: this method enables me to
collect LACTUCARIUM with great facility and dispatch, but it is still
attended with considerable expense, as the proportion of milky product
is necessarily very small, and the price of the medicine consequently
high, and therefore not within the reach of general practice. This
consideration led me to make farther experiments, for the purpose of
ascertaining whether an EXTRACT might not be obtained from the plant
possessing all the properties of LACTUCARIUM, when administered in
large doses, and which could be introduced at a comparatively trifling
cost. In prosecuting this enquiry, I found that the plants contain
most of the milky juice when they have flowered and the leaves are
beginning to assume a yellow hue, and I observed that when cut down,
the milky juice assumes for the most part a concrete form, having
subsided in the bark of the stalk and in the old leaves, a
circumstance which accounts for the extreme bitterness of these parts.
I was naturally led from these circumstances to choose the above
period for my operations, and to select those parts only of the plant
for my extract, rejecting the substance of the stalk, and the young
sprouts. My method of procuring the extract is as follows. I first
macerate the parts in water, for twenty-four hours, and then boil them
for two, after which I allow the clear decoction to drain through a
sieve, without using any pressure; this is then evaporated, as far as
it can be done with safety, and the process is finished in shallow
dishes, in the manner above described, for obtaining Lactucarium. This
extract, which I have called “EXTRACTUM LACTUCÆ CONCENTRATUM,” is of
course less powerful than Lactucarium, but it possesses all the
properties in larger doses, and it has been found equally useful in a
number and variety of cases, and is not more than a sixth part of the
price.”
Mr. Probart has retired from trade, but I have just learnt that the
same article is now prepared, by a similar process, by Mr. Selway,
Chemist, of New Cavendish Street, and the specimens which I have
received authorise me to recommend it for trial. A concentrated
tincture is also prepared.
The “Succus Spissatus Lactucæ sativæ,” of the shops, must of necessity
be almost inert, since it is commonly prepared at that period when the
plant contains none, or very little of the milky juice; and even if
the Lettuce be employed at a more mature season, it must still fail to
afford an extract of any strength, as it is merely the expressed
juice, and that too of the whole plant indiscriminately, and will be
found to contain a very minute proportion of Lactucarium, the great
bulk being nothing more than inspissated green juice.
Footnote 506:
Doctor Eights of Albany has related two cases of Neuralgia, in which
the use of the Carbonate of Iron was attended with complete success.
See New-York Medical and Physical Journal, Vol. I. p. 323.
ED.
Footnote 507:
This fact furnishes the Pharmaceutic Chemist with an easy and
effectual mode of cleansing the green crystals from the yellow
peroxide which forms upon their surface, viz. by washing them in
spirit.
Footnote 508:
By a parity of reasoning, Mr. Carmichael is led to prefer the
phosphate of iron to any other preparation of that metal, in cancer,
because he thinks iron, combined with an animal acid, enters the
system in greater quantity, and unites more intimately with the
juices.
AROMATIC LOZENGES OF STEEL. These consist of sulphate of iron with a
small proportion of the tincture of Cantharides.
Footnote 509:
FORGE WATER. This popular remedy as a lotion for Aphthæ and other
similar diseases, I am well satisfied possesses considerable efficacy.
It may, perhaps, be necessary to state that Forge-water is that in
which the Blacksmith has plunged his hot iron, for the purpose of
refrigeration. It is to be taken early in the morning, when, all the
mechanical impurities having had time to subside, it is beautifully
limpid. Upon examining some of this water I found it to contain
sulphate of iron. The sulphuric acid was probably derived from the
sulphur of the coals.
Footnote 510:
Besides the preparations of Iron mentioned by our author, there is
another which has recently been introduced into practice, by Dr.
Zollickhoffer of Maryland, and this is the _Prussiate of Iron_, or
_Prussian Blue_. Like the other forms of iron it acts as a powerful
tonic, and as a remedy in intermitting and remitting fevers, Dr. Z.
conceives it to possess many advantages over Cinchona. These he states
to be the following: “1. It is void of taste, and may therefore be
much more readily exhibited than the Cinchona Officinalis, which to
some is extremely unpleasant. 2. It may be given in every stage of the
disease, while the administration of bark is confined to the apyrexiæ.
4. The dose is much smaller, being from four to six grains twice or
thrice in twenty-four hours; or at morning, noon and night; while
bark, to be effectual, must be given in much larger doses. 4. It never
disagrees with the stomach, or creates nausea, even in the most
irritable state of this viscus; while bark is not unfrequently
rejected. 5. In its effects as a remedy calculated to prevent the
recurrence of future paroxysms, it is more certain, prompt, and
effectual, than the justly celebrated Cort. Peruvian. 6 and lastly, A
patient treated with this article will recover from the influence of
intermitting and remitting fevers, in the generality of cases, in much
less time than is usual in those cases in which bark is employed.” In
using the Prussiate of Iron, Dr. Zollickhoffer directs that care
should be taken to select that which is of a very dark blue colour,
approaching to a black, having a shining coppery fracture, and
adhering firmly to the tongue.
ED.
Footnote 511:
MATHIEU’S VERMIFUGE. This consisted of two distinct Electuaries, the
one for _killing_, the other for _expelling_ the Tapeworm. The former
of these was composed of an ounce of Tin Filings, six drachms of the
Fern root, half an ounce of Semina Santonici, a drachm of the resinous
extract of Jalap, and of Sulphate of Potass, and a sufficient quantity
of Honey to make an Electuary, of which a tea-spoonful was taken every
three hours for two days; after which the latter electuary was given
in the same dose, and consisted of two scruples of powdered Jalap, and
Sulphate of Potass, one scruple of Scammony, and ten grains of
Gamboge, made into an Electuary with Honey. The inventor of this
receipt received the title of Counsellor of the Court, as well as a
large pension for life, from the King of Prussia, for making it
public!
Footnote 512:
Seguin first proved that gallic acid, and tannin or the astringent
principle, are different substances; it is to the former that the
property of giving a black colour to the solutions of iron is owing.
Mr. Hatchett has shewn that tan or tannin may be artificially produced
by the action of nitric acid upon various vegetable substances.
Footnote 513:
By Dr. Bardsley the same quantity was taken and with similar results.
In many cases of Dyspepsia, attended with an irritability of stomach
that does not admit of the employment of bulky medicines, _gentiania_
may be used with much advantage. The preferable form is that of pill,
given in doses of one grain to be repeated two or three times a day.
Unlike the plant from which it is obtained, Gentiania has no tendency
to keep the bowels open. _Ed._
Footnote 514:
It takes its name from GENTIUS, king of Illyria, its discoverer, who
was vanquished by Anicius the Roman Prætor, A. U. 585. i. e. A.C. 167,
so that it is neither to be found in Hippocrates nor Theophrastus.
Footnote 515:
BRODUM’S NERVOUS CORDIAL consists of the tinctures of Gentian,
Calumba, Cardamom and Bark, with the Compound Spirit of Lavender, and
Wine of Iron.
STROUGHTON’S ELIXIR. Is a tincture of Gentian, with the addition of
Serpentaria, Orange Peel, Cardamoms, and some other aromatics.
Footnote 516:
PECTORAL BALSAM OF LIQUORICE. The proprietor of this nostrum gravely
affirms that f℥iss contains the virtues of a whole pound of Liquorice
root; but upon investigation it will be found to consist principally
of Paregoric Elixir, very strongly impregnated with the Oil of
Aniseed.
Footnote 517:
THE CHELSEA PENSIONER. An empirical remedy for the rheumatism is well
known under this name; it is said to be the prescription of a Chelsea
Pensioner, by which Lord Amherst was cured; the following is its
composition—Gum Guaiac ʒj—Powdered Rhubarb ʒij—Cream of Tartar
℥j—Flowers of Sulphur ℥j.—One Nutmeg finely powdered; made into an
Electuary with one pound of Clarified Honey. Two large spoonsful to be
taken night and morning.
WALKER & WESSEL’S JESUIT DROPS. This is nothing more than the Elixir
Antivenereum of Quincey, consisting of Guaiacum, Balsam of Copaiba,
and Oil of Sassafras, made into a Tincture by Spirit.
HATFIELD’S TINCTURE. Guaiac and Soap, equal parts, ʒij—Rectified
Spirit oiss.
HILL’S ESSENCE OR BARDANA. Guaiac ℥j—Spirit f℥iij.
Footnote 518:
MATTHEW’S PILLS,—STARKEY’S PILLS. Of the Roots of Black Hellebore,
Liquorice, and Turmeric, equal parts, purified Opium, Castille Soap,
and Syrup of Saffron, the same quantity, made into pills with Oil of
Turpentine.
BACHER’S TONIC PILLS. These are composed of equal parts of the Extract
of Hellebore, and Myrrh ℥j, with ʒiij of powdered Carduus Benedictus:
which are made into a mass, and divided into pills, each weighing one
grain; from two to six of which may be given three times every day,
according to the effects they produce.
Footnote 519:
Whence the decoctions of this substance have been termed Ptisans, from
πτὶσσω decortico, to peel.
Footnote 520:
A Compound, consisting of Extract of Quassia and Liquorice, is used by
fraudulent brewers to economise both malt and hops, and is technically
called “MULTUM.” An Extract of Cocculus Indicus is sold under the name
of “BLACK EXTRACT,” for imparting an intoxicating quality to the Beer.
Footnote 521:
Ὑδραργυρος of the Greeks, from its fluidity and colour.
Quicksilver. Quick in the old Saxon tongue signifies living, an
epithet derived from its mobility.
Mercury. Mythologists inform us that he was the winged messenger of
the Gods, and the Patron of Thieves,—What name therefore could be more
appropriate for the metal in question than that of this Deity? for it
is not only distinguished from all other metals by its mobility, but
its universal agency has rendered it the resource of those worst of
Thieves—Quacks and Nostrummongers.
Footnote 522:
There is indeed another purpose to which pure quicksilver has been
applied that deserves notice. Its administration has been proposed in
cases where silver coin has been swallowed, with a view of forming
with it an amalgam that would speedily pass through the alimentary
canal.
Footnote 523:
Foderé (Med. Leg. T. iii. p. 455) states that he has seen water, in
which mercury has been boiled, become purgative and vermifuge; and yet
the metal, in such cases, has not lost any of its weight.
Footnote 524:
If the quantity of Lime water be small, the precipitate will assume a
red colour, and will be found to be a Submuriate of the peroxide.
Footnote 525:
As this salt has been supposed to arrest the progress of syphilis more
rapidly, and at the same time, to excite the salivary glands less than
any other preparation of mercury, it generally forms the basis of
those dangerous nostrums, which are advertised for the cure of
Syphilis without Mercury. The contrivers hope also to elude detection
by the density and colour of the preparation.
GOWLAND’S LOTION, Is a solution of sublimate in an emulsion formed of
bitter almonds, in the proportion of about gr. jss to f℥j. A solution
of this mercurial salt in Spirit of Rosemary, is also sold as an
empirical cosmetic.
NORTON’S DROPS. A disguised solution of corrosive sublimate.
WARD’S WHITE DROPS. This once esteemed Anti-Scorbutic was prepared by
dissolving mercury in nitric acid, and adding a solution of carbonate
of ammonia; or frequently it consisted of a solution of sublimate with
carbonate of ammonia.
SPILSBURY’S ANTISCORBUTIC DROPS. Of Corrosive Sublimate ℥ij, Prepared
Sulphuret of Antimony ʒj, Gentian root and Orange peel, equal parts
ʒij, Shavings of Red Saunders, ʒj, made with a pint of proof spirit
into a tincture, which is to be digested and strained.
“THE ANTIVENEREAL DROPS,” so famous at Amsterdam, were analysed by
Scheele, who found they were composed of muriate of iron, with a small
proportion of corrosive sublimate.
MARSDEN’S ANTISCORBUTIC DROPS. A solution of sublimate in an infusion
of Gentian.
GREEN’S DROPS. The basis of these also is sublimate.
SOLOMON’S ANTI-IMPETIGINES. A solution of sublimate.
ROB ANTI-SYPHILITIQUE, par M. Laffecteur, Medicin Chemiste. This
popular nostrum of the French contains as a principal ingredient,
corrosive sublimate. A strong decoction of Arundo Phragmitis (the bull
rush) is made, with the addition of sarsaparilla and aniseeds towards
the end, which is evaporated, and made into a rob, or syrup, to which
the sublimate is added.
SIROP DE CUISINIERE. This consists of decoctions of sarsaparilla,
burrage flowers, white roses, senna, and aniseed, to which sublimate
is added, and the whole is then made into a syrup with sugar and
honey.
TERRE FEUILLETEE MERCURIELLE of Pressavin. This is Tartarized Mercury,
for it is made by boiling the oxyd of mercury (obtained by
precipitating it from a nitric solution, by potass) with cream of
tartar.
VELNO’S VEGETABLE SYRUP. There has been a great obscurity with respect
to the genuine composition of this nostrum; it has generally been
supposed to consist of sublimate rubbed up with honey and mucilage. I
have lately received from my friend Mr. Brodie a formula, by which a
medicine perfectly analogous in its sensible characters, and medicinal
properties, to the Syrup in question, may be prepared; and I am
assured that, wherever it has been tried, its effects are in every
respect similar to those produced by the original nostrum. Take of
Burdock root (young and fresh) sliced, ℥ij; Dandelion root ℥i; Spear
Mint (fresh) ℥j; Senna Leaves, Coriander Seeds (bruised), Liquorice
Root (fresh) of each ʒiss; Water oiss: boil gently until reduced to
oj; then strain, and, when cold, add ℔ of lump sugar, and boil it to
the consistence of a syrup, and add a small proportion of the solution
of Oxy-muriate of Mercury. Swediaur says that volatile alkali enters
into this nostrum as an ingredient; this alkali was proposed by Dr.
Peyrile, as a substitute for mercury, and it constitutes the active
ingredient of the following composition, which was proposed by Mr.
Besnard, Physician to the King of Bavaria.
TINCTURA ANTISYPHILLITICA. Sub-carb. potass, ℔j. dissolved in Aq.
Cinnam, oj. Opii puri, ℥ij. dissolved in Spir. cinnamom. f℥iv. mix
these separate solutions, and put them on a water-bath for three
weeks, taking care to shake the vessel frequently; to this add Gum
arabic ℥ij, Carb. Ammoniæ ℥j, dissolve in Aq. Cinnamomi; mix, filter,
and keep for use. Dose, twenty-four drops three times a day, in a
glass of the cold decoction of Marsh Mallow root.
The external use of these drops is also advised for local syphilitic
complaints!
Footnote 526:
By this simple and beautiful test, the late Mr. Archdeacon Wollaston
identified the presence of Sublimate in the yeast dumplings by which
Michael Whiting was poisoned at Ely; a case which I have recorded in
my work on Medical Jurisprudence, Vol. II. p. 265.
Footnote 527:
Ann. de Chimie et Phys. iv. 334.
Footnote 528:
For a more elaborate account of the various tests of Corrosive
Sublimate, see Beck’s Medical Jurisprudence, Vol. 2, p. 267.—_Ed._
Footnote 529:
For the origin of the term Calomel, see note, page 40.
Footnote 530:
Mr. William Phillips has favoured me with a model of this crystal cut
in wood; it is a rectangular prism whose solid angles are deeply
replaced by planes.
Footnote 531:
Many of the nostrums advertised for the cure of worms, contain Calomel
as the principal ingredient, combined with scammony, jalap, gamboge,
or some other purgative; they are uncertain and dangerous medicines;
the method of exhibiting them in the form of lozenges (worm cakes,) is
also attended with inconvenience, for the sugar and the gum generating
an acid, by being kept in damp places, may considerably increase the
acrimony of the mercury; besides which, the calomel is frequently
diffused very unequally through the mass, one lozenge may therefore
contain a poisonous dose, whilst others may scarcely possess any
active matter.
CHING’S WORM LOZENGES. These consist of yellow and brown lozenges, the
former are directed to be taken in the evening, the latter the
succeeding morning.
THE YELLOW LOZENGES. Take of Saffron ℥ss, of water oj, boil, and
strain; add of White Panacea of Mercury (Calomel washed in spirit of
wine) ℔j, white sugar, 28℔, mucilage of Tragacanth as much as may be
sufficient to make a mass, which roll out of an exact thickness, so
that each lozenge may contain one grain of Panacea.
THE BROWN LOZENGES. Panacea ℥ vij, resin of jalap, ℔iijss, white sugar
℔ix, mucilage of tragacanth q. s. each lozenge should contain gr. ½ of
panacea.
STORY’S WORM CAKES. Calomel and jalap made into cakes and coloured
with cinnabar.
Footnote 532:
For the origin of this term see page 39.
Footnote 533:
CHAMBERLAIN’S RESTORATIVE PILLS. “The most certain cure for the
Scrofula, or King’s Evil, Fistula, Scurvy, and all Impurities of the
Blood.”
My attention has been particularly directed to these pills, in
consequence of having lately seen, during the course of my
professional duty, several highly respectable persons, who had been
induced to make trial of their efficacy. Their inventor, if I am
rightly informed, resides at Ipswich, where, for the benefit of
suffering humanity, he prepares these wonderful pills, and, with the
alacrity of his patron deity, Mercury, transmits them to every corner
of the United Kingdom. It appears from the printed directions which
accompany the “Restorative Pills,” that their use must be continued
for a very long period; but upon this occasion we must allow the
Doctor to speak for himself. “It may be necessary to observe, that in
some cases of Scrofula, especially when the seat of the disease is in
the feet, ancles, or hands, it may take a long time to effect a cure,
even two years, and it may be twelve or sixteen months, with seeming
little or no improvement, yet the cure is certain by perseverance.”
What—two years! and to be taken during a period of sixteen months
without any sensible benefit! Is it possible that persons can be found
with sufficient credulity and resolution to submit to so preposterous
a proposal? we have no doubt that Mr. Chamberlain can produce as great
a portion of cures _after_ such an ordeal, as was adduced in former
times, in proof of the efficacy of the Royal Touch, and for the same
obvious reason. (See page 16.)
Upon examining these said pills, I find them to consist of Cinnabar,
Sulphur, Sulphate of Lime, and a little vegetable matter, perhaps gum.
Each pill weighs a fraction less than three grains; upon dividing one
with a penknife, and examining the cut surface through a lens, it
exhibited the appearance of scoriæ of a brick red colour, having small
yellowish masses imbedded in its substance. When exposed on a piece of
platinum foil to the action of the blow-pipe, it yielded vapours of a
strong sulphureous smell, and left a residuum of a pearly white
matter, which consisted almost entirely of Sulphate of Lime. Upon
submitting a portion of the pill, in a glass tube, to the heat of a
spirit lamp, two distinct sublimates were produced, the first
consisting of Sulphur, the second of Cinnabar; and a small
carbonaceous deposit remained. The Pill was then assayed, _via
humida_; distilled water dissolved the Sulphate of lime, which was
identified by appropriate tests, and left sulphur and cinnabar on the
filtre. By the above experiments I feel warranted in considering the
composition of this pill as fully ascertained.
BOERHAAVE’S RED PILL. The basis of this nostrum is Cinnabar.
Footnote 534:
The anatomist employs it for giving colour to his injections; for this
purpose it is very essential that it should be quite free from red
lead, or his preparations will in a short time lose their splendour,
and ultimately become black. This has unfortunately happened with some
preparations which Dr. Baillie presented to the College of Physicians.
Mr. Accum, in his work entitled “Death in the Pot,” states a case of
poisoning from cheese which had been coloured with adulterated
Vermillion. I am ready to admit, however, that the source of this
information is of very doubtful authority; never did a work appear
which so little merited the attention it received; even the title,
which seemed to have some claim to originality, was borrowed from a
work by Mouchart, called “Mors in Olla.”
Footnote 535:
ANODYNE NECKLACES. The roots of Hyoscyamus are commonly strung in the
form of beads, and sold under this name, to tie round the necks of
children, to facilitate the growth of their teeth, and allay the
irritation of teething. The application of medicated necklaces is a
very ancient superstition. See page 13. Such remedies were sometimes
called Periapts, περιαπτον.
Footnote 536:
In many cases it is essential that the water should be at the boiling
point, a few degrees even less than this will often prove a source of
failure; this is well exemplified by the familiar fact of the weakness
of our Tea, when made by water that does not quite boil. The Monks of
St. Bernard, in the Alps, complain that they cannot make good
Bouillie; the case is simply this, that from the altitude of their
monastery, the water boils before it can arrive at a sufficiently high
temperature. Whence we may deduce this important inference, that the
solvent powers of water are affected by a very slight range of
temperature. See a fuller account of this subject in my work on
“Medical Chemistry.”
Footnote 537:
Where the vegetable matter contains much starch, if the water be of a
temperature higher than 165°, instead of dissolving, it will coagulate
the starch, and produce a very untractable mass. This fact is well
known to Brewers, who are extremely cautious in avoiding a too high
temperature.
Footnote 538:
MADDEN’S VEGETABLE ESSENCE. Is little else than the Infusum Rosæ comp:
with an increased proportion of Acid.
Footnote 539:
This fact has been lately confirmed by M. F. Cartier, who found 4 gr.
of oxide of iron in 1000 gr. of red roses.
Footnote 540:
A valuable paper upon this subject is to be found in the first volume
of “The Reports of the Philomatic Society of Paris:” by Bouillon La
Grange. It has been lately supposed, but without much probability,
that the griping property of Senna depends upon its admixture with
some foreign leaf.
Footnote 541:
SELWAY’S PREPARED ESSENCE OF SENNA. This is a concentrated infusion of
Senna, in combination with an alkali.
Footnote 542:
The plant yielding the Ipecacuanha of the shops, is more probably a
species of Viola than that of Callicocca. According to Linnæus, it is
not unfrequently obtained from the Psycotria Emetica. The word
Ipecacuanha signifies _any_ emetic substance.
Footnote 543:
A formula for its preparation is introduced into the new CODEX of
Paris, being the one used by M. Pelletier; it is as follows. Let ℥i of
the powder of Ipecacuan be macerated in ℥ij of æther with a gentle
heat for some hours, in a distilling apparatus; let the portion which
remains be triturated and boiled with ℥iv of alcohol; it having been
previously macerated in it; filter and let the remainder be treated
with fresh portions of alcohol, as long as any thing is taken up from
the root; mix these alcoholic solutions and evaporate to dryness; let
this alcoholic extract be macerated in cold distilled water, in order
that every thing soluble in that menstruum may be dissolved; filter,
and evaporate to dryness; this extract is _Emetine_. In this state
however it contains a small quantity of gallic acid, but which is too
inconsiderable to affect its medicinal qualities.
Footnote 544:
We agree with the author in his estimate of the value of _Emetine_. As
a general remedy, it possesses no advantage over the Ipecacuanha
itself, and will probably never supersede it. Cases may occur,
however, in which its use will be desirable, and it may then be given
in the following doses. As an Emetic, from four to five grains
dissolved in a couple of ounces of some aromatic water; as a
Diaphoretic, about half a grain repeated every four hours; and as an
Expectorant, one-fifth or one-fourth of a grain repeated every two or
three hours. These doses apply only to the impure or coloured Emetine,
the form in which it is commonly found. _Ed._
Footnote 545:
IPECACUANHA LOZENGES. Each Lozenge contains half a grain of
Ipecacuanha.
Footnote 546:
SAPO JALAPINUS. It is prepared by taking equal parts of Castille Soap
and of resinous extract of Jalap, and digesting them in a sufficient
quantity of alcohol, with moderate heat, and evaporating to the
consistence of a conserve.
Footnote 547:
The plant which yields Kino is at length satisfactorily proved to be
the Pterocarpus Erinacea; the London College have accordingly made the
alteration which I anticipated in the former edition of this work.
Footnote 548:
Dr. Pemberton makes the interesting statement in relation to the
operation of Kino upon the system, that unless Diarrhœa be actually
present, “it appears to have no tendency to confine the bowels. In
this drug, therefore,” he adds, “you have a medicine which exerts its
powers to restrain the discharges of the glands when they are
secreting too much, without exerting any such powers over them when
they are acting naturally.” Practical Treatise on the various diseases
of the abdominal viscera, p. 112, Am. Ed.
ED.
Footnote 549:
It was known to be a remedy for this disorder at least two hundred
years ago; for, in a work entitled, “The Surgeon’s Mate, or Military
and Domestic Medicine,” by John Woodall, master in Surgery, London,
1636, the author concludes his eulogium of lemon juice, by saying, “I
dare not write how good a sauce it is at meat, lest the chief in the
ship should waste it in the great cabin to save vinegar.”
Footnote 550:
ESSENTIAL SALT OF LEMONS. See Potassæ Super-tartras.
Footnote 551:
WARD’S ESSENCE FOR THE HEAD-ACHE.—Nothing more than Liniment. Camph.
Comp.
Footnote 552:
STEER’S OPODELDOC.—Castille Soap ℥j, Rectified Spirit, f℥viij, Camphor
ʒiiiss, Oil of Rosemary fʒss, Oil of Origanum fʒj. Solution of Ammonia
fʒvj.
BATES’S ANODYNE BALSAM.—It consists of one part of Tincture of Opium,
and two of Opodeldoc, i. e. Liniment. Sapon. comp.
FREEMAN’S BATHING SPIRITS.—Liniment. Saponis comp. coloured with
Daffy’s Elixir. JACKSON’S BATHING SPIRITS differs from the former in
the addition of some essential oils.
LYNCH’S EMBROCATION.—Olive oil impregnated with Bergamot and some
other essences, and coloured with Alkanet root.
Footnote 553:
Since the last edition of this work, Mr. Dalton has discovered the
very curious fact, that lime is more soluble in cold than in hot
water, and has given a table of quantities from which he concludes
that the quantity held in solution by water at 32° Fah: is nearly
double that retained by water at 212°. Mr. Phillips has lately taken
up the subject, and confirmed the statement of Mr. Dalton.
thus 10.000 gr. of water, at 212°, dissolve 7.8 of lime
10.000 gr. of water, at 32°, ———— 15.2 ————
Mr. Phillips attempts to account for this apparent anomaly “from the
effect which heat sometimes produces of increasing instead of
diminishing the attraction of cohesion. In the present case, he
continues, the affinities which are brought into play are, the
attractions of aggregation of the particles of the lime upon each
other, the attraction of the lime to form a hydrate with a small
portion of the water, and the mutual affinity existing between that
hydrate and the water of solution.” And at the high temperature he
thinks that the former affinities may be so heightened as to overpower
the latter.
Footnote 554:
Upon this fact Dr. Alton founded his ingenious process for preserving
water from putrefaction; in the first place he impregnated the water
with lime, which from its antiseptic property answered the purpose of
keeping it most completely, and then, in order to get rid of the lime,
he merely added the carbonate of magnesia, which by transferring its
carbonic acid, rendered the lime insoluble, and consequently the water
tasteless and fit for economical purposes. Mr. Henry, however,
proposed the introduction of a current of carbonic acid into the cask,
and this expedient has been found equally effective, and far more
economical.
Footnote 555:
MRS. STEPHEN’S REMEDY FOR THE STONE consisted of lime, which was
produced by calcining the shells of eggs and snails, and made into
pills with Soap. A decoction was also administered, consisting of
Chamomile, Fennel, Parsley and Burdock, together with a portion of
Alicant Soap. This is a very rational practice, and is very much what
the practitioners of the present day depend upon: the observations of
Mrs. Stephens respecting their administration, are equally judicious.
“If,” says she, “these medicines produce pain, it will be necessary to
give an opiate with them, and it must be at all times a principal care
to prevent a looseness, for if this should happen it would carry off
the medicines; under such circumstances the quantity of the Decoction,
since it is laxative, must be diminished, and other suitable means
must be taken by the advice of a Physician.” The credit of introducing
alkaline medicines for the cure of calculous disorders, does not
however rest with MRS. STEPHENS. It has been before stated in this
work, that Basil Valentine employed a fixed alkaline salt in such
cases; and I may here add, that SENNERTUS, in his Praxis Medica,
mentions a lithonthryptic that was in great esteem and general use in
his time, which consisted of one ounce of Salt of Tartar dissolved in
a pint of parsley water, and afterwards tinged yellow with orange
peel.
Footnote 556:
VIRGIN’S MILK. A preparation is sold under this name, which is a
Sulphate of Lead, and is prepared as follows. To a saturated solution
of Alum, add of Goulard’s extract one third part. Shake them
together;—see Benzoinum for a very different cosmetic bearing the same
name.
Footnote 557:
HANKAY’S LOTION, OR PREVENTIVE WASH. This famous nostrum for the
prevention of venereal infection, was nothing more than a solution of
caustic potass.
Footnote 558:
DR. CHITTICK’S REMEDY FOR THE STONE. This celebrated nostrum consisted
of a fixed alkali in veal broth; the broth was usually made by his
patients, and sent to him fresh every day, in order to be medicated.
A. D. 1766.
Footnote 559:
Magnesia was originally a general term, expressive of any substance
which had the power of attracting some principle from the air, from
Magnes, the Loadstone. The peculiar body which we now denominate
Magnesia, was first sold as a panacea, by a canon at Rome, in the
beginning of the seventeenth century, under the title of Magnesia
alba, or Count Palma’s Powder.
Footnote 560:
DALBY’S CARMINATIVE. This consists of carbonate of magnesia ℈ij, oils
of Peppermint, ♏︎j, of Nutmeg, ♏︎ij, of Aniseed ♏︎iij, of the
tinctures of Castor ♏︎xxx, of Assafœtida ♏︎xv, Tincture of Opium, ♏︎v,
Spirit of Pennyroyal ♏︎xv, of the Compound Tincture of Cardamoms
♏︎xxx, Peppermint water f℥ij. There are cheaper compositions sold
under the same name. In examining the pretensions of this combination,
it must be allowed that it is constructed upon philosophical
principles; this however is no reason why the physician should
recommend it; the mischievous tendency of a quack medicine does not
depend upon its composition, but upon its application; we ought to
remember, says an eminent physician, that in recommending this nostrum
we foster the dangerous prejudices of mothers and nurses, who are
unable to ascertain the circumstances under which it should be given,
or even the proper doses; if its composition is judicious, why do not
physicians order the same in a regular prescription, rather than in a
form in which the most valuable remedy will be abused?
Footnote 561:
“Manna, vox chaldaica est, admirantis interjectio, deducta ab Hebraico
Manhu, sive quid est hoc?” Chrystom. Magneni Exercitat. de Manno.
Footnote 562:
HONEY WATER.—The article usually sold under this name is a mixture of
Essences coloured with Saffron; some add a small quantity of Honey,
the effect of which is to communicate a clamminess which retains the
scent longer.
Footnote 563:
ESSENCE OF PEPPERMINT.—A spirituous solution of the Essential Oil,
coloured green by Spinach leaves.
Footnote 564:
If the Gum arabic be adulterated with that of the Cherry-tree, the
solution will be ropy, in consequence of the presence of CERASIN. See
Mucilago Tragacanthæ. (Note.)
Footnote 565:
The mucilage is at the same time converted by this salt into a
beautiful peach blossom colour.
Footnote 566:
This variety of gum, which is characterised by its gelatinizing, but
not dissolving, in water, occurs in several vegetable substances; and
as it predominates in the Cherry-tree, Dr. John has distinguished it
by the name of CERASIN; but as Tragacanth consists almost entirely of
this substance, the term TRAGACANTHIN would have been much more
appropriate. Although Cerasin will not dissolve in pure water, it
undergoes solution in that menstruum, at the temperature of
ebullition, provided a portion of a mineral acid be added.
Footnote 567:
Sir Hans Sloane published a Paper in the Philosophical Transactions,
No. 249, Vol. xxi. p. 44, entitled “An account of the Nux Pepita, or
St. Ignatius’s Bean (Ignatia Amara, Lin.) A Simple in common use in
the Philippine Islands, as a Tonic medicine.”
Footnote 568:
That the active principle of the Nux Vomica expends its virulence upon
the spinal marrow has been already noticed. Page 133.
Footnote 569:
M. Henry has given us the most simple formula for the preparation of
this substance. It consists in boiling Nux Vomica in water, and
evaporating the decoction until it acquires the consistence of Syrup;
lime is then added, which unites with the acid, and liberates the
Strychnia; which may then be separated by means of alcohol, from which
it may be obtained by crystallization.
Footnote 570:
Ann: de Chimie et de Phys. x. 153.
Footnote 571:
M. Majendie has killed a dog with one eighth of a grain, and the
editor of the Edinburgh Med: & Surg: journ: has seen one die in two
minutes after the injection of one sixth of a grain into the cavity of
the pleura. The celebrated Java poison owes its activity to Strychnia.
Footnote 572:
Strychnia was obtained from the beans of St. Ignatius by the following
process: a portion of the beans being grated was heated in a close
vessel, under pressure, with sulphuric æther, by which an oily matter
was dissolved; the residuum then yielded by the action of alcohol, a
yellowish brown, very bitter substance, which being boiled in pure
magnesia and filtered, the colouring matter was washed out, and the
Strychnia and magnesia, in a state of mixture, remained on the filtre.
The Strychnia was then separated by alcohol, and thus obtained in a
state of great purity.
Footnote 573:
See note under the article Opium.
Footnote 574:
With regard to the use of Strychnia in paralysis, experiments
sufficiently numerous have now been made to enable us to judge of its
true value and efficacy. Like all other remedies it is by no means
infallible. In some cases it does no good, while in others it causes
effects which no other remedy is capable of producing. Every thing
depends upon the nature of the case. Whenever paralysis is the result
of some organic derangement of the brain, such as tumors pressing upon
the substance of that organ, diseased alterations in its structure, or
extravasations of fluid which cannot be absorbed, then this remedy
will be of no avail. On the other hand, where the paralysis depends
upon _simple diminished nervous excitement_, it may and has been
completely cured by the use of this article. In paraplegia it has
generally been found more successful than in hemiplegia. The first
effects of the remedy in all cases are convulsive twitchings of the
paralyzed parts, and no benefit is derived from its use until this
effect is produced and continued for some time. If plethora should be
present, this is to be corrected by venesection, purgatives, and other
appropriate treatment. It is a great advantage attending the use of
this powerful agent that it does not at all impair the tone of the
stomach; on the contrary, it has a tendency to increase the appetite
and promote digestion. In having recourse to the Strychnia, the best
way is to commence with small doses, increasing them gradually
according to the effect produced—one-eighth of a grain twice a day is
sufficient to begin with. This may be cautiously increased to 1/6,
1/4, or even ½ a grain twice a day. Should any unpleasant symptoms
occur, of course its use should be discontinued; and when the symptoms
subside, it may again be resumed. By observing these general
precautions there is no danger in using this otherwise potent agent.
The best form of giving it is in that of pill, made up with conserve
of roses.
From experiments made with _Brucia_, it is found to exert an influence
analogous to that of the _Strychnia_, only less energetic—one-fourth
of a grain of the latter equals in effect about six grains of the
former. It occasions violent tetanic attacks, and acts upon the nerves
without affecting the brain or the intellectual functions. From the
inferior energy of the Brucia, it may be used in cases where the
Strychnia would not be proper. The dose to begin with is gr. j. twice
a day, increased to three or four times a day. Unless it does some
good in five or six weeks its use should be discontinued.—ED.
Footnote 575:
HUILES ANTIQUES. The basis of the best of these oils, is the oil of
Ben, from the nuts of the Guilangia Moringa, or oil of hazel, which is
a very good substitute, since it is inodorous, colourless, and may be
kept for a considerable period without becoming rancid: it is
therefore well adapted to receive and retain the odour of those
vegetables that yield but a small proportion of essential oil.
Footnote 576:
OIL OF BRICKS. So called because this empyreumatic oil was sometimes
obtained by steeping hot brick in oil, and submitting it to
distillation.
Footnote 577:
ROCHE’S EMBROCATION FOR THE HOOPING COUGH. Olive oil mixed with about
half its quantity of the oils of cloves and amber.
STRUVE’S LOTION FOR THE HOOPING COUGH. This once famous nostrum
consisted of ʒj of Tartarized Antimony, dissolved in f℥ij of water, to
which was added f℥j of Tincture of Cantharides.
Footnote 578:
The editors have also unaccountably retained the Oleum de Lumbricis!
Footnote 579:
If the plates of the press be heated, the fixed oil from the bitter
almond will be odorous.
Footnote 580:
ESSENCE OR BITTER ALMONDS. The preparation sold under this name, for
the purposes of perfumery, &c. consists of one part of this essential
oil, and seven parts of Rectified spirit.
Footnote 581:
For such reasons there are but few wholesale houses who profess to
distil it. I have, however, through the civility and attention of Mr.
Johnson, chemist in Oxford-street, who frequently conducts the process
on a large scale, had several opportunities of witnessing the
interesting phenomena to which it gives rise. So powerful is the odour
developed upon these occasions that it fills the premises with an
almost insupportable atmosphere, occasioning head-ache, sickness and
cough; so that we may safely observe, that, whatever miracles the
prussic acid may perform, when applied to the coats of the stomach,
its application in the form of vapour to the lungs proves highly
irritating to those organs.
The concentrated vapour of this essential oil is almost instantly
destructive to animal life. I have seen flies drop lifeless to the
floor as they have passed over the still; thus, as it were, realizing
in miniature the fabled powers of Avernus.
“Quam super haud ullæ poterant impune volantes
Tendere iter pennis: talis sese halitus atris
Faucibus effundens supera ad convexa ferebat.”
Æn. VI. v. 239.
Footnote 582:
Some authors have considered the olibanum as the Λιβανος quasia Oleum
Libani, (_Thus_) of the ancients, but Dr. Maton has observed that he
cannot find any passage in the ancient authors sufficiently precise to
corroborate this conjecture. See Abietis Resina.
Footnote 583:
The Greeks and Romans attached a very different meaning to the terms
OPIUM and MECONIUM. The former signified the pure juice (οπος succus)
that flowed from the scarified poppies; the latter, the juice obtained
by bruising and pressing the poppy heads.
Footnote 584:
Annales de Chimie, vol. 45. Derosne first obtained a crystalline
substance from Opium in the year 1803, which dissolved in acids; but
he did not determine its nature or properties.
Footnote 585:
In 1804 Seguin (Ann. de Chim. vol. 92) discovered another crystalline
body in opium, and although he described most of its properties he
never hinted at its alkaline nature.
Footnote 586:
Sertuerner at Eimbeck, in Hanover, had at the same time as Derosne and
Seguin, obtained these crystalline bodies, (Ann. de Chim. et de Phy.
T. v.) but it was not until the year 1817, that he first unequivocally
proclaimed the existence of a vegetable alkali, and assigned to it the
narcotic powers which distinguish the operation of opium; to this body
he gave the name of Morphia, and it appears to be the same as the
essential salt noticed by Seguin. The salt of Derosne, now more
usually denominated Narcotine, is quite a different principle,
although it was constantly mistaken for one of the salts of Morphia,
till M. Robiquet (Ann. de Chim. & de Phy. T. v.) pointed out its
distinctive properties. It is an azotized substance, crystallizing in
beautiful pearly prisms or tables; soluble in fixed oil, and still
more so in æther and the acids; insoluble in water, and little soluble
in alcohol; destitute of action on the vegetable colours, and
incapable of neutralizing acids. There still exists, however, very
considerable confusion with respect to this salt, and farther
experiments are required to ascertain its chemical nature, as well as
its physiological action.
Footnote 587:
The discovery of an alkaline body in opium induced the French and
German chemists to examine the composition of other active
vegetables, with a view to detect the existence of an analogous
principle; and their labours have been rewarded with unexampled
success. They have accordingly obtained STRYCHNIA from the nut of
the Strychnos nux vomica;—BRUCIA from the bark of the Brucea
Anti-dysenterica (False Angustura Bark) VERATRIA from the Veratrum
album, V. Sabadilla and Colchicum Autumnale;—CINCHONIA from the bark
of the Cinchona Oblongifolia (Red Bark);—QUINA (or Kina) from that
of the Cinchona Cordifolia (Yellow Bark);—EMETA from the Callicocca
Ipecacuanha;—DELPHIA, from the Delphinium Staphisagria;—PICROTOXA
from the Menispermum Cocculus;—SOLANA from the Solanum Nigrum, and
S. Dulcamara; GENTIA, from Gentiana lutea;—ATROPIA from the Atropa
Belladonna;—HYOSCYAMA, from Hyoscyamus Niger. Besides which,
Capsicum, Piper nigrum, and SENNA, have been said to yield analogous
principles of a salifiable character. With respect to most of these
alkaline bodies farther experiments are required to establish our
confidence; it is more than probable that several of them will turn
out to be disguised modifications of each other; it has already been
questioned whether QUINA and CINCHONIA be not varieties of one
alkali; indeed it is possible that all these bodies may have the
same alkaline base, and that they differ from each other in
consequence of their combination with other principles, derived from
the vegetable in question, and impressing upon the salt its
characteristic virtues; and this idea receives material support from
the fact, that they are neutralized by a very small proportion of
acid. (See a paper on this subject in the 70th number of the
Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ.)
They have all many properties in common, such as a degree of
bitterness varying in intensity in different species; they are
inodorous; are not altered by air or light, but are decomposed by a
moderate heat; most of them enter into fusion, but at different
temperatures, some for instance at below 212° Fahr. others not until
they are about to be decomposed; HYOSCYAMA will even resist a low red
heat. They are very sparingly soluble in water, but they are in
general rendered more so by the presence of resinous matter. They are
nearly all highly soluble in alcohol. Æther readily dissolves DELPHIA,
VERATRIA, EMETA, QUINA, and GENTIA; but MORPHIA, CINCHONIA, and
PICROTOXA, are very sparingly soluble: and STRYCHNIA and BRUCIA are
nearly insoluble in it; they combine with the acids; and, in general,
form neutral salts; but it appears that VERATRIA and EMETA always
unite with an excess of acid. All the combinations with the mineral
acids, excepting the salts of PICROTOXA, are exceedingly soluble in
water; and, with the exception of NITRATE OF CINCHONIA, and all the
salts of VERATRIA, they are crystallizable. The acetates too, with a
few exceptions, are also soluble, and they are disposed to form
super-salts. All the oxalates, except that of PICRATOXA, which is the
most soluble of its salts, and all tartrates, are rather insoluble,
and have likewise a tendency to unite with an excess of acid. The
action of concentrated nitric acid on these alkaline bodies is very
peculiar, converting the greater number of them into artificial
tannin; but it appears to peroxidate MORPHIA, STRYCHNIA, and BRUCIA,
rendering them less powerful as salifiable bases, and diminishing or
destroying their action on the animal body. See Edinburgh Med. & Surg.
Journ. supra citat.
By analysis, with the deutoxide of copper, these alkalies yield
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; but no azote, unless they have been
obtained by precipitation with ammonia, as in the process of
Sertuerner.
It would appear that these bodies exist in their native plants, in
combination with peculiar acids; some of them are found in the state
of Malates.
With respect to their physiological action it may be stated, that they
would appear to concentrate in themselves the characteristic
properties of the vegetables to which they belong, and yet, although
their effects are much greater than those of the undecomposed
vegetables, the same quantity of alkali is not so powerful in its pure
form, as in its natural state of combination. Thus one grain of
morphia produces no more effect than two grains of Turkey opium, which
do not contain more than a sixteenth part of the alkali. To explain
this loss of efficacy which usually attends our attempts at
concentration, the reader is referred to the observations which have
been already offered upon this subject in the first part of this work,
page 153.
Footnote 588:
The manufacture, however, of Indian Opium has been of late years
greatly improved by Dr. Fleming, under whose superintendance that
important department was placed by the Marquis Wellesley.
Footnote 589:
Forty thousand pounds weight of Opium are annually imported into the
Port of London.
Footnote 590:
It has been stated in the Historical Introduction to this work, (page
8) that the nepenthe, which Helen mixed with wine, and gave to the
guests of Menelaus, was probably opium; such was the opinion of
Sprengel, expressed in his History of Botany. Other authors have
entertained a different belief. Delile, in his “Flora Egyptiaca,”
considers it to have been a preparation of hyoscyamus albus. Dr.
Christen, in his late elaborate Dissertation on Opium, agrees with
Forbes, who states, in his Oriental Memoirs, that in Hindostan
Bendsch, i. e. nepenthe is prepared from the cannabis sativa of
Linnæus. Linder informs us that bangue is prepared from the dried
leaves of the wild cannabis, the smoke of which is said to be more
narcotic than even that of opium. There seems, however, to be good
reason for supposing that Indian bangue is a compound of several
ingredients. Ray says that he learned from Sir Hans Sloane, that the
principal ingredient was not hemp, but a plant somewhat like it.
Footnote 591:
The operation of Opium is not unfrequently attended with an itching,
or sense of pricking of the skin, which is sometimes terminated by a
species of miliary eruption.
Footnote 592:
Opium is the Quack’s sheet anchor. The various nostrums advertised as
“Cough Drops, for the cure of colds, asthmas, catarrhs, &c.” are
preparations of Opium very similar to paregoric elixir. PECTORAL
BALSAM OF LIQUORICE, and ESSENCE OF COLTSFOOT, are combinations of
this kind. GRINDLE’S COUGH DROPS, are a preparation of the same
description, only made with Rectified, instead of Proof Spirit, and
consequently more highly charged with stimulant materials. “The
mischief,” says Dr. Fothergill, “that has proceeded from the healing
anodynes of quacks can be scarcely imagined; for in coughs, arising
from suppressed perspiration or an inflammatory diathesis, Opiates
generally do harm.”
SQUIRE’S ELIXIR. Opium, camphor, serpentaria, sub-carbonate of potass,
anise and fennel seeds, made into a tincture, and coloured with
cochineal.
FORD’S BALSAM OF HOREHOUND. This nostrum may very properly be classed
under the present head. It consists of an aqueous infusion of
horehound and liquorice root, with double the proportion of proof
spirit or brandy; to which is then added, opium, camphor, benzoin,
squills, oil of aniseed, and honey.
Footnote 593:
LIQUOR MORPHII CITRATIS. ℞.Opii Crudi Optimi ℥iv; Acidi Citrici
(Cryst:) ℥ij; semel in mortario lapideo contunde, dein aquæ distillatæ
bullientis oj affunde; et intime misceantur; macera per horas viginti
quatuor; per chartam bibulosam cola.
Footnote 594:
THE BLACK DROP, or The Lancaster, or Quaker’s Black Drop. This
preparation, which has been long known and esteemed, as being more
powerful in its operation and less distressing in its effects than any
tincture of opium, has until lately been involved in much obscurity;
the papers however of the late Edward Walton, of Sunderland, one of
the near relations of the original proprietor, having fallen into the
hands of Dr. Armstrong, that gentleman has obliged the profession by
publishing the manner in which it is prepared, and is as
follows:—“Take half a pound of opium sliced; three pints of good
verjuice (juice of the wild crab,) and one and a half ounce of
nutmegs, and half an ounce of saffron. Boil them to a proper
thickness, then add a quarter of a pound of sugar, and two spoonsful
of yeast. Set the whole in a warm place near the fire, for six or
eight weeks, then place it in the open air until it becomes a syrup;
lastly, decant, filter, and bottle it up, adding a little sugar to
each bottle.” One drop of this preparation is considered equal to
about three of the Tincture of Opium. P. L. It would appear that an
Acetate of Morphia is formed, which is more active, and less
distressing in its effects, than any other narcotic combination.
The French Codex contains directions for preparing a compound very
similar to the Black Drop; viz.
VINUM OPIATUM FERMENTATIONE PARATUM, or Guttæ seu Laudanum Abbatis
Rousseau. Take of white honey twelve ounces; warm water, three pounds;
dissolve the honey in the water, pour it into a matrass, and set it
aside in a warm place: as soon as fermentation has commenced, add four
ounces of good opium, having previously dissolved, or rather diffused
it in twelve ounces of water; allow them to ferment together for a
month, then evaporate until ten ounces only remain, filter, and add
four ounces and a half of alcohol.
LIQUOR OPII SEDATIVUS. Under this name, Mr. Battley, a manufacturing
druggist, of Fore-street, London, has offered for sale a narcotic
preparation, which it is generally supposed owes its efficacy to the
acetate of morphia; on being kept, however, I found that it underwent
some important change, during which so much air was disengaged as to
blow out the cork from the bottle with violence. This is an objection
to its admission into practice, unless we can ensure recently prepared
portions as often as they may be required.
In publishing the above statement, I have unfortunately been the cause
of much unnecessary INK-SHED. A letter, by Mr. Battley, has been
industriously circulated through the different ranks of the
profession, purporting to be an apology for his preparation, but after
a careful perusal of it, instead of being able to discover any
argument in its favour, we receive a full acknowledgment of the
validity of the objection above stated. “I explained to Dr. Paris,
that the liability of the solution to undergo change, WAS A DEFECT in
the preparation, but that the addition of a little spirit would
prevent decomposition,” and yet in the next sentence he tells us that
in those cases in which it is most beneficial, “the addition of spirit
would be highly improper.” See Medical Repository, vol. xiii, p. 273.
But the circumstance which has excited the greatest indignation in the
mind of Mr. Battley, is my having applied the term NOSTRUM to his
preparation. Every medicine that is prepared by a secret process, and
sold for the private advantage of an individual, is properly
designated a NOSTRUM. And I am at a loss to discover any feature in
the present case that can entitle it to be considered as an exception
to this general rule; but perhaps Mr. Battley is inclined to be
hypercritical, and as the preparation is not indebted to him, but to
Wedelius or Le Mort, for its origin, is prepared to exclaim with the
Roman Poet:
“Quæ non fecimus ipsi vix ea NOSTRA VOCO.”
Mr. Battley also complains bitterly of my having inserted his
preparation under so odious a motto as “Arcana Revelata fætent,” for
my own part I cannot conceive any thing more appropriate to the case,
viz. Arcana, _these secret preparations_, revelata, _exposed to the
air_, fætent, _grow fœtid_. But, notwithstanding the objections which
I have thus felt it my duty to offer, I am disposed to speak
favourably of its mild and uniform effects, and in justice to Mr.
Battley, I will further state the same opinion has been formed by a
great number of respectable practitioners. The late Mr. Haden, who
during his protracted illness took a large quantity of this
preparation, states, in his Translation of the Formulary of Dr.
Majendie, that it is devoid of exciting, and almost of constipating,
properties. He made a very good substitute, “by macerating the dregs,
remaining after making tincture of opium, in a solution of Tartaric
acid.” The preparation formed a tolerably deep tincture, and 40 drops
acted, he thought, in all respects, like 20 of the liquor opii
sedativus. It neither stimulated, nor produced costiveness.
Footnote 595:
GODBOLD’S VEGETABLE BALSAM. In the specification of the Patent for
this nostrum forty-two different vegetables are directed to be
distilled “for the purpose of extracting their essences, which are to
be preserved separately and apart from each other, in syrups, and are
to be mixed with the following gums and drugs, viz. Gum Dragon, Gum
Guaiacum, Gum Arabic, and Gum Canada, these being dissolved in double
distilled vinegar, with a quantity of Storax dissolved in Spirits of
Wine and Oil of Cinnamon. It is to be bottled off, and kept three
years before it is fit to be administered for the CURE of Consumption,
or any Asthmatic Complaint.” It is hardly necessary to observe, that
no such directions ever are, or indeed ever could be followed; in
short the “BALSAM” is little else than simple oxymel. It is, however,
not a little curious that amongst the forty-two plants enumerated,
there should be several that would on distillation yield Prussic acid,
such as the Bays. We wonder that this accidental circumstance has not
been noticed, and turned to account, by some of those worthy disciples
of Esculapius who live by the credulity of mankind, and, as Falstaff
expresses it, “Turn diseases to a commodity.”
Footnote 596:
“It is in this manner, I apprehend, that stimulating syrups will
frequently remove hoarseness.”
Footnote 597:
Although it has been long known that the seeds of the poppy, and the
oil obtained from them by expression, do not possess any of the
narcotic properties of the plant, and that they were even baked into
cakes and used as an article of food by the ancients, yet has there
been in later times very considerable contention respecting the
propriety and safety of using such oil. The cultivation of the Poppy
for the sake of the oil of its seeds, as an article of food, has been
long carried on in France, Brabant, and Germany; and more recently in
Holland. At about the beginning of the 17th century, the opposition to
this use of the Poppy manifested itself in France, and became so
violent, that the Lieutenant General of the Police of Paris ordered
the medical faculty of that city to make the strictest examination
concerning this point, and they accordingly reported that, as there is
nothing narcotic or prejudicial to health in the oil, the use of it
might be permitted. But this decision was unsatisfactory; and popular
clamour determined the Court to pass a decree in 1718, prohibiting the
sale of Poppy Oil, whether mixed or unmixed! The sale of the article,
however, notwithstanding this most singular decree, was clandestinely
encouraged, and it gradually increased until the year 1735, when the
Court issued a severe decree, enjoining the superintendent to mix a
certain quantity of the extract of Turpentine, with every cask
containing 1100 lbs. of this oil, of which no less than 2000 casks
were consumed in Paris alone. But the secret demand for it increased
until 1773, when a Society of Agriculture undertook to examine the
question, and the result of their labours had the effect of reversing
the prohibition, and of convincing the multitude that their fears were
entirely unfounded, and that there was really no narcotic power, nor
any secret mischief in the article.
Footnote 598:
As these pills are liable to become hard and insoluble by being kept,
it is better to keep the ingredients in powder, and to form them
extemporaneously with a little syrup.
Footnote 599:
The Pix Arida of the late Pharmacopœia.
Footnote 600:
Tar water was also at one period celebrated as an antisiphylitic
remedy. M. Acharius, in his work “On the Use and advantages of Tar
Water in Venereal Complaints,” enumerates the cases of a number of
patients cured by this remedy alone in the Hospital of Stockholm,
without any Mercury.
Footnote 601:
Dr. Mudge in the year 1782 had recommended the fumigation of balsams,
in a pamphlet on the subject of his Inhaler; little or no notice
however was taken of this recommendation, a circumstance which cannot
excite our surprise when we consider the extravagant terms in which
the pretensions of the remedy were supported. “I believe,” says he,
“that much of the benefit which consumptive persons experience from
sea voyages, is derived from the tar vapour constantly present on
board a ship!”
A Radical and Expeditious Cure for a recent Catarrhous Cough. By J.
Mudge, Plymouth, 1783.
Footnote 602:
Litharge. The word is derived from λὶθος, _Lapis_, a stone, and
ἄργυρος, _Argentum_, Silver; from the fact of the lead being thrown
off in this state during its application for the refinement of Silver.
Footnote 603:
That the oak cask imparts astringent matter to the contained spirit,
is shewn by the facts enumerated under the history of Brandy, see
Spiritus Tenuior.
Footnote 604:
Sir George Baker considered the dry-belly-ache, which is common to
drinkers of new Rum, in the West Indies, entirely referable to its
contamination with Lead.
Footnote 605:
See next Note.
Footnote 606:
I uniformly adopt this plan; the acetic acid is the best guard that
can be selected to protect the salt from decomposition; even the
Tartrate of Lead, which is so insoluble in water, forms with vinegar a
soluble triple salt.
Footnote 607:
ROYAL PREVENTIVE.—This pretended prophylactic against venereal virus
is a solution of Acetate of Lead.
Footnote 608:
Peroxide of Potassium is produced by heating the metal in a
considerable excess of oxygen. It is an orange-coloured body, which,
upon being put into water effervesces, and gives off oxygen, and is
thus reduced to the state of protoxide.
Footnote 609:
Potass forms the basis of many of those preparations, sold as
Depilatories; in some instances combined with Lime. COLLEY’S
Depilatory appears to consist of Quick-lime, and a portion of
Sulphuret of Potass.
Footnote 610:
Sal Prunelle. Nitre, when coloured purple like a plum, has been long
esteemed in Germany as a powerful medicine, under this name.
M. Chevreul supposes the urinous taste attributed to fixed alkaline
bases not to belong to these substances, but to the ammonia, which is
set at liberty by their action on the ammoniacal salts contained in
the saliva; the proofs of which, he says, may be derived from the
facts that the sensation disappears upon pressing the nostrils; and
that the same odour is perceived when we smell to a mixture of recent
saliva and fixed alkali, made in a small glass or porcelain capsule.
(See my work on Medical Chemistry, § 8.)
Footnote 611:
See my “Elements of Medical Chemistry,” p. 157.
Footnote 612:
Ibid. p. 605.
Footnote 613:
I may take this opportunity to state that Sulphuretted Hydrogen, in a
state of simple solution, or in combination with other bodies,
possesses considerable powers as a remedy in many cutaneous disorders
of a chronic character. The “Gas-Water,” or that which remains after
the gas, used for illumination, has passed through the purifier, and
which consists of Hydro-Sulphuret and Hydro-bi-Sulphuret of Lime, has
been used with great success in such cases.
Footnote 614:
It may be termed a Boro-tartrate.
Footnote 615:
ESSENTIAL SALT OF LEMONS. The preparation sold under this name, for
the purpose of removing iron moulds from linen, consists of cream of
tartar, and super-oxalate of potass, or salt of sorrel, in equal
proportions.
Footnote 616:
See page 183.
Footnote 617:
His specification, lodged in Chancery, is as follows. “Take Antimony,
calcine it with a continued protracted heat, in a flat unglazed
vessel, adding to it from time to time, a sufficient quantity of any
animal oil and salt, dephlegmated; then boil it in melted nitre for a
considerable time, and separate the powder from the nitre by
dissolving it in water.”
JAMES’S ANALEPTIC PILLS. These consist of James’s powder, gum
ammoniacum, and the pill of aloes with myrrh, (Pil. Rufi) equal parts,
with a sufficient quantity of the tincture of castor to make a mass.
Footnote 618:
In consequence of the antimonial powder having proved inert in the
hands of Dr. Elliotson, although exhibited to the amount of a hundred
grains for a dose, Mr. Phillips was induced to examine more
particularly into the nature of the oxide which enters into its
composition. “After the well established fact,” says he, “that
peroxide of antimony is nearly or totally inert, it appears to me,
that if proof could be obtained, that the oxide of antimony is in this
state, the deficiency of power in the Pulvis Antimonialis would be
accounted for.” He then proceeds to detail his experiments, from which
he deduces the composition of this preparation to be as follows:
Peroxide of Antimony 35
Phosphate of Lime 65
———
100
which exist together in a simple state of mixture. Until the subject
be elucidated by farther experiments, it will be difficult for the
chemist to persuade the physician, that he can never have derived any
benefit from the exhibition of Antimonial Powder, although I am by no
means inclined to concede to it that extraordinary degree of virtue,
which many practitioners are so eager to maintain.
Footnote 619:
This plant is esteemed by the American Indians as a universal remedy,
and is always carried about with them. The members of the profession
have doubtless heard of an irregular practitioner, who has persuaded a
certain number of persons in this metropolis, that he possesses
remedies, obtained from the American Indians, by which he is enabled
to _cure_ Scrofula in its worst forms; it is to this Empiric that I
alluded in the note at page 33; and it may be worthy of notice that
the plant upon which he relies for success, is the Pyrola Umbellata.
Footnote 620:
Philosophical Transactions, 1799.
Footnote 621:
WARNER’S CORDIAL. Rhubarb bruised ℥j; Sennæ ℥ss; Saffron ʒj; Powdered
Liquorice ʒiv; Raisins pounded ℔j; Brandy oiij; digest for a week and
strain.
MOSELEY’S PILLS. The stomachic Pills which are sold under this name,
consist merely of Rhubarb and Ginger.
Footnote 622:
Dr. Rehman asserts that it is the root of the same species as that
which produces the Turkey variety, but that it is prepared with less
care.
Footnote 623:
The seeds of this plant, from which the oil is expressed, are
variegated with black and white streaks, resembling in shape as well
as colour, the insect RICINIS or Tick, whence the name. These seeds,
from the acrid juice in their skins, are very drastic and emetic; they
were however used by HIPPOCRATES. MATHIOLUS attempted to correct their
emetic quality by torrefaction, but without success. GULIELMUS PISO
proposed a tincture of them, but the preparation is not only
uncertain, but unsafe in its operation. See Tiglii Semina.
Footnote 624:
For the derivation of the name _Castor_ oil, see p. 39.
Footnote 625:
The sugar cane is called in Arabic _Lukseb_. The produce of it,
_Assakur_, hence _Sugar_. Some authors have attempted to derive the
word from _Succus_ a juice; this is obviously an error.
Footnote 626:
For this purpose it may be added to certain ointments to prevent their
becoming rancid. For the reasons, however, above stated, it must not
be boiled with the ingredients, but added after they are cold.
Footnote 627:
In those districts where Soap is generally made from wood ashes, or
from Russian or American potass, unless Salt were added in large
quantities, it would not have any consistence. As Kelp and common
Barilla contain a sufficient quantity of it, no further addition is
required.
Footnote 628:
TRANSPARENT SOAP is made by carefully evaporating the alcoholic
solution. The solution itself is sold under the name of SHAVING
LIQUID, or “ESSENCE ROYALE POUR FAIRE LA BARBE.”
Footnote 629:
When a solution of soap and sub-acetate of lead are added together,
the potass of the former combines with the acetic acid of the latter,
and the fat and oxyd of lead are disengaged; the one rising to the
surface, while the other is precipitated; and yet notwithstanding this
complete decomposition, some surgeons are in the habit of using an
application which consists of a drachm of the Liquor Plumbi
Sub-Acetatis, and two ounces of the Linimentum Saponis! We cannot have
any hesitation in deciding upon the inefficacy of such a mixture.
Footnote 630:
GODFREY’S CORDIAL. The following receipt for this nostrum was obtained
from a wholesale druggist, who makes and sells many hundred dozen
bottles in the course of a year. There are however several other
formulæ for its preparation, but they are not essentially different.
Infuse ℥ix of Sassafras, and of the seeds of Carraway, Coriander, and
Anise, of each ℥j, in six pints of water, simmer the mixture until it
is reduced to four pints; then add ℔vj of Treacle, and boil the whole
for a few minutes; when it is cold, add f℥iij of the tincture of
Opium. The extensive and indiscriminate use of this nostrum in the
nursery, is a subject of national opprobrium, and is so considered by
foreign writers. See Fodéré, Medicine Legale, vol. iv. p. 22.
Footnote 631:
M. Virey says, “On observe que des acides châtrent, pour ainsi parler,
tout l’energie de la Scammonée.”
Footnote 632:
COUNT WARWICK’S POWDER. The purgative long known and esteemed under
this name, consisted of Scammony, Oxide of Antimony, and Cream of
Tartar. It is much extolled by Baglivi, and by Van-Swieten, as an
efficacious purgative in intermittent fevers.
Footnote 633:
The English physicians do not do justice to this valuable article. In
this country it enjoys a high and deserved reputation. As a remedy in
Croup it has long been esteemed as one of our most efficient
resources, and more recently it has been very warmly recommended as a
powerful emmenagogue. In Croup, it should not be given until after the
use of venesection and other evacuants. It may then be administered in
the form of decoction, prepared from half an ounce of the bruised root
boiled in eight ounces of water down to four. Of this a tea spoonful
is to be taken every hour or half hour as circumstances may require.
When used as an emmenagogue, the decoction is to be prepared by
simmering in a close vessel ℥j of the bruised root in a pint of
boiling water, until it is reduced about one third—of this four ounces
are to be taken daily, and to be increased as far as the stomach will
bear, at the menstrual period. _Ed._
Footnote 634:
It enters into the composition of Stoughton’s Elixir, for which see
Gentianæ Radix.
Footnote 635:
It is for this reason that the cake left after expression is so much
more pungent than the seeds, for the fixed oil can be easily separated
by pressure.
Footnote 636:
WHITEHEAD’S ESSENCE OF MUSTARD.—This consists of oil of turpentine,
camphor, and a portion of spirit of rosemary; to which is added a
small quantity of flour of mustard.
WHITEHEAD’S ESSENCE OF MUSTARD PILLS.—Balsam of Tolu, with resin!
READY MADE MUSTARD.—This is made up with currant wine, and sugar;
formerly Must, or grape juice, was employed for this purpose, whence
the name _Mustard_.
Footnote 637:
This term is also applied to the Sub-carbonate of Ammonia. The
objection to its use depends upon the solecism which it involves; the
division of an atom, which, according to chemical principles, is
indivisible; but this objection may be answered by stating, that the
term is one merely of convenience, and serves to express the
proportions of the acid and its base. The chemical difficulty is at
once solved by multiplying each by two, which will make the
proportions as 3 to 2. instead of 1½ to 1.
Footnote 638:
SODAIC POWDERS.—Contained in two distinct papers, one of which is
blue, the other white; that in the former consists of ʒss of the
carbonate of soda, that in the latter of grs. xxv of tartaric acid.
These powders require half a pint of water. It is very evident that a
solution of these powders is by no means similar to “Soda Water,”
which it is intended to emulate; for in this latter preparation, the
soda is in combination only with carbonic acid; whereas the solution
of the “Sodaic Powders” is that of a neutral salt, with a portion of
fixed air diffused through it.
PATENT SEIDLITZ POWDERS.—These consist of two different powders; the
one, contained in a white paper, consists of ʒij of Tartarized Soda,
and ℈ij of Carbonate of Soda; that in the blue paper, of grs. xxxv of
tartaric acid. The contents of the white paper are to be dissolved in
half a pint of spring water, to which those of the blue paper are to
be added; the draught is to be taken in a state of effervescence. The
acid being in excess renders it more grateful, and no less efficacious
as a purgative. This preparation cannot be said to bear any other
resemblance to the mineral water of Seidlitz, than in being purgative.
The water of this spring, which was discovered by Hoffman about a
century ago, contains Sulphate of Magnesia as its active ingredient,
together with Muriate of Magnesia, and Sulphate, and Carbonate of
Lime. In the Codex Medicamentarius of Paris there are two formulæ for
the preparation of a water which may resemble that of Seidlitz, the
one differing from the other merely in the proportion of its Sulphate
of Magnesia.
Footnote 639:
Our English Salt is generally thus contaminated; for which reason it
is unfit for the curing of several kinds of fish; this will not appear
strange, says Mr. Parkes, when it is considered that merely its own
weight of water is all that is necessary for the complete solution of
muriate of magnesia; a circumstance which renders it impossible to
preserve such salt for any length of time in a dry state. This muriate
however might be separated from common salt, on a large scale, for one
shilling per cwt. By exposing the salt to a gentle heat in
reverberatory furnaces, the muriatic acid of the magnesian muriate
will fly off, and the magnesia (on a subsequent solution of the salt)
will be precipitated. It is well known that muriate of magnesia begins
to part with its acid at a temperature a little higher than that of
boiling water.
Footnote 640:
The annual quantity of salt raised from the Salt Mines and Springs in
Europe, is estimated at from 25 to 30 millions of cwt.
Footnote 641:
The respect paid to Salt amongst Eastern nations is very remarkable,
and may be traced to the highest antiquity. Homer gives to it the
epithet of θεὶον, Il. ix. p. 214.
Footnote 642:
In addition to the numerous instances cited by these authors, I may
here introduce one which has been just communicated to me by my friend
Mr. John Taylor, the agent of the London Company for working the Real
del Monte Silver Mines in Mexico. He states that the ore, which
consists of the Sulphuret of Silver, is, together with Mercury,
amassed in heaps with iron pyrites and common salt; and that such is
the greediness of the Mules employed in the works for the Salt, that
they are constantly licking the materials; the consequence is that a
portion of the Silver Amalgam is introduced into their stomachs; the
animals, however, suffer no inconvenience; but, after death, on
opening their stomachs, it is not unusual to find considerable masses
of Silver, the mercury having escaped, or been dissolved by the
gastric juice.
Footnote 643:
The celebrated Indian Tonic for Dyspepsia and Gout, called Bit laban,
is prepared by fusing together muriate of soda and some other
ingredients. See Dr. Fleming’s Catalogue of Indian Medicinal plants
and drugs, p. 54, 55.
Footnote 644:
I have myself witnessed the bad effects of a diet of unsalted fish;
and in my examination before a Committee of the House of Commons in
1818, appointed “for the purpose of inquiring into the laws respecting
the Salt Duties,” I stated the great injury which the poorer classes
in many districts sustained in their health, from an inability to
procure this essential article. Lord Somerville (in his address to the
Board of Agriculture) gave an interesting account of the effects of a
punishment which formerly existed in Holland. “The ancient laws of the
country ordained men to be kept on bread alone, UNMIXED WITH SALT, as
the SEVEREST punishment that could be inflicted upon them in their
moist climate; the effect was horrible: these wretched criminals are
said to have been DEVOURED BY WORMS, engendered in their own
stomachs.”
SALT was an object of taxation at a very early period in this country;
Ancus Martius, 640 years before our era ‘_Salinarum Vectigal_
instituit.’ This tribute was continued on the Britons when our Isle
was possessed by the Romans, who worked the Droitwich Mines, and who
made salt part of their soldiers _Salarium_, or salary. Hence the
custom at the Eton Montem of asking for salt.
The great advantages which must ultimately accrue to this nation in
its fisheries, agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, from a late
remission of the odious and impolitic tax upon salt, are incalculable.
The government of France appears to have been as impolitic with regard
to this tax as the English. Buonaparte abolished the collection of
turnpike dues; and imposed a tax on salt, payable at the Salt-pans, in
its stead. It is not perhaps generally known, that by the aid of this
tax he was enabled to complete the grand entrance into Italy, over the
Simplon; so that it may be fairly observed, that if HANNIBAL was
enabled to cross the Alps by the aid of VINEGAR—BUONAPARTE, by the
assistance of SALT, succeeded in constructing a public road over the
same mountains.
Footnote 645:
CHELTENHAM SALTS.—A factitious compound has been long vended, as a
popular purgative, under this name; it is formed by triturating
together the following salts. Sulphate of Soda, grs. 120. Sulphate of
Magnesia, grs. 66. Muriate of Soda, 10. Sulphate of Iron, gr. ½. As a
purgative it is very efficacious, and superior probably to that which
is actually obtained by the evaporation of the Cheltenham water
itself; for notwithstanding the high pretensions with which this
latter salt has been publicly announced, it will be found to be little
else than common Glauber’s Salt. This fact has been confirmed by the
experiments of Mr. Richard Phillips, (Annals of Philosophy, No. lxi,)
who observes, that the “REAL CHELTENHAM SALTS contain no chalybeate
property, but are merely sulphate of soda, mixed with a minute
quantity of soda, and a very small portion of common salt.” It could
not be imagined that the salt should contain oxide of iron even in a
state of mixture, much less in combination, for carbonate of iron is
readily decomposed by ebullition, and the oxide of iron is
precipitated before the salt can be crystallized. A preparation, under
the name of Thomson’s Cheltenham Salts, is accordingly manufactured in
London, by evaporating a solution consisting of sulphate of soda and
sub-carbonate of soda.
“EFFLORESCENCE OF REAL CHELTENHAM SALTS.” The preceding salt deprived
of its water of crystallization.
“EFFLORESCENCE OF REAL MAGNESIAN CHELTENHAM SALTS,” MADE FROM THE
WATERS OF THE CHALYBEATE MAGNESIAN SPA. This is asserted to be a
sub-sulphate from nature, which combines both a pure and a
sub-sulphated magnesia in its composition; “but,” says Mr. Phillips,
“neither nature nor art has ever produced such a combination; in
truth, it consists of Epsom Salt, with small portions of magnesia, and
muriate of magnesia or muriate of soda.”
MURIO-SULPHATE OF MAGNESIA AND IRON. The preparation thus named by Mr.
Thomson, was found by Mr. Phillips to consist of Epsom Salt, deprived
of part of its water of crystallization, and discoloured by a little
rust of iron, and containing a small portion of muriate of magnesia.
Thus it appears, that not one of these preparations is similar to the
water which is drank at the Spa; in order to remedy this difficulty,
Mr. Thomson prepared the “ORIGINAL COMBINED CHELTENHAM SALTS,” by
evaporating the waters to dryness: but a very small share of chemical
penetration is required to satisfy us that no process of this
description can remedy the defect described, for as Mr. Phillips has
observed, the chalybeate properties of the water must be essentially
altered by such an operation.
Footnote 646:
HUNGARY WATER. Aqua Reginæ Hungariæ. This article, when genuine, is a
pure spirit distilled from the Rosemary, and is strongly scented with
the rich perfume of that aromatic plant.
Footnote 647:
I apprehend that the peculiar flavour of Cogniac depends upon the
presence of an æthereal spirit, formed by the action of Tartaric or
perhaps Acetic acid upon Alcohol; it is on this account that Nitric
Æther, when added to Malt spirits, gives them the flavour of French
Brandy. The same flavour is also successfully obtained by distilling
British spirits over wine lees, or by distilling a spirit obtained
from Raisin Wine, which has become acescent.
In new brandy there also appears to be an uncombined acid, giving to
it a peculiar taste and quality, which are lost by age. This explains
the reason why the addition of five or six drops of “liquor ammoniæ,”
to each bottle of new brandy, will impart to it the qualities of that
of the oldest date.
Footnote 648:
TAYLOR’S RED BOTTLE, commonly called the Whitworth Doctor. British
Brandy coloured with Cochineal, and flavoured with oil of Origanum.
Footnote 649:
Mr. Parkes, in his Chemical Essays, has the following remark: “an
ingenious friend assures me that if new rum be exposed for a night to
a severe frost, and then removed to a heated room, and thus
alternately treated for a week or two, it will in that short time have
acquired a flavour equal to fine _old_ spirits.” The mischievous
effects of new rum, as drank in the West Indies, would seem to depend
upon the presence of Lead; see Plumbi Acetas.
Footnote 650:
_Mock Arrack._ The author of ‘Apicius Redivivus,’ directs, for the
purpose of making a mock Arrack, that two scruples of Benzoic acid be
added to every quart of Rum. By a receipt of this kind the celebrated
Punch of Vauxhall is prepared.
Footnote 651:
The famous Helvetian Styptic, described in page 83, depended wholly on
this accidental contamination for its colour, and it was no small
mortification to our chemists, when this nostrum was first introduced
amongst us, that they could not prepare it with our own spirits, but
were obliged to be at the expense of true French Brandy. Our own
Spirits, although equally coloured, would never produce a violet
tincture; at length, however, the mystery was discovered, and the gall
nut imparted to the tincture that characteristic colour which was so
long considered essential to its efficacy; but the discovery threw
discredit upon the nostrum, and it fell into disuse.
Footnote 652:
If any additional argument were necessary, we might repeat, that
Arsenic in its metallic state is not poisonous. As it is almost
impossible to reduce metallic arsenic to a state of powder, without
its becoming oxidized, M. Renault had recourse to its alloys for
deciding the question; and he found that Mispickel (an alloy of iron
and arsenic,) when given to the extent of two drachms, had no apparent
effect; this result agrees with the conclusion of Bayen in his work on
Tin, and proves that the arsenic which may be contained in that metal
cannot produce any medicinal effect, as it exists in its metallic
state. Recherches Chimiques sur l’Etain, par Bayen et Charlard, 1781.
Footnote 653:
GUY’S POWDER OR ETHIOPIA. This once celebrated remedy consisted of
pure rasped Tin, Mercury, and Sublimed Sulphur, triturated together.
BLAINE’S POWDER FOR THE DISTEMPER IN DOGS. The basis of this nostrum
is the Aurum Musivum, or Sulphuret of Tin, and which has been said to
be more efficacious in cases of Tænia than the simple metal.
MATHIEU’S VERMIFUGE was indebted to Tin for its efficacy, see Filicis
Radix.
Footnote 654:
SULPHUR LOZENGES. Sublimed Sulphur one part, sugar eight parts,
Tragacanth mucilage q. s. used in Asthma, and in Hæmorrhoids.
Footnote 655:
Sugar, perfectly free from the extractive matter with which it exists
in combination in nature, and which constitutes that compound to which
the name of Sweet Principle has been given, will not, however diluted,
undergo any kind of fermentation; for it is the presence of this
peculiar extractive matter, the natural leaven of fruits, that enables
it to undergo that process; since, however, all clayed sugars, or
modifications of sugar which are short of perfect purity, still
contain a small proportion of this extractive, they are capable of
fermenting, when sufficiently dilute; Dr. Maccullough, in his essay on
the art of making wine, observes, that by the addition of a very small
quantity of the Sulphite of Potass, the fermentation of syrups and
preserves may be effectually prevented; he states also, that the same
object may generally be attained by the use of Oxy-muriate of Potass,
a salt absolutely tasteless, and easily procured.
Footnote 656:
The Damask Rose, Rosa Centifolia, of which this Syrup is composed, was
imported into this country by Linacre, on his return from Italy.
Footnote 657:
MAJOR COCHRANE’S COUGH MEDICINE. White poppy heads without seeds, are
made into a decoction, which is strained, and boiled again with
vinegar and brown sugar, until it assumes the consistence of syrup,
which is then acidified by elixir of vitriol.
Footnote 658:
It would appear that there are two principles of activity in Tobacco,
an essential oil, and nicotin, either of which are, individually,
capable of producing death, but by a very different physiological
action, the former by its effects on the brain, the latter by its
influence on the heart! See page 132.
Footnote 659:
It seems very probable that the “juice of cursed hebenon,” by which,
according to Shakespeare, the king of Denmark was poisoned, was no
other than the essential oil of Tobacco:—
——“Sleeping within mine orchard,
My custom always of the afternoon,
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of mine ears, did pour
The leperous distilment.”
In the first place, the learned commentator Dr. Grey, observes that
the word here used (hebenon), was more probably designated by a
metathesis, either of the poet or transcriber, for henebon, i. e.
henbane. Now it appears from Gerarde, that “tabaco” was commonly
called henbane of Peru, (hyoscyamus Peruvianus,) and when we consider
how high the public prejudice ran against this herb in the reign of
James, it seems very likely that Shakespeare should have selected it,
as an agent of extraordinary malignity. No preparation of the
hyoscyamus, with which we are acquainted, would produce death by
application to the ear, whereas the essential oil of Tobacco would,
without doubt, occasion a fatal issue. The term distilment has also
called forth a remark from Steevens, which is calculated to support
this conjecture; surely, says he, this expression signifies, that the
preparation was the result of a distillation.
Footnote 660:
See “An Essay on the means of lessening Pain, and facilitating certain
Cases of difficult parturition, by W. P. Dewes, M.D. 1806. also Med.
Journ. vol. xviii.”
Footnote 661:
CEPHALIC SNUFF. The basis of this errhine is powdered Asarum, diluted
with some vegetable powder.
Footnote 662:
Tamarind, from _Timmer_ a Date, and _Hend_ India, Timmerhend, i. e.
Date of India.
Footnote 663:
Various substances have been proposed at different times as
substitutes for Coffee. In the “Fourth Century of Observations” in the
“Miscellanea Curiosa,” we find a critical dissertation on the (Cahve)
Coffee of the Arabians; and on European Coffee, or such as may be
prepared from grain or pulse. Dillenius gives the result of his own
preparations made with Pease, Beans, and Kidney Beans, but says that
that made from Rye comes the nearest to true Coffee, and was with
difficulty distinguished from it. This fact is curious, in as much as
a spurious Coffee has been lately vended, which is nothing more than
roasted Rye. The article is well known by the name of “HUNT’S
ŒCONOMICAL BREAKFAST POWDER.”
Footnote 664:
See “Some account of the Medicinal and other Uses of various
Substances prepared from Trees of the genus Pinus, by W. G. MATON,
M.D. &c. being a Supplement to Mr. Lambert’s splendid work on that
genus.”
Footnote 665:
The Τερμὶνθος of Theophrastus (lib. 3. c. 3.) and Dioscorides; (lib.
1, c. 76) from which the word Terebinthus seems to have been derived.
Footnote 666:
The term Balsam is very improperly applied to this substance, since it
contains no Benzoic Acid.
Footnote 667:
The product of the Amyris Gileadensis, and probably the Balsamum
Judaicum, Syriacum e Mecca, Opobalsamum, &c. of the older writers.
Footnote 668:
A fluid extract, prepared by decoction from the twigs of this species
of Fir, is the well known Essence of Spruce, which, when fermented
with melasses, forms the popular beverage, called “Spruce Beer,”
(Cerevisia Pini Laricis.)
TRUE RIGA BALSAM, Beaume de Carpathes, from the shoots of the Pinas
Cembra, previously bruised, and macerated for a month in water.
This same fir also affords BRIANÇON TURPENTINE.
HUNGARIAN BALSAM.—A spontaneous exudation from the P. Pumilio, or
Mugho Pine.
Footnote 669:
Lib. 16, c. 10.
Footnote 670:
Prax. Med. Lib. 14. c. 1.
Footnote 671:
STARKEY’S SOAP. This compound is effected by a long and tedious
trituration of alkali and oil of turpentine.
Footnote 672:
This case was occasioned by a violent whirling of the body in a
frolic! the circumstances attending it are so interesting, that I
shall take an opportunity of submitting the details to the profession.
See Dr. Yeat’s work on Hydrocephalus.
Footnote 673:
See “A Memoir on the employment of Terebinthinous Remedies in Disease,
by James Copland, M.D.” in the Medical and Physical Journal for 1821,
p. 185.
Footnote 674:
Kaauw de Persp. N. 430.
Footnote 675:
THE GUESTONIAN EMBROCATION FOR RHEUMATISM. ℞. Ol. Terebinth: f℥iss—Ol:
Oliv: f℥iss—Acid: Sulph. dilut: fʒiij.
Footnote 676:
SCOURING DROPS. The peculiar odour which distinguishes oil of
turpentine, may be destroyed by the addition of a few drops of some
fragrant volatile oil, as that of lemons: a combination of this kind
is commonly sold under the name of Scouring Drops, for the purpose of
removing paint, oil, or grease from cloth.
Footnote 677:
DUTCH, or HAERLEM DROPS. The basis of this nostrum consists of the
residue of this redistillation, which is a thick, red, resinous
matter, to which the name of Balsam of Turpentine has been given; a
preparation, however, is frequently vended as “Dutch Drops,” which is
a mixture of oil of turpentine, tincture of guaiacum, spirit of nitric
ether, with small portions of the oils of amber and cloves. Serapion,
the younger, one of the earlier Arabian writers on the Materia Medica,
describes them as bearing some analogy to “Pine nuts.”
Footnote 678:
The reader will find an account of the Botanical Literature of this
plant, by J. Frost, Director of the Medico-Botanical Society, in the
17th volume of the Medical Repository, p. 461.
Footnote 679:
Rumphius, (Herb: Amboinense) in speaking of the Grana Molucca,
observes that women who are desirous of getting rid of their husbands,
give them four grains at one dose.
Footnote 680:
See Ainslie’s Materia Medica of Hindostan.
Footnote 681:
I state this fact on the authority of a communication made by order of
the Court of Directors of the East India Company, to the College of
Physicians, enclosing the extract of a letter from Mr. Conwell.
Footnote 682:
Journal of Science and Arts. No. xxvi.
Footnote 683:
I understand that to the Veterinary Surgeon this oil has proved an
article of great utility, as it uniformly purges the horse, and may be
employed, for that purpose, in those cases in which Aloes would be
inadmissible.
Footnote 684:
In making such a tincture we should employ a fluid-drachm of Rectified
Spirit, to two drops of the oil. They should be digested for some time
and then filtered. With all the care that can be used, a certain
portion of the spirit will be evaporated, and half a fluid-drachm of
the tincture may be thus considered as nearly equivalent to a drop and
a half of the oil.
Footnote 685:
The object of this preliminary step is to saturate the alcohol with a
fixed oil, that it may not dissolve any portion of that in the
Tiglium, and thus confuse the results. The quantity of fixed oil which
alcohol is capable of dissolving is extremely small, and will not in
the least degree injure the alcoholic solution for subsequent
medicinal use.
Footnote 686:
The change of colour which Guaiacum undergoes by admixture with other
bodies, not only affords a test by which we may appreciate its purity,
but at the same time it becomes a reagent by which we may assay the
virtues of other vegetable substances. According to the experiments of
M. Taddey and Rudolphi, it appears that GUAIACUM in powder, is an
excellent test for vegetable gluten, forming with it a fine blue
colour, whence it affords the means of determining the quality of
wheat flour. From the experiments of M. Planche, it moreover appears
that there is a series of vegetable roots which, when fresh, are
capable of producing a blue colour, if introduced into an alcoholic
solution of Guaiacum: so that we may hereafter be furnished with a
chemical test that will at once appreciate their freshness, which is
undoubtedly one of the greatest desiderata of pharmaceutical science.
A communication has appeared from Mr. A. T. Thomson, in which he
proposes Guaiacum as a test for the freshness of Colchicum. I have,
however, never been able to succeed with it, to my satisfaction.
Footnote 687:
HUDSON’S PRESERVATIVE FOR THE TEETH AND GUMS. Equal parts of Tincture
of Myrrh, Tincture of Bark, and Cinnamon water, to which are added
Arquebusade and Gum Arabic.
GREENOUGH’S TINCTURE FOR THE TEETH. The following receipt is given on
the authority of Mr. Gray. Of Bitter Almonds, 2 oz. Brazil Wood and
Cassia Buds, equal parts, half an ounce; root of the Florentine Iris,
2 dr.: of Cochineal, Salt of Sorrel, and Alum, equal parts, one
drachm; Rectified Spirit, 2 pints; Spirit of Horse Radish, half an
ounce.
RUSPINI’S TINCTURE FOR THE TEETH. This consists of the root of the
Florentine Iris, eight ounces; Cloves, one ounce; Rectified Spirit,
two pints; Ambergris, one scruple.
Footnote 688:
From παρηγορέω lenio, to assuage pain.
Footnote 689:
MATTHEW’S INJECTION. This once celebrated remedy for Fistula in Ano,
was nothing more than a diluted Tincture of Cantharides.
Footnote 690:
SOLOMON’S BALM OF GILEAD. An aromatic tincture, of which Cardamoms
form a leading ingredient, made with brandy. Some practitioners have
asserted that Cantharides enter its composition.
Footnote 691:
DAFFY’S ELIXIR. This is the Tinctura Sennæ Composita, with the
substitution of treacle for sugar candy, and the addition of aniseeds
and elecampane root. Different kinds of this nostrum are sold under
the names of DICKY’S DAFFY, and SWINTON’S DAFFY; but they differ
merely in some subordinate minutiæ, or unimportant additions.
Footnote 692:
The following remarks, with which I have lately been favoured by Dr.
Davy, appear interesting. “In the few cases which I have tried this
remedy for the retention of urine, I have seen no good effects
produced, until it excited nausea. For this purpose I have found it
advantageous to give it in a little tepid water: upon chemical
examination I could not discover that it ever passed off by the urine;
the fæces, however, are uniformly coloured black by it, whence I
conclude it must be evacuated through the bowels. In order to prevent
its tendency to constipate the bowels, I have found it necessary to
give some aperient, as castor oil, speedily after its exhibition.” May
not this latter circumstance explain the reason of his not having
detected it in the urine? (See p. 95.)
Footnote 693:
DE LA MOTTE’S GOLDEN DROPS. An Æthereal solution of Iron.
Footnote 694:
It has, for this reason, been substituted for oak bark in the tanning
of leather.
Footnote 695:
BRITISH HERB TOBACCO. The basis of which is Coltsfoot; this appears to
have had a very ancient origin, for the same plant was smoaked through
a reed in the days of Dioscorides, for the purpose of promoting
expectoration, and was called by him βηγὶον, from βηξ, tussis, whence
Tussilago.
ESSENCE OF COLTSFOOT. For an account of this nostrum, see page 314.
Footnote 696:
In the first edition of this work, I stated the probability of the
Veratrum being the active ingredient of the EAU MEDICINALE, and, upon
the authority of Mr. James Moore, I inserted a formula for its
preparation; subsequent enquiry, however, has shewn the fallacy of
this opinion; but the fact of the medicinal efficacy of the Veratrum,
when combined with opium, in the cure of gout, remains
incontrovertible. One of the two Sweating Powders of WARD was a
combination of the Veratrum and Opium, it is certainly a very singular
coincidence, that recent experiments should have shewn that the active
principle of colchicum is identical with that which gives efficacy to
the hellebore, viz. Gallate of Veratria. The fact itself offers a
striking instance of medical experience having anticipated the
discoveries of chemistry, while it affords a powerful case in support
of the arguments which I have urged in the first part of this work, p.
55.
Footnote 697:
EDINBURGH OINTMENT. The principal ingredients of which are the White
Hellebore and Muriate of Ammonia.
Footnote 698:
For an account of which the reader is referred to a most ingenious and
interesting Essay by Dr. Macculloch, entitled “Remarks on the Art of
making Wine, with suggestions for the application of its principles to
the improvement of Domestic Wines.”
Footnote 699:
This may also explain why bitters, under certain circumstances, have
been found to counteract the effects of wine, as in the instance of
the “Poculum Absinthiatum,” of which the ancients entertained so high
an opinion. See page 68.
Footnote 700:
“Resinata bibis vina, Falerna fugis.—Martial.”
Pliny (lib: 14. c. 14.) mentions a Wine under the name of Myrrhina,
which was so called on account of its being impregnated with Myrrh.
This custom explains the origin and meaning of the Thyrsus of Bacchus,
which appears to have been a spear entwined with leaves or a fillet,
and surmounted with a _Fir_ cone; thus,
[Illustration]
Footnote 701:
See Dioscorides, lib. 5, c. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39.
Footnote 702:
An interesting and highly embellished work upon the subject of Wines,
has lately been published by Dr. Henderson.
Footnote 703:
“O Nata mecum consule Manlio.”—Od: xxi. Lib: 3.
The Odes of Horace abound with manifestations of the same taste, thus,
“I pete——
Et Cadum Marsi memorem duelli.”—Od: xiv. Lib: 3.
Here Horace sends his Slave for a cask of the wine on which the Marian
war was recorded, and which must therefore have been sixty-eight years
old.
In ode xxviii. book 3, we find him calling for
“Bibuli Consulis amphoram.”
Now as the poet was born in the Consulate of Manlius, as above stated,
which happened A. U. C. 688, and Bibulus was Consul in 694, the wine
must have been hoarded from the time Horace was six years of age.
Wine however might, according to the opinion of our Poet, be too old;
he terms wine of this description “Languidiora Vina,” and Plautus
compares old wine which has lost its relish and strength, to a man who
has lost his teeth by age, “Vinum vetustate edentulum.”
Nestor’s wine was eleven years old. Od. γ. 390.
The Romans had their wine cellars at the top of their houses; thus
Horace,
“descende Corvino jubente.”
The object of such an arrangement was that the wine might ripen sooner
by the smoke, for their fires were made in the middle of their rooms,
with an opening above to let out the smoke, which is described as
rolling to the top of the house, in the Eleventh Ode of the Fourth
Book.
“Rotantes vertice fumum.”
Footnote 704:
From the noxious effects which some persons experience from potations
of Champagne, it has been conjectured that this wine must possess some
narcotic principle like that which exists in many species of Fungi.
This, however, is extremely improbable.
Footnote 705:
ξηρος signifies dry. This is a curious coincidence.
Footnote 706:
The Sack of Shakespeare was probably Sherry; a conjecture which
receives additional strength from the following passage.
Falstaff.—“You rogue, here’s _lime_ in this Sack too: There is nothing
but roguery to be found in villainous man: yet a coward is worse than
a cup of sack with lime in it; a villainous coward.”
Huldrick Van Speagle, in his “Famous Historie of most Drinks”, says
“Sack is no hippocrite, for any man who knows what an Anagram is will
confesse that it is contained within the litteral letters and limmits
of its own name, which is to say. CASK, i. e. Sack.” See Taylor’s
Translation of the “Work of the painful and industrious Huldricke Van
Speagle, a grammatical Brewer of Lubeck. A.D. 1637.”
Footnote 707:
Expose equal parts of sulphur and powdered oyster shells to a white
heat for fifteen minutes, and when cold, add an equal quantity of
cream of tartar; these are to be put into a strong bottle with common
water to boil for an hour; and the solution is afterwards to be
decanted into ounce phials, adding 20 drops of muriatic acid to each.
This liquor will precipitate the least quantity of lead from wines in
a very sensible black precipitate. As iron might be accidentally
contained in the wine, the muriatic acid is added to prevent its
precipitation.
Footnote 708:
Lead will not only correct the acidity of wines, but remove the
rancidity of oils: a property which is well known to Painters, and
which affords an expedient for making an inferior oil pass for a good
one.
Footnote 709:
The quantity of rectified spirit and water ordered will be found on
admixture to produce a spirit nearly of the above strength.
Footnote 710:
WARD’S RED DROP. A strong vinous solution of Tartarized Antimony.
Footnote 711:
FORD’S LAUDANUM. This is similar to the Vinum Opii of the present
Pharmacopœia.
Footnote 712:
Laudanum. Paracelsus first bestowed the term Laudanum upon a
preparation of Opium, a LAUDATA ejus efficacia, LAUDATUM medicamentum.
Footnote 713:
According to the experiments of M. Vogel, Annales de Chimie, (t. lxiv.
p. 220) this ointment is nothing more than metallic mercury mixed with
grease, the division of which has been carried to such an extent as to
impart a blackish colour to the mixture.
Footnote 714:
It is to be hoped that a quantity of the ointment will be prepared
according to these views, and be submitted to a more extended series
of experiments. The oxide may be procured by decomposing Calomel by a
solution of pure potass, or by pouring a solution of the nitrate of
mercury into a caustic alkaline solution; this oxide should be at
first triturated with a little lard, in the cold, to make the
penetration complete, taking care that the lard be quite free from
common salt, or else Calomel will be the ultimate result: the mixture
is then to be submitted to the action of heat, and it is very
important to attend to the necessary temperature, for at 212° the
oxide and lard will not unite, at 600° the oxide will be decomposed
and the mercury volatilized, at 500° and 400° the oxide is partially
decomposed, some red oxide being formed and mercury reduced; the
proper temperature is between 300° and 320°, at which it should be
maintained for an hour, and the ointment should be stirred until cold.
Footnote 715:
Four ounces, troy, of mercurial ointment, prepared six months before,
were kept at 212°, when it separated into two distinct strata, viz.
the upper one which was light grey, and extremely active as a
medicine, and the under one, which upon being triturated with
magnesia, yielded a large proportion of metallic mercury, and which
was not found to possess any activity.
Footnote 716:
Whenever it is our object to direct the mercurial impression to any
particular organ, we should if possible rouse its excitability by some
specific stimulus. An exception, however, to this doctrine would seem
to offer itself in the fact, that children at the period of dentition
are not readily salivated; _a priori_, we should have certainly
supposed that a predisposition to a flux of saliva would have produced
a contrary effect. As it is, we can only conclude that those organs
are not disposed to take on any action that may be incompatible with,
or adverse to, that of dentition.
Footnote 717:
The Unguentum Werholfii, so long celebrated on the Continent, was a
combination of this kind.
Footnote 718:
Basilicon, i. e. the _Royal_ Ointment.
BAILEY’S ITCH OINTMENT. This is a very complicated combination;
containing Nitre, Alum, Sulphate of Zinc, and Cinnabar, made into an
ointment with Olive oil and Lard, and perfumed with the essential oils
of Anise Seeds, Origanum, and Lavender; and coloured with Alkanet
root.
The Indians use an ointment in inveterate itch, which is said to prove
very successful, and consists of finely powdered Cocculus Indicus
mixed with a little warm Castor oil.
Footnote 719:
I have been lately informed by a practical chemist, that he has
occasionally found his hydrogen, when produced by zinc and dilute
acid, to contain a portion of Arsenuretted hydrogen; a fact which
confirms the assertion of Roloff.
Footnote 720:
The various quack remedies advertised for the cure of the hooping
cough are either Opiates, or medicines composed of sulphate of zinc.
The nostrum, sold under the name of Anti-pertussis, contains this
metallic salt as its principal ingredient.
Footnote 721:
OXLEY’S CONCENTRATED ESSENCE OF JAMAICA GINGER.—A mere solution of
Ginger in Rectified spirit.
GINGER BEER POWDERS.—White sugar, ʒj ℈ij, ginger grs. v. sub-carbonate
of soda grs. xxvj, in blue paper. Tartaric acid grs. xxx, in each
white paper. These proportions are directed for half a pint of water.
GINGER BEER.—The following is the receipt by which this popular
beverage is prepared. Take of lump sugar half a pound; of cream of
tartar half an ounce; Bruised Ginger an ounce; boiling water one
gallon. Ferment for twenty-four hours with yeast.
PRESERVED GINGER.—That from India is almost transparent, while that
manufactured in Europe is always opaque and fibrous.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. P. ix, changed “notorius Quack Medicines” to “notorious Quack
Medicines”.
2. P. 21, changed “antisyphylitic powers” to “antisyphilitic powers”.
3. P. 28, changed “Ipecacuhan had been imported” to “Ipecacuan had been
imported”.
4. P. 82, changed “absosolute and relative remedies” to “absolute and
relative remedies”.
5. P. 174, changed “mucus of the uretha” to “mucus of the urethra”.
6. P. 189, changed “erysipelatous efflorence” to “erysipelatous
efflorescence”.
7. P. 279, changed “brused seeds” to “bruised seeds”.
8. P. 298, changed “Desgrangès (Recueil Period: de la Societé” to
“Desgranges (Recueil Period: de la Société”.
9. P. 302, changed “alkaline phospate” to “alkaline phosphate”.
10. P. 307, “1⁄000,000” is unchanged from the original.
11. P. 311, changed “Myroxylon Pruiferum” to “Myroxylon Peruiferum”.
12. P. 329, “Sp. Grav. 9·433” is grossly overstated.
13. P. 333, changed “opothecary at Annecy” to “apothecary at Annecy”.
14. P. 386, changed “forms of Desentery” to “forms of Dysentery”.
15. P. 398, changed “tatarized antimony” to “tartarized antimony”.
16. P. 403, changed “when administed” to “when administered”.
17. P. 414, changed “Saturine applications” to “Saturnine applications”.
18. P. 434, split the three part footnote with three anchors into three
distinct footnotes.
19. P. 454, changed “iron, and maganese” to “iron, and manganese”.
20. P. 467, changed “suphate of zinc” to “sulphate of zinc”.
21. P. 476, changed “hexaedral prisms” to “hexahedral prisms”.
22. Table of Contents added by transcriber.
23. Silently corrected punctuation errors and variations in spelling.
24. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.
25. Footnotes were re-indexed using numbers and collected together at
the end of the last chapter.
26. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
27. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.
28. Superscripts are denoted by a caret before a single superscript
character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in
curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.
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