w \j3m J NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE Bethesda, Maryland X v^^-i u^ | p^T -HTV^ ♦ H< £ k£~£ <^*?; HAND-BOOK OF MATERIA MEDICA AND THEEAPEUTICS. A HAND-BOOK OF MATERIA MEDICA AND THERAPEUTICS: Wi\i) ^ttmttq-tntu Sllttatrntinna. BEING A PORTION OF AN ANALYTICAL COMPENDIUM OF THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OE MEDICINE. BY JOHN NEILL, M. D., SURGEON TO WILLS' nOSPITAL, DEMONSTRATOR OF ANATOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, LECTURER ON ANATOMY IN THE PHILADELPHIA MEDICAL INSTITUTE, FELLOW OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, ETC., AND FRANCIS GURNEY SMITH, M.D., LECTURER ON PHYSIOLOGY IN THE PHILADELPHIA ASSOCIATION FOR MEDICAL INSTRUCTION, PHYSICIAN TO THE ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL, FELLOW OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, ETC. SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND IMPROVED. PHILADELPHIA: BLANCHARD AND LEA, 1852. US'* 0. SHERMAN, PRINTER. CONTENTS. Medicines—Definition, Mode of Study, Aliments, ...... Effects of Medicines, ..... Primary and Secondary Effects, Local Action of Medicines, Absorption of Medicines, .... Action of Medicines by the Nervous System, . Mechanical, Chemical, and Vital Action of Medicines, Circumstances Modifying the Action of Medicines, Administration of Medicines, .... Administration by the Rectum and Skin, Forms of Medicines—Solid and Liquid, Weights and Measures, .... Classification of Medicines, .... GENERAL REMEDIES. Class I.—Astringents, Vegetable Astringents, Tannic Acid, Oak Bark, Galls, Kino, . Catechu, . Rhatany, Logwood, . Cranesbill, Blackberry Root, Pipsissewa, Uva Ursi, . Red, and Hundred-leaved Rose, Pomegranate Rind, 1* CONTENTS. Mineral Astringents, .... Lead, . Litharge, . Carbonate of Lead, Acetate (Sugar) of Lead, . Solution of the Subacetate (Goulard's Extract), Goulard's Cerate, .... Alum, II.—Tonics, . Vegetable Tonics—Simple Bitters, Quassia, Simaruba Bark, . Columbo, Gentian, . American Columbo, Gold Thread, Thoroughwort (Boneset), Bitters of Modified Properties, Peruvian Bark, Quinia, Wild Cherry Bark, . Stimulant Tonics, Virginia Snake-Root, Chamomile, Cascarilla Bark, Angustura Bark, . Myrrh, Aromatic Tonics, Volatile, or Essential Oils, Orange-Peel, Cinnamon, Canella, Nutmeg, Cloves, Black Pepper, Cubebs, Allspice, Aromatic Seeds, . Aromatic Herbs, Ginger, Calamus, Mineral Tonics, . Iron, . CONTENTS. Preparations of Iron, Copper, Preparations of Copper, . Zinc, . Preparations of Zinc, Silver, Subnitrate of Bismuth, . The Mineral Acids, . Cod-Liver Oil, Class III.—Arterial Stimulants, Carbonate of Ammonia, . Oil of Turpentine, Phosphorus, Cayenne, or Red Pepper, Class IV.—Nervous Stimulants, Musk, Castor, .... Assafoetida, Valerian, Garlic, ' Oil of Amber, Skunk Cabbage, Coffee and Tea, Class V.—Cerebral Stimulants, Alcohol, . . . . Ether, Hoffman's Anodyne, Chloroform, . Opium, . . . . Preparations of Opium, Lactucarium, Camphor, Preparations of Camphor, Hops, .... Bittersweet, Henbane,—Leaves and Seed, Thornapple,—Leaves and Root, . Deadly Nightshade, . Extract of Hemp, Class VI.—Excito-motor Stimulants, Nux Vomica, Strychnia, Ergot, . CONTENTS. Class VII.—Arterial Sedatives, Antimony, Preparations of Antimony, Vegetable Acids, . Acetic Acid, . Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, Saline Substances, Nitrate of Potassa, Class VIII.—Nervous Sedatives, Foxglove, Tobacco, . Indian Tobacco, Aconite, . Hemlock, Hydrocyanic Acid, Class IX.—Alteratives, . Mercury, . Preparations of Mercury, Iodine, Preparations of Iodine, Arsenic, . LOCAL REMEDIES Class X.—Emetics, Ipecacuanha, Gillenia, Euphorbia Ipecacuanha, Lobelia, Sanguinaria, Mineral Emetics, Tartar Emetic, Sulphate of Zinc, Sulphate of Copper, Class XI.—Cathartics, Laxative Articles of Diet, Purging Cassia, Manna, Castor Oil, Rhubarb, . Aloes, Senna, CONTENTS. Scammony, Jalap, Colocynth, May-Apple, Black Hellebore, Gamboge, Compound Cathartic Pill, Croton Oil, Elaterium, Mineral Cathartics, Sulphur, Calomel, . Magnesia, Carbonate of Magnesia, . Saline Cathartics, Solution of Citrate of Magnesia, Epsom Salts, Glauber's Salts, . Sulphate of Potassa, . Tartrate of Potassa, Cream of Tartar, Rochelle Salts, Phosphate of Soda, . Enemata, Class XII.—Diuretics, Saline Diuretics, Cream of Tartar, Acetate of Potassa, Nitrate of Potassa, . Alkaline Diuretics, Carbonate of Potassa, Bicarbonate of Potassa, . Stimulant Diuretics, Squill, Colchicum, White and Green Hellebore, Veratria, Turpentine, Tar—Pitch—Creasote, Copaiva, . Cantharides, , Milder Diuretics, Juniper Berries, X CONTENTS. Indian Hemp, Dandelion, Fleabane, Wild Carrot, Parsley Root,. Sweet Spirits of Nitre, . Digitalis, Class XIII.—Diaphoretics, Refrigerant Diaphoretics, . Citrate of Potassa, Neutral Mixture, Effervescing Draught, Spirit of Mindererus, Nitrate of Potassa, Nauseating Diaphoretics, Tartar Emetic, Ipecacuanha—Dover's Powder, Alterative Diaphoretics, . Sassafras, Mezereon, Guaiacum, Sarsaparilla, Class XIV.—Expectorants, Nauseating Expectorants, Stimulant Expectorants, Seneka, Squill, Black Snake-root, Garlic, Assafoetida, Ammoniac, Galbanum, Benzoin, Balsam of Tolu, . Balsam of Peru, Class XV.—Emmenagogues, Savin, Aloes, Black Hellebore, Guaiacum, Seneka, Cantharides, Preparations of Iron, CONTENTS. XI Class XVI.—Sialogogues, Class XVII.—Errhines, .... Class XVIII.—Epispastics, Spanish Flies, Potato Flies, Class XIX.—Rubefacients, Burgundy Pitch, . Canada Pitch, Solution of Ammonia, Mustard, .... ■ Oil of Turpentine, Cayenne Pepper, Class XX.—Escharotics, or Caustics, Moxa, .... Lunar Caustic, Potassa, .... Dried Alum, Sulphate of Copper, . Arsenic, .... Corrosive Sublimate, . Nitrate, and Acid Nitrate of Mercury, Class XXI.—Emollients, . . Class XXII.—Demulcents, Gum Arabic, . Tragacanth, Slippery Elm Bark, Flaxseed, Irish Moss, Iceland Moss, Liquorice Root, Liquorice, Barley, Arrow Root, Tapioca, Sago, Class XXIII.—Diluents, . Class XXIV.—Antacids, Magnesia, Carbonates of Soda, Carbonates of Potassa, Liquor of Potassae, Lime, . Carbonate of Lime, PAGE 115 115 116 116 117 117 117 118 118 118 119 119 119 119 120 120 120 120 120 121 121 121 121 122 122 122 123 123 123 123 124 124 124 124 125 125 126 126 126 126 126 126 127 xn CONTENTS. Class XXV.- —Anthelmintics, Pink Root, Wormseed, Pomegranate Bark, Pride of China, Male Fern, Cowhage, Oil of Turpentine, Powdered Tin, Calomel, . PAGE 127 127 128 128 129 129 129 129 129 130 MATERIA MEDICA. Medicines are substances which have the power of so modifying the actual state of the organs—the solids and fluids,—as to render them applicable to the cure of'disease. They differ from remedies, which are of a more generic nature, and which include all the va- rious means—moral as well as physical—employed to alleviate or cure disease: thus heat, cold, electricity, a surgical operation, the influence of the emotions, &c, are all remedies, but cannot be called medicines. Materia Medica is the science which treats of medicinal sub- stances ; Therapeutics—the application of remedies to the treat- ment of disease; Pharmacy is the art of compounding or pre- paring medicines for use; Toxicology embraces the consideration of their poisonous effects. A complete knowledge of medicines includes an acquaintance with their physical characters, such as of colour, taste, odour, general appearance; their chemical properties; their natural and botanical history; their modes of growth, collection, preservation, &c.; their therapeutical applications; their physiological properties, or their method of affecting the healthy system; and their toxicologicalpro- perties, or their poisonous effects. It is hence obvious that a correct knowledge of Materia Medica presupposes some acquaintance with Natural History, Botany, and Chemistry; and that of Therapeutics requires some familiarity with Anatomy and Physiology, and also with the principles of Mental and Moral Philosophy, as well as of the general powers or forces of nature, such as light, heat, electri- city, and magnetism. Along with medicines proper, it is usual to consider a set of sub- stances called aliments, which are often very useful as therapeutic agents, though they cannot be considered as medicinal in their action. They possess nutritive qualities, and when swallowed, they are digested and converted into chyle. Medicines, on the contrary, produce their effects upon the system, not by undergoing change through the digestive process, and becoming thereby assimilated, but either by being absorbed into the circulation, and thus influ- encing the blood and the various secretions by virtue of some 14 materia medica. chemical influence, or by means of nervous communication between distant parts and the part to which the remedy is immediately ap- plied. effects of medicines. The effects of medicines vary very considerably; they may con- veniently be divided into primary, or those which are more imme- diately apparent; and secondary, or those which follow the primary as a consequence; the latter are sometimes termed the remote effects of medicines, and, as these are generally aimed at in the treatment of disease, the therapeutical effects. An example or two will best illustrate this difference: the primary effect of a cathartic is to empty the bowels; one of its secondary effects is to deplete from the circulation; hence we employ purgatives in fevers and inflam- mations. The primary operation of a diuretic is to increase the secretion of urine; a secondary effect is to promote absorption; hence it proves beneficial in dropsy. In fact, medicines are rarely used, comparatively speaking, for their primary effects, but almost always for their secondary operations. In some cases, however, the two are not distinct, the primary becoming the therapeutical effect, —as the action of digitalis on the heart, or that of opium in re- lieving pain. As the effects of medicines upon the system are not absolute, but relative, and influenced by various circumstances^ it follows that no remedy can be regarded essentially as a specific, since what might be applicable to the disease under one condition, might be equally injurious under a different one. The primary effects of medicines may take place in three ways: 1, locally ; 2, by being absorbed; 3, by means of nervous communi- cation. 1. The local action of medicines requires no explanation; it is that which occurs in the part tc- which the medicine is immediately applied, as vesication from a blister, vomiting from an irritant ap- plied to the stomach, &c. 2. As regards the absorption of medicines into the blood, there is abundant proof of the fact, since they have been detected, after being swallowed, in the different secretions, in the solid tissues of the body, and in the blood itself. Thus rhubarb and turpentine have been found in the urine; garlic in the exhalation from the lungs; sulphur and mercury in the perspiration; garlic, various purgatives, narcotics, and other medicines in the milk; and so on. As regards the method by which medicines gain admission into the blood, there can be but two avenues^-the lacteals or absorbents, and the veins. From various experiments made upon the lacteals, it is highly probable that their chief, if not exclusive function, is to take up alimentary substances—such as can be converted into chyle : EFFECTS OF MEDICINES. 15 medicinal substances were very seldom found in them. On the other hand, experiments are equally strong in proving, that the veins are chiefly concerned in the absorption of medicinal substances; thus Magendie found that if the lacteals be tied, nux vomica will affect an animal in six minutes, while, if the veins be tied, no effect is produced. The mode by which absorption is effected is entirely physical, or by endosmose. The rapidity of absorption is influenced by a variety of circumstances, as the part or tissue to which the medicine is applied, the nature of the medicine itself, chiefly as re- gards its solubility, the condition of the system, &c. It is said to be the greatest from the bronchial mucous membrane. 3. Action of medicines by means of nervous communication, or sympathy. As the different parts of the system are intimately con- nected together by nervous communication, it follows that any ab- normal impression—whether by disease, or by a medicinal agent— made upon one part, will influence others more remote; thus, the influence of opium, or alcohol, felt upon the nervous expansion in the stomach, is immediately communicated to the brain through the nervous cords. In some cases the impression is conveyed directly from one organ to another; in others, indirectly, through the inter- vention of the cerebro-spinal axis; the latter is termed reflex action. Generally, however, the operation of medicines is of a compound nature, depending both upon the circulation and nervous communi- cation. Medicines may be said to affect the system in three ways,—phy- sically or mechanically, chemically, and vitally or dynamically. Instances of the mechanical action of medicines are afforded in the case of many of the anthelmintics, which expel worms from the bowels simply by the mechanical irritation produced; also in the case of bran, which is believed to act as a laxative in a similar manner; and metallic mercury has been employed to overcome intro-susception of the bowels, by virtue of its gravity. As regards the chemical action of medicines, there is every reason to believe that remedies obey the same chemical laws in the living body as they do out of it. We can actually see it in the case of caustics, whose action upon the skin is purely chemical; an excess of acid in the stomach and bowels, and even in the blood, is corrected by the use of alkalies—a strictly chemical action. Many other examples might be cited. Indeed it is highly probable, from the very complex character of the blood, and its consequent facility of decomposition, that most of the medicines which enter the circula- tion act by chemically changing its character, and chiefly, through its proteine principles, albumen, &c. Medicines are, however, not to be considered as confined in their effects, to any single one of the above methods. They frequently partake of a mixed character, as chemico-vital or physico-vital. 16 MATERIA MEDICA. Certain medicines have been found to evince a natural preference for certain organs; thus, an emetic for the stomach, a cathartic for the bowels, &c.; and this, too, no matter in what way the medicine be introduced into the system; thus tartar emetic or emetia will vomit even if injected into the blood-vessels. No satisfactory ex- planation can be given of this; we can only ascribe it to a natural affinity supposed to exist between the medicine and the particular part; but this is obviously no explanation of the phenomenon. Again, medicines are sometimes regarded as divisible into two opposite classes—stimulants and sedatives. This, however, cannot strictly be affirmed, since different states of the system may produce quite opposite results from the same medicine. This is well illus- trated in the effects of the too long-continued use of tonics and stimulants; the result is debility. i CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THE ACTION OF MEDICINES. There are various circumstances which modify the action of medi- cines upon the system; these may depend upon the medicine itself, as respects its dose, mode of combination, &c, or upon the condi- tion of the organism at the time of its administration. Under, the latter head, the most important circumstances are :— 1. Age.—The young are much more susceptible to the action of medicines than the middle-aged. Old persons are less able to bear an overdose than the middle-aged. It is difficult to lay down any precise rule upon the subject: that of Dr. Young is often adopted; it is "to diminish the dose of "most medicines, for children under 12 years, in the proportion of the age to the age increased by 12'/' thus at 2 years it would be 2+12=t> &c. At 21, the full dose may be given. There are certain medicines, however, which cannot be given to young children according to the above rule; thus calomel and castor oil require to be given in larger proportionate doses; whilst the narcotics, and some of the metallic preparations, must be administered in much smaller proportionate quantities. 2. Sex.—Females, as a general rule, require smaller doses than males. The peculiarities of their system, at the different periods of menstruation, pregnancy, and lactation, must also be borne in mind. 3. Habit.—The effect of habit, in accustoming to the action of a medicine, is well known; it is well illustrated in the case of alco- hol and opium. The influence of acrid or irritating substances is but little diminished by repetition. 4. Diseased condition of the body.—This is well seen in the power of the system to bear very large doses of opium in tetanus and mania-a-potu, and of the different effects of calomel in different conditions of the system. administration of medicines. 17 5. Temperament and Idiosyncrasy will also modify the action of medicines. These should always be ascertained in the adminis- tration of our remedies. 6. Tissue* or organ.—The stomach is much more susceptible than the skin; carbonic acid, when inhaled into the lungs, acts as a poison; when swallowed into the stomach, it merely proves a grateful stimulant. 7. The time of administration also exercises an influence; a medicine acts more promptly and powerfully on an empty stomach. 8. Mental emotions. administration of medicines. Under this head may be included the parts to which medicines are applied, with the mode of their application, and the forms in which they are employed* The parts of the body to which medicines are most usually ap- plied, are the stomach, rectum, skin, mucous membrane of the lungs, nostrils, vagina, bladder, and urethra. The stomach is most frequently resorted to, both on account of the facility of administration through it, its great susceptibility, and its intimate relation with other parts. The rectum is employed, where the patient cannot swallow the medicine, or where there is some objection for giving it by the mouth, or when a local impression is desirable. Medicines thus employed are called enemata. or clysters, or injections. If intro- duced in the solid state, they are named suppositories. The dose of the medicine, as a general rule, is three times that given by the stomach, though there are exceptions. When intended to be re- tained so as to impress the system, the bidk of the vehicle should be as small as possible. The skin is frequently made use of as a means of affecting the system by remedies. These may be applied either epidermic ally or endermically,—that" is, to the sound skin, or -to the skin deprived of its cuticle. The endermic method is by far the most prompt and powerful. The cuticle is best removed by means of a small blister: and the proper -parts for the application are the epigastrium, and the insides of the limbs. The usual dose is three tim'es the quan- tity given by the mouth; and the powdered substance should be properly diluted, before being sprinkled upon the denuded surface. The circumstances which may demand the endermic method of .ad- ministration are inability or indisposition of the patient to swallow, or of the stomach to retain the medicine; inflammation of the gas- tric mucous membrane, or a want of susceptibility of this part to the action of the medicine, from frequent repetition; the necessity, in urgent cases, of introducing medicines in all possible modes; the 18 materia medica. indication that may exist to produce revulsion from internal parts; and the necessity for procuring the local effects of the remedy. When the cuticle is not removed, the medicines may be applied in various manners ; thus, where their local effects alone are wanted —by lotions, fomentations, cataplasms, &c; where their general impression is desired—by inunction, baths, and vapour. The most simple form of administering a vapour bath, is to elevate the pa- tient's knees under the bedclothes, and to place at his feet hot bricks enveloped in wet flannels; the vapour which is given off has thus free access to the body. Another method is to place the patient in a tub of warm water, enveloping him in a blanket, after which a number of hot bricks are to be placed in the tub, until the requisite amount of steam is generated. Another method, recommended by Dr. Serr^s, is to place a piece of quick lime in a wet cloth, and then wrap it up in a dry cloth, and place it in the bed. If the vapour of a solid substance, as -sulphur, is required, the patient is to be placed in a properly-contrived apparatus, and the solid body sprin- kled in powder on a hot iron at his feet. The mucous membrane of the bronchi may also be employed for the introduction of medicines. They are applied here usually in the form of vapour, by means of an inhaler; or, when this cannot be had, by means of a teapot or basin, with an inverted funnel. It is not recommended to blow fine powders into the lungs. Occasionally, medicines are introduced through the nasal or pitui- tary rriembrane; they are however employed, in this manner, gene- rally with a view to their local impression. When they produce a discharge, they are called errhines ; when sneezing, sternutatories. The practice of introducing medicinal substances through the veins has been occasionally resorted to; but it is not recommended, in consequence of the danger of the introduction of air, which is attended with fatal consequences. FORMS OF MEDICINES. Medicines are used in the solid or fluid state, each of which com- prises several forms. i. solid forms. These include pills, powders, confections, troches, electuaries, and extracts. Pills. {Pdulse, U. S.)—Small globular masses, intended to be swallowed without chewing; they should not consist of substances requiring to be given m large doses, nor of salts which are deliques- cent or efflorescent, although the latter may be rendered fit by first driving off the water of crystallization by heat. Some substances require only the addition of water; others, the intervention of some FORMS OF MEDICINES. 19 viscid body, as gum or sugar. The heavy metallic powders may be mixed with soft extracts or confections; the light vegetable pow- ders, with syrup, honey, or mucilage. When the requisite consist- ence has been given to the mass, it is to be properly rolled out by means of a spatula, and then divided into the requisite number of pills. Sometimes they are covered with gelatine, to conceal their disagreeable taste. Powders. (Buh-cres, U. S.)—Such medicines are given in the form of powder as are not very bulky, nor of very disagreeable taste, and have no corrosive property. Deliquescent substances, and those containing much fixed oil, are unfit to be used in powder; as also such crystalline salts as contain water of- crystallization, unless this be previously expelled by heat. The substance may be reduced to the state of powder by means of a mortar and pestle, made either of metal, glass, or Wedgwood. The coarser particles are separated by sieves made of various materials. Some require to be submitted to the processes of levigaiion and elutriation. By the former of these terms is meant the rubbing of the substance, pre- viously moistened, between two smooth pieces of hard flat stone; the-latter term signifies the agitation of the matter in water, allowing the coarser particles to'' settle, pouring off the liquor for the finer ones to subside, and lastly, decanting and drying the powder. Some medicines deteriorate when kept in the powdered state. They are also more liable to adulteration. The lighter powders may be administered suspended in-water, or any other convenient vehicle : the heavy insoluble ones, in syrup, molasses, or honey. Troches. (Trochisci, U. S.)—Small solid masses, in which the medicinal substance is incorporated with the sugar and gum,—in- tended to be held in the mouth and allowed slowly to dissolve. They are used chiefly in affections of the throat. Confections. {Confectiones, U.S.)—Soft solids, made by in- corporating medicinal substances with sugar : they comprise also conserves. • Electuaries. (Electuaria.~)—Usually extemporaneous prescrip- tions, made by mixing medicines (generally powders) with honey or molasses. Extracts. {Extracta, U. S.)—These are either solid or fluid. The former are usually prepared by evaporating either the expressed juice, or the infusion or decoction; the latter, by the addition of sugar to the concentrated infusion, decoction^ or tincture. n. liquid forms. These include decoctions, infusions, solutions, medicated waters, mixtures, tinctures, wines, spirits, ethers, oils, syrups, vinegars, oxy- mels, and honeys. 20 materia medica. Decoctions. (Dccocta, U. S.)—Preparations in which the active properties of vegetables are extracted by boiling. The boiling should take place in a covered vessel. Certain vegetables are unfit for de- coction, as those which possess a volatile oil, or such as contain much inert, starchy, or mucilaginous matter. Infusions. (Infusa, U. S.)—These differ from decoctions in not being boiled. They may be made either with cold or boiling water. Cold water is preferred where the active principle is vola- tile, or easily injured by heat, or where it is desirable to avoid the solution of Some principle which is insoluble at a low temperature. Both infusions and decoctions usually require to be filtered; this process may be performed either by using unsized paper in a common funnel, or by percolation or displacement. Solutions. (Liquores, U. S.)—Preparations in which substances are simply dissolved in water; as liquor calcis or lime-water. Medicated Waters. (Aquas Mcdicatx, U. S.)—These are water impregnated with different essential oils; they are usually made by first rubbing up the oil With carbonate of magnesia, and then adding the water, and filtering. Mixtures. (Misturse, U. S.)—These consist generally of one or more insoluble substances, suspended in water by means of gum, sugar, or yolk of egg. When an oil is suspended in this way, the mixture is called an emulsion. A good deal of care and dexterity are requisite in making a uniform mixture. Tinctures. (Tincturse, U. S.)—Solutions of medicated sub- stances in alcohol, or diluted alcohol. They are usually macerated, at ordinary temperatures, in well-stopped bottles, frequently agi- tating. Undiluted (officinal) alcohol is employed where the sub- stance to be dissolved is insoluble in water,—ras resins, essential oils, &c.; but diluted alcohol is preferred when the substance is soluble both in alcohol and water. Wines. ( Vina, U. S.)—Are solutions in wine. The only wines proper for use are Madeira, Sherry, or Teneriffe. Spirits. (Spiritus, U. S.)—These are alcoholic solutions of volatile principles, and are prepared either by distillation, solution, or by maceration. Ethers. (^Etherea, U. S.)—These require the action of acids on alcohol. Oils.—The distilled oils (Olea Destillata, U. S.) are prepared by distillation from the substances containing them. The fixed oils (Olea Fix(i), by expression ; as olive oil, &c. Syrups. (Syrvpi, U. S.)—Preparations in which the medicinal substance is preserved in a concentrated solution of sugar. Simple syrup consists of two and a half pounds of white sugar dissolved in a pint of water. Medicated syrups are made either by adding the proper amount of sugar to vegetable infusions, decoctions, juices FORMS of medicines. 21 &c, or by adding the tincture of the substance to simple syrup, and afterwards driving off the alcohol by the heat of a sand bath. Honeys. (Mellita, U. S.)—These are analogous to syrups, the difference being that honey is employed to preserve the medical substance, instead of a solution of sugar. They are said to be less apt to become candied. Oxymel.s are preparations in which honey and vinegar are com- bined. Vinegars. (Aceta, U. S.)—Liquids in which distilled vinegar is employed as the solvent. Besides the above forms of medicines, which are employed for internal administration, there are several others which are used ex- clusively as external applications; these are liniments, ointments, cerates, plasters, and cataplasms. Liniments. (Linimenta, U. S.)—Oily compounds intended to be applied to the surface by bathing, or by saturating cloths with them. Ointments. ( Unguenta, U. S.)—Soft solids which melt at the temperature of the body. Cerates. (Cerata, U. S.)—These are rather harder than oint- ments : they do not melt at the temperature of the body. Simple cerate consists of fresh lard and white wax. Plasters. (Emplastra, U. S.)—These are solid at ordinary tem- peratures, and require to be heated before they can be spread. They are usually kept in rolls, and when wanted for use are spread upon sheepskin, linen, muslin, or even paper; a small margin being left at the edges uncovered. Cataplasms or Poultices.—These are soft moist preparations, intended to relax and soften the parts to which they are applied. They are usually made from bread and milk, flaxseed meal, &c. The weights and measures recognised by the Pharmacopoeia in the compounding and dispensing of medicines are the Apothecaries' weight, and the Apothecaries' or wine measure, though medicines are purchased and sold by the wholesale dealer by the Avoirdupois weight. The imperial pint of the British Pharmacopoeia (not re- cognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia), contains twenty fluid ounces. The common pint contains only sixteen ounces. The following are the denominations, together with their symbols, which are employed in prescription :— - Pound, ft; ounce, I; drachm, 5 ; scruple, B; grain, gr.; gallon, Cong, (congerius); pint, 0 (octarius); fluid ounce, f § ; fluid drachm, f5; minim, ttjj . ..... A drop is not always equivalent to a minim, since it varies in size according to the nature of the fluid, and the shape and size of the vessel from which it is dropped. In the case of water, the minim and drop are the same; in alcohol there are two drops in each minim; in ether, there is a still greater difference. Chloro- form contains from 250 to 300 drops in a fluid drachm. 22 materia medica. Besides the above weights and measures, it is frequently found convenient to employ approximative measurements, in prescribing medicines. The following are the most common : A teacup,—estimated to hold about four fluid ounces, (f giv.^ or a gill. A. wineglass, " " two fluid ounces, - (f3ij.) A tablespoon (cochlear magnum), - - - (f 3 ss.) half a fluid ounce. A teaspoon (cochlear parvum), - (f3j.) a fluid drachm. CLASSIFICATION OF MEDICINES. The great diversity of the effects of different medicines, renders an attempt at their classification very desirable. Classifications of medicines may be divided into empirical and rational ones. As an example of an empirical classification, the alphabetical order may be cited, since this method is founded on names which are arbitrary, and have no relation to the bodies which they are intended to repre- sent. All its supposed advantages—as, for example, that of facility of reference—may be obtained from a well-constructed index. The rational arrangements are such as have an actual relation with the bodies for which they are used, being founded on the pro- perties of the medicines themselves, or on their mode of affecting the economy. Thus medicines may be grouped, according to (1) their sensible properties, as colour, taste, and smell; (2) their chemi- cal properties; (3) their natural-historical properties; (4) their therapeutical properties; (5) their physiological properties. Valid objections may be urged against all the above systems of arrangement, with the exception of the physiological system, which is here adopted, as being the safest guide both to the student and practitioner. By the physiological classification is meant one founded on the relation which medicines bear to the system in a state of health. Medicines may be arranged physiologically, on two principles,-—ac- cording to the parts or organs which they affect, or according to the nature or quality of the action which they set up. It would be almost impossible to base an arrangement exclusively upon either of these methods; but some authors form their principal divisions or classes of medicines from the parts acted on, and their orders from the nature or quality of the effect, or vice versd. The fol- lowing system of classification is founded upon the physiological method. Medicines may be considered as acting either upon the solids and fluids of the body, or upon foreign matters contained in the body. This affords the grounds for their primary division into two separate classes : most medicinal substances belong to the former class. Of those medicines which act upon the solids and fluids of the body, some may exert their influence upon the system at large, either through the medium of the circulation or that of the nervous CLASSIFICATION of medicines. 23 system; whilst others confine their operation to some especial organ, as the kidneys, the lungs, the skin, &c. : the former are termed general remedies ; the latter, local remedies. General remedies are divisible into three orders: stimulants, which elevate the system above the natural < standard; sedatives, which depress it below the natural standard; and alteratives, which act by slowly changing the nutrition, and thereby superseding dis- eased action. Stimulants may be divided into permanent stimulants and diffu- sible stimulants ; the former include the two ultimate classes of as- tringents, or medicines which excite the vital contractility of the tissues; and tonics, which increase the vital tonicity of the system. Diffusible stimulants include the two divisions of arterial stimu- lants and cerebro-nervous stimulants. The latter are divided into cerebral stimulants, or stimulant narcotics; nervous stimulants, or antispasmodics; and excito-motor stimulants, or such as affect the spinal centres so as especially to excite the motor nerves. Sedatives comprise only the two ultimate classes of arterial seda- tives, sometimes named refrigerants, and nervous sedatives, or seda- tive narcotics. Local remedies are divided into three orders: those affecting the functions; those affecting the organization; and those which act me- chanically. The medicines which affect the functions include the eight following classes: emetics, which act upon the stomach; ca- thartics, which act upon the intestines; diuretics, which increase the secretion of the kidneys; diaphoretics, which promote perspira- tion ; expectorants, which increase the pulmonary and bronchial se- cretion, or facilitate its expulsion; emmenagogues, which facilitate the menstrual discharge; sialagogues, which stimulate the salivary glands; and errhines, which increase the secretion of the nasal mu- cous membrane. The medicines affecting the organization comprise the three classes of epispastics, or such as vesicate or blister the skin; rubefa- cients, or such as inflame the skin; and escharotics, or such as de- stroy the life of the part. The medicines operating mechanically are the demulcents, which act by protecting the surfaces to which they are applied, from irri- tation ; emollients, which soften and relax the skin; and diluents, which act by diluting the fluids of the body. The second great division, embracing substances which act on foreign matters within the body, comprises only two subdivisions: antacids, or medicines which neutralize acid in the system; and anthelmintics, or such as destroy and expel worms from the alimen- tary canal. The following table presents a synopsis of the foregoing arrange- ment. It is the one adopted by Prof. Wood, and somewhat modi- fied by Prof. Carson. 24 MATERIA medica. TABLE OF CLASSIFICATION OF MEDICINES. I. substances which act upon the solids and fluids of the body. if ["Permanent, ) Ton^611 S' SV Stimulants, \ r Arterial, | ] [Diffusible, \ fCerebral, <&S ( Cerebro-nervous, | Nervous, -g ^ ( Excito-motor. I /q0^„+^Qc / Arterial, or Refrigerants, g / bedatives. | Nervous, or Sedative Narcotics. ^ V Alteratives. Emetics, Cathartics, i Diuretics, Affecting the J Diaphoretics, functions. *\ Expectorants, Emmenagogues, Sialagogues, p3 \ V Errhines. \& i- it. fRubefacients, Affecting the I E . { organization. | E£/arotics: . ,. ( Demulcents, Acting me- J Emollient ' chanically. }Diluents, II. substances which act on foreign matter in-the body. Antacids, Anthelmintics. GENERAL REMEDIES. CLASS I. ASTRINGENTS. a Medicines which produce contractility of the living tissues." This effect is by some ascribed to a vital stimulant influence over the organic contractility; others attribute it rather to a chemical operation upon the albumen and gelatine of the tissues. Their general chemical effect is certainly controlled by vitality ; but their local chemical operation is much the same as upon dead animal matter. VEGETABLE ASTRINGENTS. 25 The obvious effects of astringents are contraction and shrinking of the parts to which they are applied, diminution of secretions, and of hemorrhagic discharges, a harder and fuller pulse, together with greater tonicity of the muscles. They are used chiefly to arrest morbid discharges, whether hemor- rhagic or by secretion; but they should not be prescribed in the early, or inflammatory condition. They are also used in diseases connected with relaxation of the tissues. Among the special dis- orders calling for their employment are chronic diarrhoea and dysen- tery, passive hemorrhages, profuse bronchial discharge, catarrh of the bladder; &c.; and locally, in gonorrhoea, leucorrhcea, otitis, ozoena, and ulcers. They may be conveniently divided into the two classes of Vege- table and Mineral astringents. The former depend for their astrin- gency on a principle common to all of them, named tannic acid; the latter possess no such common principle, but each one of them is peculiar in its effects upon the system. VEGETABLE ASTRINGENTS. Acidum Tannicum, U. S. (Tannic Acid.)—Exists in vegetable astringents in combination with gallic acid; the latter, indeed, is believed to be produced by the oxidation of tannic acid. It is best obtained by the action of commercial sulphuric ^ther on powdered galls, allowing it slow,ly to percolate through them; the water of the ether dissolves out the tannic acid, which may be separated by evaporation. Prop.—A light porous substance, of a yellowish-white colour; very soluble in water and alcohol, and of a purely astringent taste. There are two varieties, one found in galls, oak-bark, &c, charac- terized by yielding a blue-black precipitate with the persalts of iron; the other found in kino, &c, yielding a greenish-black colour. In- compatibles,—mineral acids, alkalies, vegetable alkalies, the. per- salts of iron, and gelatine. It acts on the system as a pure astrin- gent ;—useful in diarrhoea and some forms of local hemorrhage. Dose, 3 grs., three or four times a day. Oak Bark. (Quercus.)—The officinal varieties of oak bark, are the Q. alba, U. S., or white oak bark, and Q. tinctoria, U. S., or black oak bark; though other species may contribute to furnish the shops. White oak bark is recognised by its whitish epidermis and superficial furrows; internally, it has a light-brown colour and fibrous texture; taste, bitter and astringent; does not tinge the saliva. Black oak bark is darker coloured externally, more deeply furrowed, has a more bitter taste, and imparts a yellow colour to the saliva in consequence of its containing a peculiar principle, quercitrine: this principle renders the black oak bark valuable as a dye. Both impart their virtues to water and alcohol. They con- 26 MATERIA MEDICA. tain tannic and gallic acids. Not much used internally. The white is astringent; the black frequently purges from the irritation it causes. Oak bark is employed externally in the form of bath for marasmus, or chronic diarrhoea; also as a- lotion, or poultice, to in- dolent and gangrenous ulcers, and as a gargle in sore-throat. Dose, of powder, 30 grs.; of the decoction (Decoct urn Quercus Albce, U. S.), f £ij; of the extract, 10 to 20 grs. The oak leaves and acorns are also astringent; the latter have been used in scrofula. Galls. (Galla, U. S.)—Excrescences produced by the puncture of an insect upon the young twigs of the Quercus infectoria, a native of Asia Minor. The market is chiefly supplied from the ports of the Levant; they are named Aleppo galls. There are two varieties, the blue and the white; the former are the smallest, most compact, and most valuable; the latter are of a yellowish-brown hue, lighter, and have a perforation which indicates that the insect which they contained has. made its escape. The blue galls are to be preferred; they have a flinty fracture, no odour, a bitter and very astringent taste, yield their virtues to water and alcohol; they contain much tannic and gallic acids. Incompatibles,—the same as of tannin. Uses.—Chiefly externally, in, the form of decoction, as a gargle, or lotion; also as an ointment (Unguent. Gallce, U. S.), for piles. Dose of powder, 10 to 20 grs.; of the decoction, f^ij- The tinc- ture (Tinct. Gallx, U. S.) is chiefly used for a test. The syrup is- used in chronic diarrhoea. Kino, U. S.—An extract, or ah inspissated juice of certain trees. Several varieties are noticed: 1. East India or Amboyna, from Pterocarpus marsupium; 2. African—supposed to be the product of the Pterocarpus erinaceus, of Senegal; 3. Jamaica or West India—derived from the ■Coccoloba uvifera ; 4. Botany Bay,—the" concrete juice of the Eucalyptus rcsinifera ; 5. Caraccas.—The one most used is the Amboyna or East India. It comes in small, irregular, angular fragments, of a dark reddish-brown colour, shining fracture, no odour, but a very astringent taste. Soluble in hot water and alcohol. Active principle, that variety of tannic acid which affords a greenish-black precipitate with the persalts of iron. Uses.—One of the most used, internally, of all the astringents ; employed frequently with chalk and laudanum in diarrhoea and dysentery, not attended with inflammation; also in passive hemor- rhages, leucorrhoea, and diabetes. Dose of powder, 10 to 30 grs.; of the infusion (3ij to fgvj water), f gss.; of the tincture (Tinct. Kino, U. S.) f 3ss. to f 3ij. Kino is used externally, as an injec- tion, in gonorrhoea, leucorrhoea, and hemorrhages ; also for indolent ulcers. VEGETABLE ASTRINGENTS. 27 Catechu, U. S.—Extract of the Acacia catechu, a thorny tree growing in Hindostan. Procured by making a decoction of the wood, and then evaporating to a Fig. 1. proper consistence. Formerly called Terra Japonica, from its supposed earthy origin. There are several varieties of Cate- chu, one of which is derived from the Betel nut, and ano- ther, called cutch, or Gambir, from the Uncaria gam- bir of Sumatra. Prop. — Irregu- lar masses of vari- ous sizes; colour, externally, rusty brown, lighter within; taste, bitter and astrin- gent; active ingredient, the same variety of tannin as is found in kino,—which it resembles very much in all its properties. It also contains a principle called Catechuic acid. Uses.—Same as kino. Dose of powder, 10 to 30 grains. The compound infusion (Infusum Catechu Compositum, U. S.) contains 3ss of catechu, 3j of cinnamon, and Oj of boiling water; it is used in bowel-affections; dose, f^ss-j. The tincture is prefera- ble to the tincture of kino, in consequence of not gelatinizing; dose f 3j-ij. Troches of catechu are employed for relaxed uvula. Rhatany. (Krameria, U. S.)—Root of the Krameria triandra, a small shrub growing in Peru and Brazil. The root is branching, and, as found in the shops, is in pieces of various sizes, from the thickness of a quill upwards; colour externally, dark reddish-brown; rather lighter within ; taste, bitter, astringent, and sweetish; active principle, tannic acid, which resides most in the cortical portion;— imparts its virtues to water and alcohol. Uses.—Same as those of kino; a strong and good astringent. The external application is very useful in fissure of the anus,—the saturated infusion, made by displacement, or the solution of the extract being used; likewise-as an injection in leucorrhoea and go- norrhoea. Dose of powderj 20 to 30 grs.; of the infusion (Infusum Krameriee, U. S.), best made by displacement (§j to Oj water), f gj to f ^ij; of the tincture (Tinct. Krameriee, U. S.), f 3J to f 3ij; of the extract (Extractum Krameriee, U. S.), made by evaporating the 28 MATERIA MEDICA. cold infusion obtained by percolation, 10 to 15 grs. There is also a syrup ; dose f 3J~iv. Logwood. (Hsematoxylon, U. S.)—Wood of the Hsematoxylon Campechianum, a large tree growing in Mexico, and other parts of tropical America. It is imported in the form of billets, several feet long; has a dark-purplish colour externally, and a bright-red hue internally. It is much used as a dyewood; kept in the shops in the form of raspings; odour, slight; taste, sweetish and astringent; contains a peculiar principle called hematin or hsematoxylin ; also some tannin. Uses.—A mild astringent; useful in the bowel-affections of chil- dren. Given in decoction and extract; dose of former (Decoctum Haematoxyli, U. S.), f §ij J of the latter (Extractum Hsematoxyli, U. S.), 10 to 30 grs. The most important indigenous astringents are the Geranium, Blackberry root, Pipsissewa, and Uva Ursi. Cranesbill. (Geranium, U.S.)—Rhizoma of the Geranium maculatum, a small perennial plant growing in moist, shady woods; often called crowfoot, from the shape of the leaf. The root is ho- rizontal, about a quarter of an inch thick, and furnished with short fibres; colour, externally, brownish; lighter within; no odour; taste, astringent. Virtues depend on tannic acid, and are extracted by water and alcohol. Uses.—An excellent astringent; employed much in domestic practice, particularly in cases of children, to whom it may be given boiled in milk. Dose of powder, 20 to 30 grs.; of the decoction, or infusion, fgj to f ^ij. Blackberry root. (Rubus villosus, U. S., Dewberry root. (Rubus trivialis, U. S.)—These two roots are identical in medical properties and uses. They occur in pieces of various lengths, of a brownish colour, covered with a thin bark, -which abounds most in the active principle, tannic acid. Uses.—An excellent domestic astringent, much employed in chronic diarrhoeas and dysentery; also in the latter stages of cholera infantum. Dose of powder, 20 to 30 grs.; best given in decoction, made by boiling gj of the smaller roots in a pint and a half of water, down to a pint; dose, f gij. The fruit is slightly astringent and an agreeable demulcent. Pipsissewa. (Chimaphila, U. S.)—Leaves of the Chimaphila umbellata, sometimes called Winter-green, a small evergreen plant, indigenous to both continents. It has a creeping root, which sends up several erect stems, from four to eight inches high. The leaves are about an inch and a half long, serrated, of a green colour. AY hen bruised and in the fresh state, they emit an aromatic odour. They retain their green colour, if well dried. Taste, bitter astrin mineral Astringents. 29 gent, and aromatic; water and alcohol extract its virtues, which de- pend on tannin and a bitter extractive. Uses.—Chiefly as a mild alterative tonic in scrofulous complaints, and in diseases of the urinary organs; also, in dropsy, attended with dyspepsia and debility. It is best given in the form of decoc- tion and extract. Doses of the former (Decoctum Chimaphilse, U. S.), f Jiv, several times a day; of the latter, 20 to 30 grs. An excellent mode of administering pipsissewa is in the form of beer, made by adding molasses, ginger, and yeast to the decoction. A good infusion is obtained by displacement. Uva Ursi, U. S.—Leaves of the Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi, or bear berry, a small, trailing, evergreen shrub, growing in the northern parts of both continents. The leaves are obovate, about half an inch in length, thick and entire, a good deal resembling the box leaves. They are apt to be adulterated with the leaves of the red whortleberry. No odour when fresh, but acquire the smell of hay by drying; taste, bitter, astringent, and sweetish; virtues are yielded to alcohol and water, and depend on tannin and a bitter ex- tractive. Uses.—Chiefly in disorders of the urinary organs, as catarrh of the bladder, chronic nephritis, diabetes, and incontinence of urine. It is not, however, a certain remedy. Dose of powder, 20 grs. to 3j, three times a day; of the decoction (Decoctum Uvee Ursi,\J. S.), —made by boiling 3j In Ojss of water, down to Oj, f 3j to f fij. There are a few other vegetable astringents, which are occasion- ally employed: these are the rind of the Pomegranate (Granati Fructus Cortex), the bark and unripe fruit of the Persimmon (Dyos- pyrus), and the Bistort and Tormentil roots. The Rosa Gallica, or Red rose leaves, is also astringent; the confection (Confectio Rosas, U. S.), and the compound infusion (In- fusum Rosas compositum, U. S.), are officinal. The confection is made by incorporating powdered red roses, sugar, honey, and rose- water together. The compound infusion contains some dilute sul- phuric acid, which renders it slightly refrigerant. The Hundred- leaved Rose (Rosa centifolia, U. S.) is not astringent. The latter species furnishes the rose-water (Aqua Rosas, U. S.) of the shops, and the Unguentum Aquce Rosas, U. S., or cold cream. mineral astringents. Lead. (Plumbum, U. S.)—Not employed in medicine, in the metallic state. Its preparations are characterized by the union of astringent with sedative properties; and they may all be regarded as poisonous in over-doses, with the exception of the sulphate, which is extremely insoluble. The poisonous impression may be produced in two modes, either by their being absorbed into the blood, and 3* 30 materia medica. then acting upon the nervous centres, or by their local irritant action. Lead is very aptj when taken in improper quantities, to cause a series of symptoms called colica pictonum, or painters' colic; of which the most prominent are, loss of appetite, pain- ful and constipated state of the bowels, acute pain about the um- bilicus, with a knotty feel of the abdominal muscles, followed by general cramps, convulsions, and death. It also occasionally pro- duces a paralysis, most generally of the upper extremities, denomi- nated lead palsy. These poisonous effects are generally the result of long exposure to the fumes of melted lead, and are usually met with in workmen'of lead factories, painters, solderers, &c. It is recommended that such persons should use diluted sulphuric acid, for the purpose of converting any preparation of lead, which may be in the system, into the sulphate. Litharge. (Plumbi Oxidum Semivitrium, U. S.)—Prepared in the extraction of silver from the argentiferous galena. . It is in the form of small semi-vitrified scales, of a flesh colour. They usually contain some carbonic acid. Its chief use is in the preparation of Lead Plaster (Emplastrum Plumbi, U. S.), made by boiling together litharge, olive oil, and water; it consists of an oleo-margarate of lead. It is the foundation of most of the other plasters. Carbonate of Lead. (Plumbi Carbonas, U. S.)—Called also White Lead. Prepared by exposing lead in thin sheets to the action of the vapours of vinegar, at the temperature of fermenting manure: the vinegar furnishes oxygen and acetic acid, by which a subacetate is first formed; and the decomposing manure yields the carbonic acid. Prop.—A white, heavy, insoluble substance, without smell and taste; one of the most poisonous of the salts of lead; not used as a medicine internally; occasionally applied to excoriated and burnt surfaces; used also in the manufacture of the plaster (Emplastrum Plumbi Carbonatis), made to imitate Mahy's Plaster. It is applied to bed-sores. The ointment ( Unguentum Plumbi Carbonatis, U. S.) is used for excoriated and abraded surfaces. Acetate of Lead. (Plumbi Acetas, U. S.)—Sugar of Lead.—Pre- pared by dissolving litharge, or the carbonate in distilled vinegar, by the aid of heat. Prop.—A white salt; crystallizes in needle-shaped forms; odour, peculiar; taste, sweetish and astringent; effloresces on exposure; perfectly soluble in pure water, but gives a turbid solution, if there be any carbonic acid present. This may be remedied by a few drops of distilled vinegar. Incompatibles, the mineral acids and their soluble salts, the alkalies, alkaline earths, and carbonates, and vege- table astringents. Uses.—Internally, in hemorrhages, particularly hsemoptysis ; also in dysentery, cholera infantum, and in certain disorders of the mu- cous membrane of the stomach, as in yellow fever, and malignant MINERAL ASTRINGENTS. 31 remittents and intermittents. Dose, gr. ss to -gr. ij, every two or three hours, according to circumstances. Used very much as a topical application, particularly in inflammations of the mucous membranes and the skin. The strength of the solution, for mucous membranes, is from gr. ss to gr. ij in f§j of water; for the sound skin, 3U dissolved in Oj of water. Solution of the Subacetate of Lead.—Liquor Plumbi Subace- tatis, U. S.—(Goulard's Extract).—Prepared by boiling together equal quantities of sugar of lead and litharge. It is not uniform in its strength, varying with the quantity of lead contained in the preparation. It is a colourless, limpid fluid, having a sweetish, astringent taste. It is decomposed by whatever is incompatible with the acetate, and also by gum and starch. It must be pre- served in closely-stopped bottles, to keep it from the carbonic acid of the air. Uses.—Never internally; externally, diluted, to sprains, bruises, burns, and ulcers, in the proportion of 3IJ °r 3iij to the Oj of water. ■ Lead Water. (Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis Dilutus, U. S.)—Con- tains only 3j to Oj of water. Used for sprains, &c. Goxdard's Cerate.—(Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S.)—is made by boiling together Goulard's extract, white wax, olive oil, and camphor; it is an excellent application to abraded surfaces, and to blisters not disposed to heal. The iodide and nitrate are. also officinal. Alum. (Alumen, U. S.)—Chemically, a double sulphate of alumina and potassa; sometimes found native, though usually made artificially, either from some of the native ores of alum, or by a direct combination of the elements. Some varieties of alum con- tain sulphate of soda, or sulphate of ammonia, instead of sulphate of potassa. Prop.—A white crystalline salt, slightly efflorescent, crystallizes in regular octohedrons: taste, sweetish and astringent; very solu- ble in hot water, which deposits crystals on cooling; reddens litmus; when heated, undergoes the aqueous fusion, and is converted into dried alum (Alumen Exsiccatum, U. S.) The alum of commerce generally contains some iron as an impurity. Incompatibles.—The alkalies and their carbonates, lime-water, magnesia and its carbonate, sugar of lead, arid tartrate of potassa. Uses.—A powerful astringent, both general and local. When long used, it is apt to injure the organs of digestion. Large doses occasion irritation of the stomach and bowels, and even inflamma- tion. Given internally, in hemorrhages, particularly of the uterus and lungs; also in colica pictonum, where it is supposed to do good by a chemical action; formerly used in intermittents. Its nauseant effect is best obviated by combining it with aromatics and opium. 32 MATERIA MEDICA. Employed externally, as an astringent to the throat in inflammation; also to arrest slight hemorrhages, as in epistaxis, and bleeding from leech-bites ; also as an injection in leucorrhoea and chronic diarrhoea, and as a wash to indolent ulcers. Alum-curd is made by rubbing up alum with the white of an egg ; used in conjunctivitis. Alum-whey is made by boiling 3ij of alum in a pint of milk, and straining; dose, f5ij.—Dose of powdered alum, 5 to 15 grains, several times a day; in hemorrhages, the dose must be much in- creased. Alum is sometimes used as an emetic. The preparations of copper, zinc, and silver are also astringent; but as they are also tonic, they will be spoken of under the latter head. CLASS II. TONICS. Tonics are medicines possessing the power of gradually increasing the tone of the muscular fibre, when relaxed, and the vigour of the body when weakened by disease. Muscular power and tonicity are not always associated; the former may be increased under excite- ment, where there is actual debility. Though resembling astrin- gents in some of their effects, they do not produce corrugation, except when combined with the astringent principle. They resem- ble the stimulants in the fact of acting on the system through the medium of the nervous system; but they differ from these in the slowness, as well as the permanency of their effects. Tonics increase the power, while mere stimulants only produced increased action. Carried to excess, they are productive of debility ; and if used in a state of health, they act injuriously, causing an excitation, followed by a proportionate degree of debility. Tonics are particularly in- dicated in functional disorders of the digestive organs, as dyspepsia, and in the convalescence from acute disorders. Bitterness was at one time supposed to be an essential condition to constitute any remedy a tonic; and although it is true that nearly, if not quite all, the vegetable tonics have a bitter taste, still the fact that the mineral tonics are not bitter, would serve to prove that bitterness is not absolutely indispensable in a tonic medicine. Tonics produce their effects either through the nervous system, upon the tonicity or nutrition; or by a direct impression upon the vegetable tonics. 33 stomach, enabling it to perform the digestive process better, and so to prepare a more nourishing material for the blood. They may be conveniently arranged under the two orders of Vegetable and Mineral tonics. VEGETABLE TONICS. These may be divided into 1, the Simple or Pure Bitters; 2, Bitters of Peculiar Properties ; 3, Stimulant Tonics; 4, Aromatics. The modification may be caused by some property inherent in the bitter principle, as in the Peruvian bark; or it may be caused by the presence of some stimulating volatile oil, as in serpentaria; or of a sedative principle, as in the case of wild-cherry bark. I. SIMPLE BITTERS. These merely increase the appetite and promote digestion, with- out increasing the circulation. They are especially useful in dys- pepsia and in convalescence. Quassia, U. S.—Wood of the Quassia amara, and Simaruba excelsa, trees growing in South America and Jamaica. Imported in billets, which are nearly white, very light in texture, no odour, and a pure, intensely bitter taste. Kept in the shops in the form of chips or raspings. Contains a peculiar bitter principle called quassin. Cold water and alcohol extract its virtues. Uses.—A pure bitter tonic; does not excite the system; applica- ble in simple dyspepsia, and in convalescence from acute disorders. Used in South America in the treatment of remittent fever. Dose of powder, 20 grains to 3j ; of the infusion (Infusum Quas- sias, U. S.), made with 3ij to Oj of cold water, f 3ij ; of the extract (Extractum Quassias, U. S.), gr. ij to gr. v; of the tincture (Tinc- tura Quassias, U. S.), f 3J to f 3ij- Simaruba,—the bark of the Simaruba officinalis^ possessespro- perties similar to those of quassia, and may be substituted for it. Columbo.—(Colomba, U. S.)— Root of the Cocculus palmatus (Fig. 2), a climbing plant, growing in Mozambique. The root is perennial, consisting of a main body and numerous offsets. The root, when dug up by the natives, is sliced transversely, and dried. Found in the shops in circular or oval disks, from half an inch to two inches in diameter, and from a quarter to three quarters of an inch in thickness. The epidermis is wrinkled, and of a brownish colour; beneath this is a yellow cortical portion, and within this, the shrunken, whitish, medullary part. It is liable to be attacked by worms, from the starch which it contains. Odour, slightly aro- matic ; taste, bitter and mucilaginous. Should not be kept in the state of powder, from its liability to attract moisture. Water and alcohol attract its active properties, which depend on a peculiar principle called columbin. 34 MATERIA MEDICA. Prop.—A mild and.excellent tonic; a good remedy in simp! dyspepsia, and in convalescence; also in the declining stages o dysentery and diarrhoea. Often given with purgatives and aro- matics. Dose of powder, 10 to 20 grains; of the infusion, (Infusum Co- lombo?., U. S.,) made with §ss. to Oj of cold water, fgj to f|ij; of the tincture, (Tine. Colombo?, U. S.,) f 3j to f3ij- Gentian. (Gentianai U. S.)—Root of the Gentiana lutea, a perennial plant, growing in the mountainous regions of Europe. VEGETABLE TONICS. 35 It comes in pieces of considerable length, sometimes sliced longi- tudinally, twisted and much wrinkled externally, and of a reddish- brown colour; yellowish within ; of a spongy texture; odour, feeble, and somewhat peculiar; taste, very bitter and sweetish; colour of powder, yellowish. Water and alcohol extract its virtues, which de- pend chiefly on a peculiar crystalline bitter principle called gentianin. Prop.—A pure simple bitter, much employed in dyspepsia, par- ticularly in the form of infusion, made with senna, or rhubarb, and ginger. Its powder is often combined with iron and purgatives. Gentian is slightly stimulant. D'ose of powder, 10 to 40 grains; of the infusion; made with §j to Oj of cold or hot water, f gij. The compoun dinfusion (Infusum Gentianse Compositum, U. S.), contains orange-peel, coriander seeds, _ and a little dilute alcohol. The tincture (Tinctura Gentianx Com- posite, U. S.), contains cardamom seed and orange-peel, and is one of the best of the bitter tinctures; dose f5J to fjij. The extract (Extractum Gentianas, U. S.) is used in the dose of 5 to 30 grains. White Gentian—the root of Gentiana purpurea—is occasionally seen in the markets. The American Columbo (Fraserd, U. S.)—root of the Eraser a Walteri—is an indigenous Gentian, growing west of the Alleghany Mountains. Its properties, &c, resemble those of Gentian. Gold Thread. (Coptis, U. S.)—Root of the Coptis trifolia, a small, evergreen, herbaceous plant, growing in New England. The plant much resembles a strawberry vine, and has a thin interlaced root, of a golden-yellow colour. In its general properties it strongly resembles quassia; its virtue depends on a bitter extractive. Best given in infusion, made with gss to Ojof water; used sometimes as a wash in aphthous sore mouths. # The Sabbatia angularis, or American centaury (Sabbatia, U. S.), is another excellent indigenous tonic, having properties resembling those of the above-named simple bitters. It is generally used in the form of infusion. Thoroughwort—Boneset. ■ (Eupatorium, U. S.)—The herb Eupatorium perfoliatum,—a,n indigenous perennial, growing in moist places, distinguished by the perfoliate character of its leaves, each pair of which are at right angles to those immediately above and below. It has a faint odour, and a strong, bitter taste. Hot water extracts its virtues, which are believed to reside in a bitter principle. The cold infusion acts as a mild, pleasant tonic; the hot infusion as a diaphoretic, or even as an emetic. II. BITTERS of modified properties. Peruvian Bark. ■(Cinchona, U. S.)—The genus_Cinchona of the former botanists, comprised as many as fifty distinct species; 36 _ MATERIA MEDICA. Professor Lindley mentions twenty-six species, most of which are well known. Of these the most important, as affording most of the bark of commerce, are the C. Condaminea, C. micrantha, C. cordi- folia, and C. Calisaya. The genuine cinchona trees are exclusively found within the geographical limits of La Paz, about 20° of south latitude, and Santa Martha, about 11° of north latitude. They inhabit the mountainous regions of the Andes, usually about 6000 feet above the level of the sea. The several localities which furnish the bark are the following, in their order of discovery :—Loxa, Sta. Fe de Bogota, Huanuco, La Paz, and Sta. Martha. Of these, Bo- gota and Sta. -Martha furnish the Carthagena barks; the others furnish the officinal barks. The name Cinchona was given to the genus from the circumstance that the Countess of Cinchona was cured of intermittent fever by the use of the bark. It was also named Jesuits' bark and Jesuits' powder, from its having been used by the Jesuits as a secret remedy. All the different species of the Cinchona have their own peculiar botanical characteristics: they Fig. 4. resemble each other, however, in their general features : thus they all have opposite leaves, set upon short petioles; the flowers are at VEGETABLE TONICS. 37 the extremities of the branches, and of a white or rose colour. Fig. 4 represents a branch of the C. Condaminea. There are only three varieties of genuine Peruvian bark recog- nised by the pharmacopoeias; these are the pale, the yellow, and the red. Pale Bark (Cinchona pallida, U. S.)—Called also. Loxa. or Crown bark, and by the French, gray bark. It includes the com- mercial varieties of Loxa, and Lima or Huanuco barks; and is the product of the C. Condaminea, and the C. micrantha. It comes only in quills, which are from half a foot to a foot long, from two lines to an inch in diameter; the epidermis is marked by numerous transverse cracks; colour of epidermis, gray, though often diversi- fied; internal colour, cinnamon; fracture, smooth; colour of powder, lighter than the others; taste, bitter and astringent, but less bitter than the others. Yellow Bark (Cinchonaafiava, U. S.)—Called also royal yellow and Calisaya bark. The species which yields it has been ascer- tained by Widdel to be the C. Calisaya. It comes in quills and flat pieces; the former are from three inches to a foot in length, and from a quarter of an inch to two inches in diameter; epidermis, brownish, marked by longitudinal wrinkles and transverse fissures; epidermis often wanting; texture fibrous; fracture splintery, exhi- biting minute spiculse; colour of bark, yellow-orange; taste, bitter and nauseous; odour, tan-like; relative value superior to the others, as it abounds most in quinia. Red Bark (Cinchona rubra, U. S.).—Supposed to bedenved from the larger branches and trunk of the same tree which yields the pale bark; size of quills, half an inch to two inches in diameter, and two to twelve inches long; flat pieces are large and thick; external colour reddish-brown, with a very rough epidermis, which occasion- ally exhibits warts upon it; colour of powder, reddish; taste, very bitter. The pale bark contains most cinchonia, the yellow most quinia, and the red about an equal portion of both alkalies. _ # The varieties of bark called Carthagena barks are much inferior to those just described. They are all shipped from the northern or Atlantic ports of South America. Cinchona yields its virtues to water and alcohol. Its active prin- ciples are two alkalies named quinia and cinchonia, which exist combined with kinic acid. It also contains cinchonic red, cinchonic yellow, tannic acid, gum, &c. , , . • j Quinia is prepared by macerating Calisaya bark in water, acidu- lated with muriatic acid; this acid forms the soluble muriate of qui- nia • filter, and add lime, which throws down the quinia, chloride of calcium remaining in solution; next add boiling alcohol, which takes up the quinia, which may then be decolorized by animal char- 38 MATERIA MEDICA. coal, and separated by evaporation. It occurs in a white flocculent powder; nearly insoluble in water; very soluble in boiling alcohol, ether, and volatile oils; unites with acids to form salts, of which the most important is the officinal sulphate. Cinchonia is a white crystalline substance, with general properties resembling those of quinia. Incompatibles.—The alkalies, alkaline earths, acetate of lead, and tannic acid. Physiological effects.—'A tonic in small doses, and also anti- periodic ; the latter is peculiar, and is not dependent upon its tonic properties. In full doses, apt to occasion oppression of stomach, nausea, and purging; it also acts upon the cerebro-spinal system; as evinced, by the tension of the head, ringing of the ears, and occa- sional deafness. Uses.—As a mere tonic, it is inferior to the simple bitters in dys- pepsia, but applicable in exhausting stages of disease, particularly in suppurations, also in typhoid complaints, in neuralgia, and in rheumatism. Its most important use is in intermittent diseases, especially intermittent and remittent fever ; believed to do good in these affections through the agency of the nervous system. Cinchona is given in powder, infusion, decoction, tincture, and extract. Most powerful in substance, but apt to disagree with the stomach, and offensive on aecount of its bulk; dose 5j> repeated so as to give ^j to ^ij in the intermission; its efficacy is increased by combining it with serpentaria. Powdered bark sometimes used ex- ternally, in the form of quilted jackets—applied to children. Dose of the infusion (Infusum Cinchonas Flavce., U. S.), (^j to Oj boiling water) f ^ij. Dose of the decoction (Decoctum Cinchonas Flavce, U. S.), the same. The cold infusion (Infus. Cinch. Compos., U. S.), is preferable, made with cold water, acidulated with sulphuric acid, which more completely exhausts the virtues of the bark, and gives a clear infusion. Dose of tincture (Tinctura Cinchonas, U.S.), f3J to f 5iv. Huxam's tincture (Tinct. Cinch. Composita, U. S.), con- tains also serpentaria and other ingredients; dose, the same. Dose of extract, 10 to 30 grs. _' Sulphate of Quinia.—Chemically a disulphate; made by adding dilute sulphuric acid to quinia, and crystallizing. Occurs in light, feathery, white crystals, without odour; taste bitter; soluble in boiling water and alcohol, and the dilute acids; cold water freely dissolves it by the aid of sulphuric acid; colour of the solution, opalescent. It is apt to be adulterated, which may be detected if with a mineral substance, as sulphate of lime, by a residue being storch wSme'&o0 * ^ ^ gUm' bj ^ gr6ater solubility > Effects on System.—Generally similar to those of the bark but sometimes fails to cure intermittents, when the bark will succeed. STIMULANT TONICS. 39 Dose, 10 to 14 grs., equivalent to §j of good bark; ordinary dose, one to three grains; may be often given by enema; also endermi- cally. Dose of the impure sulphate of quinia, or quinoidine (made by evaporating the mother waters), double that of the sulphate. Dose of sulphate of cinchonia, the same as that of sulphate of quinia. The best substitutes for Peruvian bark are the salix, or willow, which contains a bitter principle, called salicin; the barks of the Swietera febrifuga, the Horsechestnut, and the Dogwood; the latter contains a peculiar bitter principle, named cornine. Also, the Li- riodendron Tulipifera, U.S., or American Tulip-Tree. Wild Cherry Bark. (Prunus Virginiana, U. S.)—Bark of the Cerasus Serotind, an indigenous tree. The bark is taken both from the stem and root; comes in pieces several inches long, slightly curved, usually deprived of the epidermis; has a cinnamon colour; taste, bitter and aromatic, with the flavour of the bitter almond; odour, similar; active properties to water and alcohol; injured by heat. Active principles, hydrocyanic acid and a volatile oil; these do not pre-exist in the plant, but are the result of a reaction be- tween the amygdaline and emulsine with water. Effects.—A tonic to the digestive organs, and at the same time sedative to the system. Useful in convalescence, attended with irri- tability of the stomach; also in the hectic of phthisis. Best given in cold infusion (Infusum Pruni Virginianas, U. S.), made by macerating half an ounce in a pint of cold water 24 hours, or by displacement; dose, f ^ij three times a day. There is also a syrup (Syrupus l^run. Virginiance, U. S.), which is an excellent pre- paration; dose, f 3j-iv. STIMULANT TONICS. These tonics are more stimulating to the system than the fore- going. They owe their stimulating properties to a volatile oil. Virginia Snake Root. (Serpentaria, U. S.)—Root of the Aristolochia serpentaria, an indigenous herbaceous plant, growing in rich woods. The root is perennial, consisting of numerous long slender fibres, proceeding from a common caudex. As found in the shops, it is in tufts of a brownish colour; has a strong camphorous odour, and a very bitter, acrid, camphorous taste. It yields its virtues to alcohol and water; active ingredients, a volatile oil and a bitter principle. Effects.—A stimulant tonic; used in low forms of disease ; also, stimulates the secretions; employed sometimes as an adjuvant to Peruvian bark. Dose of powder, 10 to 80 grs.; of the infusion (Infusum Serpen- taria?, U.S.), (made with ^ss to Oj water) fgj to f^ij; of the 40 materia medica. tincture (Tinctura Serpentaria, U. S.), f 5J to f 5ij. The decoction and extract are objectionable. Chamomile. (Anthemis, U. S.)—Flowers of the Anthemis no- bilis, a small, herbaceous perennial, indigenous to Europe, but in- troduced into the United States. The flowers are both double and single; the latter said to be the strongest. Imported usually from England. They are about half an inch in diameter, nearly spheri- cal, of a yellowish-white colour; odour, fragrant and aromatic; taste, warm, aromatic, and bitter; virtues depend on a volative oil and bitter extractive, which are imparted to water and alcohol. Prop.—A mild, stimulant tonic; useful in convalescence and some forms of dyspepsia; the warm infusion acts as a diaphoretic and emetic. Dose of cold infusion (^ss to Oj), as a tonic, f ^ij. There are several other herbaceous plants, which are mildly stimu- lant ' and tonic to the System, as Wormwood (Absinthium), Tansey (Tanacetum), Horehound (Marrubium). These all contain a volatile oil and a bitter principle. Cascarilla Bark. (Cascarilla, U.S.)—Bark of the Croton Eleutheria, and of the Croton cascarilla, trees growing in the West Indies; chiefly imported from Eleutheria, one of the Bahamas; comes in small-sized quills, and in small chips; epidermis is par- tially detached. Odour aromatic; when thrown upon hot coals it exhales an agreeable odour like musk; taste, bitter and aromatic. Used chiefly as an adjuvant to other tonics. Active ingredients, a volatile oil, and bitter extractive. Dose of powder, 20 to 30 grs.; of the infusion (Infusum Cascarillce, U. S.), made in proportion of ij to Oj, f§ij. Angustura Bark. (Angustura, U. S.)—Bark of the Galipea officinalis, and probably of G. Cusparia, a small tree growing in South America. It comes in pieces slightly curved, about a line in thickness, and bevelled at the edges. Colour, yellowish-gray; taste, bitter and aromatic. Virtues depend upon a volatile oil and bitter extractive. A stimulant tonic, not much employed at present; should be carefully distinguished from the false Angustura bark, which is derived from the Nux Vomica, and is very poisonous. The true bark is always bevelled at the edges, and softens and becomes pliant like leather on being soaked in water. The false variety is intensely bitter to the taste, and gives a red colour when touched with nitric acid, from the brucia which it contains. Dose of the powder, 10 to 20 grs.; of the infusion (Infusum Angusturas, U. S.), f3H)- Myrrh. (Myrrha, U. S.)—An exudation from the Balsamoden* dron myrrha, a shrub, or small tree, growing in Arabia and Abys- sinia. The juice exudes spontaneously, or by incision. Two commercial varieties—'India and Turkey myrrh : the latter is the aromatic tonics. 41 finest: comes in masses and tears ; of a pale reddish-yellow colour, semi-transparent and brittle; of an aromatic peculiar odour. India myrrh is much inferior,—darker, softer, and much mixed with a substance called bdellium. Myrrh is usually imported from Bom- bay. It is a gum-resin, associated with a volatile oil; forms a clear tincture with alcohol, and with water a yellow opaque emulsion. Fig. 5. The alkalies have the property of uniting with myrrh, and ren- dering it more soluble in water. Its active properties reside chiefly in the resin. Effects.—A stimulant tonic, with a tendency at the same time to the lungs and uterus. Most employed in chronic pectoral affections, and in amenorrhoea. Dose of powder, 10 to 30 grains ; of the tinc- ture, fjss to f 5j. The tinctura (Tinctura Myrrhse, U. S.)is most used as an external application to spongy gums, and to indolent ulcers. AROMATIC TONICS. Aromatics are substances possessing an agreeable penetrating odour, and a warm, pleasant taste. These properties depend upon a volatile oil, which may be generally separated by distillation with water. The volatile oils (essential or distilled oils) have the odour and taste of the substances from which they are procured ; sp. gr. gene- rally less than that of water; almost insoluble in water; soluble in alcohol, ether, and the fixed oils. Their proximate composition is into two principles, stearoptine and eleoptine; the former is solid, the latter liquid. If adulterated with a fixed oil, the fraud may be detected by their leaving a permanent greasy stain upon paper. 42 MATERIA MEDICA. All the aromatics possess stimulant properties, though in diffe- rent degrees. They include the spices, which, on account of their agreeable odour and taste, are much employed as condiments, and also for flavouring or disguising less pleasant medicines. As medi- cines, they act as grateful stimuli; creating warmth of stomach, obviating nausea, expelling flatulence, and relieving slight colic. . Orange Peel. (Aurantii Cortex, U. S.)—The outer rind of the orange (Citrus aurantium, or C. vidgaris). There are two varieties of orange—the sweet, and the bitter or Seville orange; the rind of the latter only is tonic. As usually prepared by simply peeling the fruit and drying, it is apt to become mouldy; the inner portion should be first rejected. The bitter variety contains a bitter extrac- tive and volatile oil. It is a mild aromatic, chiefly used for fla- vouring. The confection (Confectio Aurantii Corticis, U. S.) is chiefly em- ployed as a vehicle. Cinnamon. (Cinnamomum, U. S.)—Bark of the Cinnamomum Fig. 6.' AROMATIC TONICS. 43 zeylanicum (Fig. 6), a native of Ceylon. The bark is stripped from treess of six or seven years old. When dried, it curls up late- rally, so as to form quills, which are inserted one within another. The variety called Cassia is believed to be the product of the C. aromaticum, a native of China, and is sent from Canton. True cinnamon is. known by its colour, the thinness of its bark, the congeries of quills in which it always comes, its splintery frac- ture, and its sweetish aromatic taste, more pleasant than that of cassia bark, though the best specimens of the latter may be consi- dered nearly as good. There is a volatile oil of cinnamon, and also one of cassia. Cinnamon contains some tannic acid, which is the cause of its astringency.—It is chiefly used as an adjuvant. Cinnamon Water (Aqua Cinnamomi, U. S.), is made by rubbing up the oil of cinnamon with carbonate of magnesia, and then adding water : it is used as a vehicle for other medicines. The' compound tincture (Tinctura Cinnamomi Composita, U. S.), containing also cardamom, caraway, raisins, and cochineal, is used in the dose of f 3J *o f 5ij- Pulvis Aromaticus, U. S. (Aromatic Powder.)—Contains cinna- mon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg. It is stimulant and carmina- tive ; used chiefly as an adjuvant. CAnella, U. S.—Bark of the Canella alba, a tree growing in the West Indies; comes in imperfect quills, of a yellowish-white colour, and a bitter aromatic taste. Its properties are those of a stimulant tonic and aromatic. Not much employed alone; an ingredient in the hiera picra, or Pulvis Aloes et Canella. The other spices most employed are Nutmeg, Cloves, Mace} Black Pepper, Cubebs, and Allspice. Nutmeg. (Myristica, U. S.)—Fruit of the Myristica moschata, a native of the Malaccas, but grown in Cayenne. They are the kernels of the nut, which is surrounded by a membrane, called mace. Nutmegs contain a volatile oil (Oleum Myristica?, U. S.), procured by distillation, and a fixed oil, called oil of mace, obtained by expression. Nutmegs are aromatic, and, in large doses, narcotic. Used chiefly- as a condiment, and to flavour farinaceous drinks. Mace is employed for the same purpose. > Cloves. (Caryophyllus, U. S.)—Unexpanded flowers of the Euge- nia caryophyllata, an evergreen, native of the Malaccas. They ought to have a deep brown colour, and an oily aspect. Cloves are one of the most stimulant aromatics; they depend for their virtue upon a volatile oil (Oleum Caryophylli, U. S.), which is rather heavier than water. Dose of powder, 5 to 10 grains; of infusion (Infusum Caryophilli, U. S.), made with 3ij to the pint, f 3ij; of the volatile oil, 2 or 3 drops. Black Pepper. (Piper, U. S.)—Dried berries of the Piper 44 MATERIA MEDICA. nigrum, a vine, native of the East Indies. The fruit when first ripe is red, but becomes black by drying. When deprived of its outer coating it constitutes white pepper. It contains a peculiar crystalline principle-^p/pern*—which, however, is not the active principle; this resides in the volatile oil. Piperin has been used with advantage as an anti-intermittent; dose, gr. ij-vnj. The fluid extract (Extractum Piperis Fluidum, U. S.), has been lately intro- duced; dose, f3ss-j. . Black pepper is chiefly employed as a condiment; it is a decided stimulant in large doses. Its excessive use is injurious to the stomach. Cubebs. (Cubeba, U. S.)—Dried fruit of the Piper cubeba, a vine much resembling the last. The cubeb. berries are distin- guished by being reticulated, and having a short footstalk attached to them. They have an aromatic odour, and a warm camphorous taste; depend for their virtues on a. volatile oil, procured by distil- lation. They have a tendency to act on the kidneys, and in larger quantities to affect the head. As a medicine, its chief use is in affections of the urino-genital organs, particularly gonorrhoea. Dose of powder, 3ss to 3j; of the volatile oil (Oleum cubeba?, U. S.), 10 to 20 drops. The.fluid extract (Extractum Cubeba? Fluidum, U. S.) is an excellent preparation; dose, gtt. xx to f 3j. The tincture (Tinctura Cubebas, U. S.) is given in the dose of f 3ss-j. Allspice. (Pimenta, U. S.)—Called also Jamaica pepper. Grows in Jamaica; fruit of the My rtus pimenta; called allspice, from its combining the flavour of several other spices. . Its virtues depend on a volatile oil. Used only as a condiment. The Aromatic Seeds most employed in medicine are the follow- ing :— Cardamoms (Cardamomum, U. S.), from the Elettaria Carda- momum, a native of Malabar and the East Indies. Fennel Seed (Fosniculum, U. S.), from the Fceniculum vidgarc, a native of the south of Europe, but introduced here. Coriander (Coriandrum, U. S.), from Coriandrum .sativum, a native of Europe, but cultivated here. Caraway (Carum, U. S.), from Carum Carui, growing in Europe. Anise -(An isum, U. S.), from Pimpinella Anisum, a native of Europe and Africa. These all contain a volatile oil. They are used, as well as their oils, chiefly as adjuvants, to impart an agreeable flavour to other medicines. The tincture of Cardamoms (Tinctura Cardamomi, U.S.), is an excellent stomachic aromatic for nausea and slight colic; dose, f 3.HJ- AROMATIC TONICS. 45 Fennel Water (Aqua Fccniculi) is much used as an agreeable vehicle for mixtures. The following Aromatic Herbs (Labiato?) are also employed in medicine: Lavender. (Lavandula,V>. S.)—The flowering tops of Lavandula vera, native of Europe, but grown here. The flowers have a de- lightful odour, and yield a volatile oil on distillation. The spirit, or lavender-water, as it is often improperly named (Spiritus Lavan- dula?, U. S.), is made by distilling the flowers with alcohol; it is a very agreeable perfume. The compound spirit, or lavender com- pound (Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, U. S.), contains spirit of lavender, spirit of rosemary, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and red saunders. It is much employed as a grateful stomachic in sick stomach and mild colics; also to impart flavour; dose f 3j_rj- Rosemary. (Rosmarinus, U. S.)-—The flowering tops of Rosmari- nus officinalis ; indigenous in Europe, but grown here. It_contains a highly stimulating volatile oil, used in making opodeldoc, and cam- phorated tincture of soap. The spirit (Spiritus Rosmarini, U. S.) is used occasionally. Peppermint. (Mentha Piperita, U. S.)—A native of Europe, but naturalized here. The whole herb is used, and is most active when in flower. Its oil is occasionally prescribed in doses of gtt. ij-iij, but is more frequently used in the form of Essence of Peppermint (Tinctura Olei Menthas Piperitae, U. S.), made by dis- solving f gij of the oil in Oj of alcohol. Dose, gtt. v-xx, on a piece of loaf-sugar, to relieve nausea and slight colic. Peppermint-water (Aquas Mentha? Piperita?, U. S.), is prepared by rubbing up f 3ss of the oil with 3J of carbonate of magnesia, and then adding Oij of distilled water, and filtering. It is much used as a vehicle. The fresh herb bruised and applied to the stomach will frequently re- lieve pain and nausea; it is used chiefly for children. Spearmint. (Mentha Viridis, U. S.)—Is very similar in proper- ties to Peppermint. The oil, essence, and water are made in the same manner as the corresponding preparations of Peppermint, and are used for similar purposes. Pennyroyal (Hedeoma) is similar to the Mints in properties, though rather more stimulating. Balm (Melissa, U. S.), and Marjoram (Origanum, U. S.); are also strongly allied in properties to the preceding herbs. Sage. (Salvia, U. S.)—Leaves of Salvia officinalis. Contains a volatile oil and some tannic acid, which imparts to it astringent properties. It is chiefly employed in infusion (sage-tea) for sore throats. Alum may often advantageously be added. Partridge-berry. (Gaidtheria, U. S.)—Leaves of Gaultheria 46 materia medica. procumbens. It contains a very heavy essential oil, of a dark colour, used to impart flavour; an ingredient in the compound syrup of sarsaparilla. • Ginger. (Zingiber, U. S.)—Rhizoma of Zingiber officinale, a perennial, herbaceous plant, growing in the East and West Indies. Several varieties are found in the shops. Sometimes the recent root, in a state of vegetation, is sent to the market, constituting green ginger; sometimes the root is dug up, scalded to prevent germination, and then dried, constituting common black ginger; again, the best pieces are selected, the outer skin removed, so as to give it a white appearance, and imported as white ginger. The latter comes from Jamaica. Colour of the powder, light yellowish-white ; odour, powerful and peculiar; taste, strong, aromatic, and biting. It contains a volatile oil, an acrid resin and starch. It is a grateful stimulant and carminative; used to expel flatus from the bowels; employed also as an adjuvant to the bitter tonics, in cases of dyspepsia. It is apt to be much deteriorated by age. Given in powder, infusion, tincture, and syrup. Dose of powder, 10 to 30 grs. ; of the infusion (Infusum Zingiberis, U. S.), made with f ^ss to the pint, f ^ij ; of the tincture (Tinctura Zingiberis, U. S.), f3J- The syrup (Syrupus Zingiberis, U. S.) is used gene- rally for flavouring. Externally applied, ginger acts as a rubefacient. Sweet Flag. (Calamus, U. S.)—Rhizoma of Acorus calamus, a plant growing in marshes. Its effects on the system, and uses are very similar to those of ginger. It contains a volatile oil and extractive. MINERAL TONICS. Iron. (Ferrum, U. S.)—The most important of all the mineral tonics; a constituent of many organized beings, and found in the red globules of the blood. The preparations of iron, called chaly- beates, combine tonic with astringent properties ; they increase the appetite, promote digestion, and exalt the general functions of life. Under its use, the red corpuscles of the blood become much in- creased, giving rise to a tendency to plethora. Its influence over the nervous system appears to be rather secondary; The chaly- beates prove most useful in dyspepsia with constipation, not accom- panied by inflammation of the stomach ; also in chronic debility of females associated with amenorrhoea; in some nervous affections ; and especially in anemia. Metallic iron is probably inert upon the system ; but when swal- lowed in that state, it is apt to become converted into on oxide or salt in the stomach and bowels, and to disengage hydrogen gas, which causes unpleasant eructations. Iron filings (Ramenta Ferri MINERAL TONICS. 47 U. S.), which are sometimes used, should be previously purified by means of a magnet. Dose, gr. v-xx. Squamas Ferri (Scales of Iron).—Obtained by hammering red- hot iron ; consist chemically of the protoxide and peroxide. Dose, 5 to 20 grains. Ferri Pulvis, U. S. (Iron by Hydrogen.)—:Made by passing hy- drogen over the oxide heated to redness it is an efficient preparation. Dose, gr. j-v. Rubigo Ferri (Rust of Iron).—Formerly called prepared carbo- nate of iron; prepared by exposing fine iron wire to air and mois- ture, then reducing to a fine powder by levigation and elutriation. It consists of the protocarbonate and the sesquioxide. Colour, red; taste, styptic; insoluble in water. Dose, gr. v—xx. Ferri Subcarbonas, U. S. (Subcarbonate of Iron).— Formerly named Precipitated Carbonate ; made by mixing together the solu- tion of the carbonate of soda, and sulphate of iron. When first prepared the colour is greenish-black, which soon changes into a brownish-red, from the absorption of oxygen; it then consists chiefly of the sesquioxide. It has a styptic taste ; no odour; is in- soluble in pure water. It is one of the best chalybeates ; is well borne by the stomach, and no danger from an over-dose; much used in neuralgia;. Dose, 5 to 30 grains. Pilula? Ferri Carbonatis, U. S.- (Vallet's Ferruginous Pills.) —Prepared as the subcarbonate, with the addition of honey, which prevents the absorption of oxygen; colour, bluish. Dose, 2 to 10 grains, three times a day. Mistura Ferri Composita, U. S. (made to imitate Griffith's Antihectic Mixture.)—Prepared by mixing together solutions of car- bonate of potash and'sulphate of iron, with myrrh and spirits of lavender. Used chiefly in amenorrhoea with dyspepsia. Ferri Sulphas, U. S. (Sulphate of Iron—Green Vitriol, or Copperas.)—Prepared by action of dilute sulphuric acid on pure iron wire. Colour, pale green; crystals efflorescent, soluble ; taste, styptic; fuses when heated. Incompatibles—alkalies, alkaline earths, and earths with their carbonates, and those soluble salts whose acids form soluble salts with iron, and whose bases form in- soluble sulphates; also tannin. It is one of the most astringent of the chalybeates, also the most irritant. Applicable when small doses are required; best in pill of the effloresced salt. Dose of the crystallized, 1 to 5 grains; of the dried, gr. ss. to grs. ij. Tinctura Ferri Chloridi, U. S. (Muriated Tincture of Iron.)—- Made by the action of muriatic acid on the subcarbonate, and then adding alcohol. Colour, reddish-brown; odour, ethereal; taste, sour and styptic. Used in affections of the urino-genital organs. An excellent chalybeate. Dose, gtt. v-xx. Used externally as a stimulant. 48 MATERIA MEDICA. Ferri et Potassa? Tartras, U. S. (Tartrate of Iron and Potassa.)—Prepared by adding cream of tartar in water to the freshly-prepared hydrated oxide of iron at the temperature of 140° ; filter, evaporate to the consistence of syrup, and then spread upon glass or porcelain, so as to dry in the form of scales. Prop.—In transparent scales of a ruby-red colour, wholly soluble in water; the basis of the old wines of iron. It is an admirable chalybeate : dose, gr. x—xx. Ferri Phosphas, U. S. (Phosphate of Iron.)—Prepared by the action of .phosphate of soda on sulphate of iron. It is insoluble in water; of a bluish colour, and changes by exposure. Dose, gr. x-xx. Ferri Ferrocyanuretum, U. S. (Ferrocyanuret of Iron, Prus- sian Blue.)—Prepared by the action of the persulphate of iron on ferrocyanuret of potassium. It is of a deep blue colour, and insolu- ble. It is tonic and sedative. Used in nervous affections, and in intermittents. Dose, gr. v—xx. Ferri Oxidum Hydratum, U. S. (Hydrated (sesqui) Oxide of Iron.)—Prepared by the action of solution of ammonia on the solu- tion of the per (sesqui) sulphate of iron (made by adding sulphuric and nitric acids to,a solution of the sulphate,) and washing the pre- cipitate with water. It should be kept in close bottles under water. Use.—Chiefly as the antidote for arsenic, in which case it must be given in large doses. Its remedial effects are similar to those of the carbonates. Ferrum Ammoniatum, U. S. (Ammoniated Iron.)—Prepared by adding muriatic acid to subcarbonate of iron, and then add muriate of ammonia, and evaporate to dryness. It is of an orange colour, soluble in water. Used chiefly in nervous disorders. Dose, gr. iv-x. Ferri Iodidum, U. S. (Iodide of Iron.)—Prepared by putting iodine and iron filings together in water, in a glass or porcelain ves- sel, and gently heating; then filter and evaporate. As it is ex- tremely deliquescent, it is better to employ the solution (Liquor Ferri Iodidi, U. S.), made by the addition of sugar and water; the sugar preventing its decomposition. Prop.—An excellent prepara- tion in scrofula and the cachexiae. Dose, gr. i-ij ; of the solution, gtt. x—xx. Ferri Citras, U. S. (Citrate of Iron.)—Made by adding citric acid in solution to the solution of the hydrated oxide, and then treat as directed for tartrate of iron and potassa. It occurs in garnet- red flakes, soluble in water. It is a mild, though certain chalybeate. Dose, gr. iij-v. Liquor Ferri Nitratis, U. S. (Solution of Nitrate (sesquini- trate) of Iron.)—Prepared by the action of dilute nitric acid on iron MINERAL TONICS. 49 wire. It is the most astringent of the chalybeates, and is used in chronic diarrhoeas. Dose, gtt. x—xx. The Lactate is also occasionally used. Copper. (Cuprum, U. S.)—Though probably inert in the metal- lic state, yet being easily acted upon by the acids of the stomach, it may prove poisonous when swallowed in that state. Poisoning may also result from eating articles cooked in copper vessels. The preparations of copper act as tonics in very small doses, with an especial tendency to the nervous system. Larger doses occasion irritation and inflammation of the stomach. As poisons, they act both as local irritants and also upon the nervous centres. The best antidote for metallic copper is an antacid, as magnesia ; for the salts, the best antidote is albumen. Cupri Sulphas, U. S. (Sulphate of Copper—Blue Vitriol.)— Prepared by the action of sulphuric acid on metallic copper. Occurs in large, prismatic, blue crystals; efflorescent on exposure; soluble in water; taste, very styptic; fuses when heated; incompatibles, the same as of iron. Effects on System.—Small doses are astringent and tonic; larger doses vomit; still larger are poisonous. The best antidote is albu- men. Used as a tonic in obstinate ague, and in chronic dysentery and diarrhoea; also, in epilepsy, chorea, and hysteria. Dose, i grain, two or three times a day. Useful as an external application, in so- lution, to spongy granulations of ulcers, and inflamed conditions of mucous membranes, particularly of the eye. Cuprum Ammonia turn, U. S. (Ammoniated Copper.)—Made by rubbing up carbonate of ammonia with sulphate of copper ; colour, dark blue. Supposed to have a special tendency to the nervous system ; hence used in epilepsia, chorea, &c. Dose, gr. ss—iij, twice a day. Zinc. (Zincum, U.S.)—Its preparations are useful in nervous disorders. Zinci. Sulphas, U. S-. (Sidphate of Zinc—White Vitriol.)—-Made by action of dilute sulphuric acid on metallic zinc. Crystals, needle- shaped prisms, white; taste, styptic; soluble in water. Incompa- tibles, the same as for sulphate of copper. Effects.—Tonic and astringent; used chiefly in chorea and epi- lepsy. Dose, two to three grains. The solution an excellent appli- cation to inflamed mucous membranes; strength of the solution gr. j or grs. ij to f §j of water. It is sometimes employed in combina- tion with the acetate of lead. Zinci Acctas, U. S. (Acetate of Zinc.)—Made by adding metallic zinc to a solution of acetate of lead. It is in white crystals, soluble in water; used, chiefly externally, as the sulphate. 50 materia medica. Zinci Oxidum, U. S. (Oxide of Zinc.)—Prepared by heating the precipitated carbonate. Not much used internally; sometimes externally as an ointment. The impure oxide, or tutty, is also used in the form of an ointment for excoriated surfaces. Calamina Praparata, U. S. (Prepared Calamine — Native Carbonate of Zinc.)—Used in the form of a cerate (Turner's cerate) —a good application to excoriated surfaces and certain cutaneous eruptions. Sulphate of Cadmium has been lately introduced as an external application for the eye. Silver. (Argentum, U. S.)—Argenti Nitras, U. S, (Nitrate of Silver—Lunar Caustic.)—Prepared by the action of nitric acid on silver; evaporating, fusing, and running into moulds. Colour, nearly white; very soluble; taste styptic and harsh. Incompatibles, the same as for iron,—also common salt. Effects.—Small doses are tonic; larger, corrosive and poisonous. Best antidote is common salt. Its long use is apt to occasion a dis- coloration of the skin. Most used in epilepsy and chorea; also in irritable conditions of the stomach. Dose, gr. ss to gr. ij, given in pill. Its solution is very valuable as a topical application to in- dolent ulcers, and to inflamed mucous membranes, as of the eye, nose, urethra, vagina, and rectum; strength of the solution from gr. ss to gr. x to f 3j of distilled water;—also for the throat and tonsils, either applied in strong solution, or in the solid form. Argenti Oxidum, U. S. (Oxide of Silver.)—Is made by action of potassa on the nitrate; used as the nitrate. Bismuth, (Bismuthum, U. S.)—Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S. (Subnitrate of Bismuth—Magistery of Bismuth.)—Made by the action of nitric acid on bismuth, and then throwing the resulting nitrate into water, which throws down the subnitrate. A white powder, without taste or smell. Used chiefly in disorders of the stomach, connected with diseased innervation, as gastrodynia. Dose, three to ten grains. Apt to blacken the stools. THE MINERAL ACIDS. Usually classed among the tonics. Acidum Sulphuricum, U.S. (Sulphuric Acid.)—Employed only in medicine in a state of solution. Acts as a tonic, astringent, and refrigerant; used in low forms of fever, and to check excessive perspiration. The dilute acid of the Phar. contains fgj of the con- centrated acid, to fgxiij of water; dose, 10 to 30 drops, in a wine- glass of water, lhe elixir vitriol, or aromatic sulphuric acid (Aci- dum Sidphuncum Aromaticum, U. S.), contains ginger and cinna- THE MINERAL ACIDS. 51 mon; it is much used in the hectic fever of phthisis, and in conva- lescence from acute disorders. Dose, the same. There is also an ointment. Acidum Nitricum, U. S. (Nitric Acid.)—Is tonic and refrigerant; never used in its pure state; two kinds kept in the shops, the nitric, which is colourless, and the nitrous, which is reddish. Used as a tonic in low forms of fever. Dose, 2 to 10 drops, according to its strength. A strong solution is used externally to indolent ulcers. Hope's mixture consists of nitric acid, laudanum, and camphor water; used in dysentery, &c. Acidum Muriaticum, U. S. (Muriatic Acid.)—Colourless when pure; used in a dilute form in low forms of fever, especially in ty- phus fever. Dose, 5 to 20 drops, in a wineglass-of water. Used also as a gargle in scarlet fever. Acidum Nitro-Muriaticum, U. S. (Nitw-Muriatic Acid.)— Made by mixing one part of nitric with two of muriatic acid; mu- tual decomposition ensues, by which nitrous acid fumes are given off, and chlorine remains dissolved in water. It is thought to have an especial tendency to the liver, and is given in hepatic diseases; also in secondary syphilis. Used likewise as a bath, or foot-bath, in these disorders.—The solution of chlorine sometimes used in bronchitis; also the vapour of chlorine inhaled, but is apt to occa- sion irritation. Under the head of Tonics, Cod-liver Oil (Oleum Morrhuos, U. S.) may be appropriately placed. It is procured from the fresh liver of the codfish, Gadus Morrhua, by pressure, or by spontaneous draining. Two or three varieties are found in the markets, the best of which is of a light-yellow colour, and transparent, and of a peculiar taste and smell. It contains some iodine and bromine, be- sides the usual fatty principles. Effects, <£c.—When used for some time it increases the function of nutrition; its influence is especially observable in chronic diseases of a wasting character, particularly in phthisis; given in the forming stage of the latter disorder, it has appeared in many cases to have arrested it. It is unfortunately liable to disorder the stomach. Dose f^ss-j, two or three times a day. It is necessary to continue its use for two or three months. 52 MATERIA MEDICA. CLASS III. ARTERIAL STIMULANTS. These are substances which increase the activity of the circula- tion, as a primary effect, though their operation is also generally extended to other parts of the system. They are sometimes named excitants, and, from their rapidity of action, diffusible stimulants. Many other articles, classed elsewhere, produce, among their other effects, stimulation of the heart and arteries, as opium, alcohol, ether, &c. They differ from tonics in their more powerful and rapid action; they do not, as tonics, increase the power of the system. They are indicated in all cases of sudden or great prostration; but they should not be indiscriminately used, from fear of subse- quent reaction. As a general rule, inflammation or fever contrain- dicate their use; but there may be cases in which they will be proper. Carbonate of Ammonia. (Ammonias Carbonas, U. S.)—Chemi- cally a sesquicarbonate; improperly termed volatile alkali. Pre- pared by subliming together carbonate of linie and sal ammo- niac. When first made it is a solid, white, transparent cake; odour, strong and pungent; taste, acrid and alkaline; soluble in water and alcohol; efflorescent on exposure, losing its stimulant properties. Effects.—A powerful diffusible stimulant, acting chiefly upon the circulation; has a local tendency to the lungs and skin. Uses.—Much employed in the sinking stages of fever, or of acute diseases; also in atonic gout, and dyspepsia attended with acidity of stomach; externally, to bites of poisonous insects. Dose, 5 grains every hour or two, given in solution with gum and sugar, to obtund its acrimony. The Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia (Spiritus Ammonias Aroma- ticus, U. S.), is made by distilling together muriate of ammonia, carbonate of potassa, cloves, cinnamon, lemon-peel, alcohol, and water. It is an agreeable stimulant- cordial, used in languor, faint- ness, and sick stomach. Dose, f 5ss—ij. The Spirit of Ammonia (Spiritus Ammonias, U. S.), is only a solution of gaseous ammonia in dilute alcohol; it is not much used. Oil or Turpentine. (Oleum TercUnthhue, U. S.)—Procured from common turpentine, which consists of the volatile oil and resin, by distillation. Called improperly spirits of turpentine. Prop.—A colourless limpid fluid; odour, strong and peculiar; taste, hot and peculiar; rather lighter than water, with which it is ARTERIAL STIMULANTS. 53 slightly soluble; its proper solvent is boiling alcohol. Chemically, a hydrocarbon ; but when exposed to the air, absorbs oxygen, which converts part of it into resin. Effects.—Small doses produce a warming, stimulating effect upon the stomach and the system generally, increasing the action of the heart and arteries. It is absorbed into the circulation, as proved by its being exhaled from the secretions. Apt to act upon the kidneys, sometimes with violence. Large doses act as a cathartic, and an- thelmintic. Uses.—A valuable stimulant, particularly in low forms of fever; more especially in typhoid fever, attended with dry tongue, delirium, tympanitis and subsultus. It is believed by some to produce an alterative impression upon the mucous membrane. Also in chronic catarrh, chronic dysentery, chronic nephritis, chronic gout and rheumatism; also in hemorrhages from the lungs and bladder. Dose, from 5 to 20 drops, given in emulsion, or dropped on sugar, and frequently repeated. Phosphorus is one of the most powerful of the stimulants, but is rarely employed. It appears to have an especial tendency to the genital organs, and is reputed aphrodisiac. It should never be used in substance, but in ethereal solution. Dose, one-twelfth of a grain. Cayenne, or Red Pepper. (Capsicum, U. 8-.)—The fruit of the Capsicum annuum, and other species; a native of the East and West Indies, but cultivated in our gardens. The fruit is in pods, 2 or 3 inches long, of a conical shape; colour, when ripe, bright red, which becomes darker by drying; colour of powder, red. The odour and taste of capsicum are peculiar, and depend on a fixed alkaline principle, named capsicin, also a pungent oil, and extractive. Alco- hol and water extract its active properties; Effects.—A powerful stimulant, especially irritant to the part to which it is applied. Uses.—When a powerful local impression is required, as m rous- ing the action of the stomach; peculiarly applicable in malignant scarlet fever attended with putrid sore throat. A preparation con- sisting of two tablespoonfuls of powdered capsicum, one teaspoonful of common salt, half a pint of boiling vinegar, and half a pint ot boiling water, is much used for this purpose in the West Indies. A saturated infusion may also be applied locally to the throat m gan- grenous cases, with great benefit. . , Dose of powder, 5 to 10 grains; of infusion (Infusum Lapsici, U S ), made with 3ij to Oss water—f§ss; of the tincture, f 3J to f 3ij. The strength of the gargle should be proportioned to the severity of the case. 54 MATERIA MEDICA. CLASS.IV. NERVOUS STIMULANTS. Medicines which stimulate the nervous centres, among their other stimulating operations. As they all probably first enter into the circulation, their impression is first made there. One of the modes in which deranged nervous action most frequently manifests itself is spasm, and from the power of this set of remedies to control it, they have been termed antispasmodics. This term, however, is not strictly applicable to them, since spasm depends upon a diversity of pathological conditions, being sometimes produced by an excess of power in the nervous centres, and at others by a defi- ciency. Sometimes it is caused by congestion, or inflammation; in which cases the. nervous stimulants would be inadmissible, but de- pletion would be required. They are employed in all disorders connected with nervous de- rangements of any sort, not accompanied with high arterial action. Thus in hysteria, hooping-cough, spasmodic asthma, insomnolency, &c. They all possess more or less of a foetid odour, upon which their peculiar virtues were, at one time, supposed to depend. Musk. (Moschus, U. S.)—Product of the Moschus moschiferus, an animal somewhat resembling a deer, inhabiting the mountainous districts of Asia. The musk resides in an oval pod, about two and a half inches in length, and one and a half in breadth, situated be- tween the prepuce and umbilicus. Musk is a secretion of the lining membrane of this pouch, and is found only in the male, and most abundantly in the adult animal. It is in the form of reddish-brown coarse granules, and, from its very high price, is extremely liable, to adulteration. Its chemical composition is very complex: it is inflammable. Uses.—Musk, when genuine, is one of the most powerful of the antispasmodics. Given in full doses, it excites the circulation, as well as the cerebro-spinal system, producing an exhilarating effect, with occasional vertigo and headache; also slightly hypnotic. It is employed with advantage in retrocedent gout, obstinate singultus, infantile spasms not accompanied with inflammation, &c. Advan- tageously given to children in enema. Dose, 5 to 15 grs. Given m form of emulsion,—dose, f gi to f gij ; of the tincture, gtt. xxx. Castor. (Castoreum, U. S.)^A substance strongly resembling musk in its medicinal properties and therapeutical applications. It is the product of the Castor Fiber, or beaver, and is contained in two follicles situated near the anus of the animal. It contains a NERVOUS STIMULANTS. 55 peculiar matter called Castorin. Dose, gr. x-xx;—of the tincture (Tinct. Castorei, U. S.), gtt. xxx. Assafcetida, U. S.—A gum-resin—the product of the Narthex assafoetida, and possibly of some others. The N assafoetida is an umbelliferous plant, growing, in Persia and Affghanistan, having a long, tapering, perennial root, and very long leaves. Assafoetida is obtained by slicing off the top of the root, and collecting the juice as it exudes, which is then kneaded into masses, and packed for market. At first it is rather soft, but hardens by exposure, which also renders it darker. Colour, externally, reddish-brown; internally, rather lighter, mottled with white tears, and shining; taste, bitter, acrid, and alliaceous; odour; very strong and alliaceous, but more powerful in the fresh juice. It spftens by heat, and is inflammable. Chemically, it is a gum-resin, united to some volatile oil. Water dissolves the gum, which forms an emulsion with the resin; alcohol forms a clear, golden tincture. Uses.—One of the most valuable of the antispasmodics; also stimulant, expectorant, and emmenagogue. Employed with advan- tage in hysteria, infantile convulsions, hooping-cough, chronic cough of a nervous character; also as a carminative, along with rhubarb and aloes, in the constipation of old persons, and as an emmena- gogue. Adva'ntageously given to children by enema, in which case it will often prove laxative. Dose of substance, gr. v to x, given in form of pill;—of the emul- sion (Lac assafcetida?), f gss to f gj ;—of the tincture, f 3ss-j- Assafoetida is sometimes used in the form of a plaster, in chronic swellings. Valerian. (Valeriana, U. S.)—Root of the Valeriana offici- nalis, a perennial plant, indigenous in Europe, growing about two or three feet high. The root consists of a short tuberculated rhizome, from which issue numerous round, tapering fibres, of a yellowish-brown colour externally, and whitish internally. Taste, bitter and acrid; odour, when dry, strong, peculiar, and somewhat aromatic. It depends for its virtues on a yellow volatile oil, sepa- rable by distillation, and an acid, named valerianic acid. Uses.—A mild antispasmodic and stimulant. Useful in hemi- crania, combined with cinchona; also in slight nervous derange- ments. Best given in form of infusion (Infusum Valeriana?, U. S.), made with half an ounce of the root to a pint of boiling water; dose f gi to f gij. Dose of the oil of valerian, 3 to 5 drops;—of the tincture (Tinct. Valeriana?, U. S.), f 3j ;—of the ammoniated tinc- ture CTinct. Valeriana? Ammoniata, U. S.),—made with the aroma- tic spirit of ammonia,—f 3ss; of the fluid extract (Extractum Va- leriana} Fluidum, U. S.)., gtt. x-xxx. 56 MATERIA MEDICA. Garlic. (Allium, U. S.)—=-Is decidedly antispasmodic, especially in cases of children, to whom it may be advantageously applied in the form of cataplasms to the feet, to quiet the nervous irritation to which they are frequently liable in the course of disease. Some- times employed as a counter-irritant to the spine, in cases of hoop- ing-cough. It is likewise expectorant. Oil or Amber. (Oleum Succini, U. S.)—Amber is a fossil resin, the product, probably, of some extinct species of coniferos, found on the shores of the Baltic. It occurs in fragments usually of small size, of a yellowish colour, translucent, without odour, and inflam- mable. By destructive distillation it yields a volatile oil and suc- cinic acid. The oil, as first procured by distilling amber with sand, is thick, and of a very dark colour and empyreumatic smell; when purified •by redistillation with water, it constitutes Oleum Succini Rectifica- tum, U. S.; this has a clear amber colour, and a less offensive odour; it is the only preparation used internally. It is- a decided stimulant to both the arterial and nervous systems; used chiefly in hooping-cough, infantile convulsions, dbstinate hiccough, hysteria, &c.; also as a rubefacient to the spine in infantile convulsions, and hooping-cough; and for rheu- matism and palsy. It also increases the secretions, especially the urinary. Dose, gtt. v-xx, in emulsion. The SkunJc Cabbage (Dracontium, U. S. Sec.)—root of Dra- contium fostidum (Symplocarpus fcetidus), is a powerful nervous stimulant, especially in the fresh state. It deteriorates very much by age, and is hence not much used in regular practice. It has been employed with benefit in asthma. Dose, gr. x—xx. Coffee and Tea possess decided virtues as nervous stimulants. The excessive use of either, especially of the former, is very apt to induce dyspepsia and its attendant evils. They may be beneficially resorted to as stimulants in nervous headache, and other mild ner- vous disorders. CLASS V. CEREBRAL STIMULANTS. This class of stimulants acts chiefly upon the brain, though, at the same time, influencing both the circulation and the spinal ner- vous system. Like all other stimulants, their primary impression is followed by a proportionate degree of depression, which becomes excessive and dangerous, when the dose has been very large. cerebral stimulants. 57 Their operation upon the system is usually described as consisting of three stages : 1, that of stimulation, which is transient; 2, that of narcotism or sleep, which is prolonged in proportion to the dose; 3, that of depression. The difference of these several stages of action have been ascribed to a supposed difference in their manner of ope- rating ; the immediate or stimulant effect being supposed to be due to action upon the nerves, while the narcotic depressing effects were attributed to a slower action, through absorption. They differ very much in their energy over the system, and are, by some, believed to act upon the different parts of the cerebral mass. In large doses they are poisonous,—death resulting from asphyxia, in consequence of a suspension of the powers of the brain, or rather, of the medulla oblongata. There is no class of remedies to which the system becomes so readily accustomed, and none in which such large doses can be tolerated, in especial diseases. Hence, when their use has to be continued, it is best to frequently substitute one for another, in order to prevent the formation of a dangerous habit. When once their use has become habitual, some degree of caution is requisite in abruptly withdrawing them, lest inordinate depression should follow. They are used in medicine extensively for the relief of pain, which effect they accomplish by obtunding the sensibilities of the brain. Some are also employed for their stimulating effects; and many of them for an antispasmodic operation. They are, as a general rule, contraindicated in cases of plethora, fever of a high grade, and, especially, cerebral congestion or inflammation. They have received different names according to their different effects; thus, narcotics, from their power of producing stupor; ano- dynes, from their ability to relieve pain; soporifics or hypnotics, from their tendency to promote sleep, &c. Alcohol, U. S.—The product of a peculiar change in a saccha- rine liquid, known as the vinous fermentation. The conditions ne- cessary for this change are a solution of sugar, the presence of some ferment, and a certain temperature. The chemical change which occurs is the conversion of sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid. The juices of various fruits contain all the elements for due fer- mentation. Thus the juice of the grape undergoes spontaneous fer- mentation, yielding wine ; the juice of apples yields cider ; the in- fusion of barley, malt liquor, &c. All such liquors—the result of fermentation—are named fermented liquors, and vary very much both as to flavour, and also as to the quantity of alcohol which they contain; thus the stronger wines contain about 20 per cent, of alco- hol ; the weaker wines about 10 or 12 per cent.; the malt liquors, as porter, ale, and beer, about 4 per cent. All • the fermented 58 MATERIA MEDICA. liquors when submitted to distillation afford much stronger pro- ducts, called distilled liquors, ardent spirits, or spirituous liquors. Brandy, gin, rum, &c, are examples. These contain about 50 per cent, of alcohol. When the quantity is exactly 50 per cent., or one half, the liquor is termed proof-spirit. Any of the distilled liquors, when submitted to distillation, will yield the Alcohol of the Pharmacopoeia, called also rectified spirits of wine,—having a sp. gr. of -835. The alcohol thus procured con- tains as much as 15 per cent, of water, from which it cannot be en- tirely separated by any number of distillations. The absolute alco- hol of chemists is never used in medicine. The Alcohol Dilutum of the Pharmacopoeias consists of equal mea- sures of officinal alcohol and water: it is used in making certain tinctures; its strength is about that of the distilled liquors. The various alcoholic liquors are used in medicine chiefly as sti- mulants in low states of the system. The fermented liquors, as wine, or the malt liquors, are usually preferred, unless a very de- cided stimulus is required, in which case brandy is employed. Wine-whey is one of the best forms of administering wine; it is made by adding half a pint of wine (Madeira, Sherry, or Teneriffe) to a pint of boiling milk, separating the curd from the whey, and diluting the latter, if necessary, with rennet whey, and properly fla- vouring with sugar and spices. The malt liquors may be employed as stimulants more freely than wine ; they possess also tonic and nutritive properties: the best are porter and ale; beer is apt to prove acescent. Alcohol is frequently employed externally, particularly in' the form of ardent spirits, as a rubefacient: the effect is increased by mixing with red pepper. It will act as a local refrigerant if applied so as to be allowed to evaporate. An evidence of the favourable influence of alcohol in disease, is when, under its use, the pulse becomes fuller, and at the same time slower; the skin moist, with an abatement of delirium. Ether. (JEther, U. S.)—Chemically, the oxide of ethyl. Pre- pared by distilling together 2£tbs. alcohol and l^Ibs. sulphuric acid. The ether, as first procured, is contaminated with sulphurous acid, oil of wine, and some alcohol. It is purified from the acid by a re- distillation with potassa; and from the alcohol by agitation with water. When thus purified it is named rectified sulphuric etlier. Prop.—A colourless limpid liquid, of a strong, agreeable, and peculiar odour; a hot, pungent taste; sp. gr. -7, or a little less. Water takes up one part in ten; very soluble in alcohol; very vola- tile and inflammable. Its effects on the system resemble those of alcohol, only more rapid and transient. It will affect the brain, producing intoxica- tion ; and, like alcohol, its effects are diminished by frequent repe- CEREBRAL STIMULANTS. 59 tition. Its impression is very speedily produced on the system by inhalation ; by this means, a very powerful narcotic influence may be obtained. In this way it is much used as an anassthetic agent. As a medicine, ether is used chiefly as a powerful. diffusive sti- mulant in cases of sudden and alarming prostration, as in metastatic gout, spasmodic asthma, angina pectoris, &c. It is best given' in emulsion, made by rubbing it up with water by means of sperma- ceti. Externally applied it produces cold, if allowed to evaporate ; or a rubefacient effect if confined to the skin. Hoffman's Anodyne (Spiritus cetheris compositus, U. S.) is much employed. It contains oil of wine, ether, and alcohol, to the former of which it owes its peculiar fragrant odour, and which causes it to impart a milkiness to water; this is a test of its genuineness. It is much used to allay nervous irritations : it acts as an antispasmodic. Dose of ether, f3ss to f 3J;—of Hoffman's Anodyne, about the same. Chloroform. (Chloroformum, U. S.)—Prepared by distilling together alcohol, water, and chlorinated lime. It is the terchloride of formyle (C3HC13). It is a very thin, colourless liquid, having a peculiar ethereal odour, and a hot, aromatic, saccharine taste, vola- tile, not inflammable, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether; sp. gr. 1-49; boiling point 142°; remarkable for the very small size of its drop, requiring from 250 to 300 to make one fluid drachm. Its action is that of a direct sedative; used as an anodyne and calmative both generally and locally. Much employed as an anaes- thetic agent, but not without some danger; producing death appa- rently by suspending the heart's action. Dose, gtt. x-1. It has been found very useful in neuralgia. Opium, U. S.—The concrete juice of the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum, which is probably a native of Persia, but is now culti- vated in various parts of the world. It is an annual plant, attain- ing the height of 2 to 4 feet. The flower consists of four, large petals (Fig. 7). There are two varieties of the papaver somniferum, named the white and black poppy. The capsules (poppy-heads) are about one and a half to two inches in diameter, of a yellowish-brown colour, and filled with small seeds, which contain much fixed oil of a bland character, but no narcotic principle. The capsules themselves are slightly nar- cotic, and are sometimes employed in the form of decoction and syrup. Opium is procured by making incisions in the half-ripe capsules, and collecting the juice which exudes, and properly drying it. It is obtained in large quantities in India, Persia, and Asia Minor; the chief supply of commerce being afforded from the latter country. 60 MATERIA MEDICA. The different sorts of opium are the India, Persia, Turkey, and Egyptian.—the India variety is almost exclusively consumed in India and China; it consists of three varieties, Malwa, Patna, and Benare's opium. The Persian very seldom comes to this country. There are two kinds of Turkey Fig. 7. opium found in the" markets,— the Smyrna and Constantinople opium. Smyrna opium is, on the whole, the best; it comes in irregular rounded, or flattened cakes, covered with the capsules of some species of rumex, and en- veloped in leaves; has a red- dish-brown colour; a softish consistence in the centre; be- comes darker and harder on ex- posure; has a strong narcotic odour. Constantinople opium is sel- dom seen in our markets;—oc- curs in irregular flattened cakes, presenting the remains of a leaf on the exterior. Egyptian opium comes in flat cakes about three inches in dia- meter, free from capsules ; of a darker colour, and more mucila- ginous than the Smyrna variety. Marks of good opium are a strong narcotic odour, a bitter acrid taste, when long chewed, exciting irritation of the fauces and mouth ; a reddish-brown colour; when drawn across white paper should leave an interrupted stain. Opium is inflammable; it imparts its virtues to water and alco- hol. Chemical composition very complex; most important ingre- dient is morphia ;—contains also narcotina and codeia^ which are alkaline principles; and narceine, which is neutral; also, meconin, meconic acid, thebain or.para.morphia, gum, extractive, and a vola- tile principle. Physiological'Effects.—Those of a stimulant narcotic; it excites the circulatory and nervous systems, and in full doses affects the brain. Its first impression is to stimulate the heart and arteries, as evi- denced by an increased frequency of the pulse, and greater heat of skin. This is soon followed by diminished sensibility, calmness, and sleep, with abatement of pain, and suspension of mucous secre- CEREBRAL STIMULANTS. 61 tions, except that of the skin. This is succeeded by a degree of prostration, evidenced by a feeble pulse, cool, moist skin, languor, and depression. In large doses it is a narcotic poison, the symptoms being stertorous breathing, a slow full pulse, great insensibility, and a livid countenance; followed by a feeble and threadlike pulse, re- laxation of the muscles, and death. The treatment consists in an immediate evacuation of the stomach, «either by the stomach-pump, or by a prompt emetic (zinci sulp. et ipecac), counteracting the tendency to sleep by external irritation; arousing the sensibility by dashing cold water upon the face and chest; and supporting the system, when it begins to sink, with diffusible stimulants. Therapeutical Applications.—Opium is employed in a great num- ber of diseases; it is perhaps the very best anodyne, and is used for this purpose to relieve the pain of neuralgia, cancer, colic, &c. As a hypnotic or soporific, it is used in cases of morbid vigilance, except when dependent on inflammation of the brain. As a stimulant it is valuable in low forms of fever. As an antispasmodic, it controls spasm more effectually than most other remedies; in tetanus very large doses are required. As a diaphoretic it is useful in bowel affections, typhoid pneumonia, rheumatism, &c. It is also employed to arrest morbid discharges. On certain constitutions it produces peculiar effects, as obstinate wakefulness, nausea, delirium, and a tingling of the skin, attended with a miliary eruption. The average dose of opium is one grain; but in mania-a-potu and tetanus, enormous doses are required. It may be applied endermi- cally with advantage, in cases where the local effects are required; also by enema. The following preparations are officinal in the United States Pharmacopoeia: Tinctura Opii (Laudanum—Thebaic tincture).—Prepared by macerating opium, ^ ijss in diluted alcohol, Oij. It is a saturated tincture, and should always be of uniform strength. It contains about 37 grains to the fluid ounce. When long kept its strength is increased by the evaporation of the alcohol, in which case danger might result from administering it to infants. The dose equivalent to a grain of opium is wjjxiij, or 25 drops. Laudanum i3 frequently used as an external application. Tinctura Opii Camphorata (Paregoric Elixir).—Prepared by the action of dilute alcohol on opium, benzoic acid, camphor, oil of anise, and honey. It contains two grains of opium in every fluid- ounce. It is much used in diarrhoea and coughs;—dose, about f 3J ; 18 drops equivalent to one of laudanum. Tinctura Opii Acctata (Acetated Tincture of Opium).—Pre- pared by macerating opium in alcohol and vinegar combined;— dose, njjx. Acetum Opii (Black Drop).—Prepared by macerating opium, 62 MATERIA MEDICA. nutmeg, sugar, and saffron in dilute acetic acid. It is a strong preparation;—dose, 7 to 10 drops. Vinum Opii (Wine of Opium).—Made by macerating opium and some of the aromatics in wine ;—dose, ttjj x. Morphias Sulphas (Sulphate of Morphia).—Prepared by acting on a strong watery infusion of opium, with ammonia, which com- bines with the meconic acid, precipitating the morphia in a crystal- line state; purified by boiling alcohol, and separated from the nar- cotina by means of ether. By these means the morphia is obtained in a crystalline state; it is next neutralized with sulphuric acid. It occurs in fine needle-shaped crystals, freely soluble in water;—dose, \—k grain. The solution is officinal, (Liquor Morphise Sulphatis, U. S.) It contains one grain to f^j of water;—dose, f3J-ij- The hydrochlorate and acetate of morphia are also used; their properties are similar to those of the sulphate. The best tests for the presence of morphia are the sesquichloride of iron, which causes a blue colour; and nitric acid, which strikes a blood-red tint. The salts of morphia are much employed endermically ; they pos- sess all the valuable properties of opium. Lactucarium, U. S.—The inspissated juice of the Lactuca sativa, or garden lettuce, which abounds in a milky juice, especially at the period of flowering. It is prepared by pressing out the juice with water, and evaporating to a proper consistence. It is of the consis- tence of a dry extract, of a brown colour, and strongly resembles opium in its effects, except that it does not produce constipation, nor diminish the secretions. Its dose is from two to five grains. Camphor. (Camphora, U. S.)—Product of the Camphora offici- narum, or the Laurus camphora of Linnaeus, an evergreen tree, of considerable height, growing in China Fig- 8- and Japan. All parts of the tree abound in the odour and taste of camphor, but this is yielded in greatest abundance by the roots and young branches, when they are cut up, boiled in water, and sublimed into inverted straw cones. Thus ob- tained, it constitutes the crude camphor of commerce. It is purified by resubli- mation, along with quicklime, when it becomes refined camphor. It is solid, colourless, and translucent, with a crystalline texture, tough and difficult to pulverize ; has a strong pene- trating odour, with a bitter pungent taste, followed by a sense of coolness; rather CEREBRAL STIMULANTS. 63 lighter than water; very volatile and inflammable; but slightly soluble in water; very soluble in alcohol, ether, the fixed and vola- tile oils. Borneo or Sumatra camphor is in white crystalline fragments; it occurs in solid masses in the cavity of the wood of the Dryobala- nops camphora. Effects on System.—In moderate doses, it produces a gentle ex- citement, heat of skin, and fulness of pulse, with a tendency to diaphoresis. Large doses prove narcotic. Sometimes it seems to act as sedative. It is applicable in typhoid cases, accompanied with nervous derangement. It is sometimes usefully combined with opium, in rheumatism, &c. Dose, in substance, from 5 to 10 grains. The emulsion is made by rubbing up the camphor with gum, sugar, myrrh, and water. Aqua Camphoras,.U. S. (Camphor Water)—is made by adding a few drops of alcohol to camphor, and then rubbing up with car- bonate of magnesia and water; it contains 3 grains to every fluid- ounce. Tinctura Camphorse, U. S., often called Spirits of Camphor, contains two ounces of camphor to the pint of alcohol;—chiefly employed as an embrocation to sprains and bruises; used internally in colic and cholera;—dose, 5 drops to f 3J- Linimentum Camphorse, U. S. (Camphor Liniment)—consists of camphor dissolved in olive oil; used as a mild embrocation. Tinctura Saponis Camphorata, U. S., improperly called Soap Liniment,—made by mixing together camphor, Castile soap, oil of rosemary, and alcohol. It is a yellowish oleaginous liquid, much used as a stimulant anodyne lotion in sprains, rheumatism, &c. Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum, U. S., commonly known as Opodeldoc,—made like the last-mentioned preparation, except that an animal soap is used instead of a vegetable one, in consequence of which it coagulates on cooling, and yields a soft solid, which liquefies at the temperature of the body;—uses, .the same as the others. Hops. (Humulus, U. S.)—The Humulus lupulus (Fig._9), is a native of Europe and North America. It has a perennial root, which sends up annually several rough, flexible, twining stems. The male and female flowers grow on different plants. The part used is the flowers, or rather strobiles, which are collected when ripe, dried, and packed in bales. They have a greenish-yellow colour; a bitter, astringent, and somewhat aromatic taste; impart their virtues to water and alcohol. A reddish powder is found at the base of the scales, termed lupulin, which contains all the vir- tues of the hops. These virtues depend upon a peculiar principle called hqndina, which resides both in the hops and in the powder. Effects on System.—Stomachic, tonic, and slightly narcotic. The 64 MATERIA MEDICA. odorous emanations from hops are hypnotic; for this purpose the hop-pillow is employed, made by previously moistening the hops with spirits, to increase the effect, as well as to prevent a rustling noise. Hops are extensively employed in making malt liquors. They are best given in the form of infusion (hop, tea), made in the Fig. 9. proportion of gss to Oj water. The decoction and extract are ob- jectionable. Lupulin may be given in the dose, 6 to 12 grains, made into a pill. The tincture of lupulin (Tine. Lupulinas) is officinal, as well as the tincture of hops (Tine. Humuli). They are excellent remedies in the dyspepsia of drunkards, and in mild mania- a-potu;—dose, fjss to f 5j. Hops are sometimes applied exter- nally, in the form of poultice; it has an anodyne effect. Bittersweet. (Dulcamara, U. S.)—It is doubtful whether this medicine should have a place among the narcotics, since its influence over the cerebral functions is very feeble. The plant yielding it is CEREBRAL STIMULANTS. 65 the Solanum dulcamara, or woody nightshade ; the parts employed are the stem and twigs, which should be collected in the autumn. They are about the thickness of a common quill, of a light brownish- gray colour, without odour, and have a bitter taste followed by sweetness. jjses,—Their chief employment is as an alterative in chronic skin diseases, given in the form of decoction (Decoctum Dulcamaras, U. S.), made by boiling |j in Ojss of water down to Oj. It may also be used in the same cases advantageously as a wash.^ Its virtues depend on an alkaline principle named solania, which is also found in the Solanum tuberosum, or common potato. _ Dulcamara has been supposed by some to be antaphrodisiac, and for this purpose has been employed in the cases of the insane. Extractum Dulcamara?, U. S.—Dose, gr. v-x. Henbane Leaves and Seeds. (Hyoscyami Folia et^ Semen, tj ft.)—Leaves and seeds of the Hyoscyamus niger, a biennial plant (Fig. 10), native of England, grow- ing from one to three feet high; thickly furnished with sessile leaves, of a pale-green colour. All parts abound in narcotic pro- perties, but the leaves and seeds alone are officinal. The leaves of the second year, and of plants grown in sunny situations, are said to be the strongest. They ought to have a mucilaginous, slightly bitter taste, and should retain some of the narcotic odour of the plant. They depend for their virtues upon a peculiar crys- talline, alkaloid principle, named hyoscyamia; this is yielded to water and alcohol. Effects.—Very slightly, if at all, excitant; .narcotic, anodyne, and soporific; resembles opium in moderate doses, except that it does not constipate. Large doses occa- sion dizziness, dilatation of the pupil, and slight delirium. It may be used in cases requiring the exhibition of a gentle anodyne and calming remedy. It is given in ponder,—dose, 5 to 10 grains; in extract (inspissated juice), (Extractum Hyoscyami, U. S.)—dose, % gr. to 3.grains ; in alcoholic extract__prepared by percolation with alcohol on the dried leaves, and evaporating to a proper consistence,—dose, gr. ij; in tincture, Fig. 10. 66 MATERIA MEDICA. —dose, f 3ss-j. The preparations of hyoscyanius, as found in the shops, are very variable. Thorn apple Leaves and Root. (Stramonii Folia et Radix, U. S.)—The Datura stramonium (Fig. 11), is an annual, very com- mon in different parts of the world, growing from 3 to 6 feet high. All parts are acrid and narcotic, but the leaves and seeds only are used in medicine. These owe their efficacy to a very v poisonous peculiar principle, called daturia. Fig. 11. Effects.—A strong acrid narcotic; diminishes sensibility, causes cerebral disturbance, as manifested by giddiness, headache, dilata- tion of the pupil, and obscurity of vision; also, calmative and anti- spasmodic ; occasionally will produce diaphoresis and diuresis. Used,—in neuralgia, rheumatism, epilepsy, and mania; also in spasmodic asthma, where it is employed by smoking the dried leaves or root in a common pipe; caution is required in the case of the aged or plethoric. Given in powder—dose, 2 or 3 grains ; in seed —dose, one grain twice a day; extract of the leaves (Extractum Stramonii Foliorum, U. S.), — dose, one grain twice a day; extract of the seeds (Extr. Stram. Seminis, U. S.),—an alcoholic ex- tract—dose, \ to i a grain. The extract is sometimes used by American oculists to dilate the pupil of the eye previous to the operation for the cataract. The ointment (Unguentum Stramonii, U. S.) is best made by boiling the fresh leaves in lard: it has a light-green colour, and may be employed in the same cases as the belladonna ointment. cerebral stimulants. 67 Deadly Nightshade. (Belladonna, U. S.)—The Atropa bella- donna (Fig. 12) is an herbaceous perennial plant, a native of Europe. It has a thick fleshy root, several downy, erect stems; ovate, entire leaves, and pendent, bell-shaped, purplish flowers. All parts are possessed of narcotic properties, though only the leaves are offici- nal. The dried leaves have a dull-greenish colour, a slight narcotic odour, and a bitter nauseous taste. Active principle, atropia, a vio- lent poison. Effects, &c.—Anodyne, antispasmodic, and rather sedative; one of its earliest impressions is a dryness and stricture of the fauces; it often causes dilatation of the pupil, giddiness, dimness of vision; in large doses, great thirst, .dysphagia, violent delirium, blindness, and occasionally convulsions, coma, and death. Its fatal effects are usually accompanied with marks of gastro-intestinal inflammation. Uses.—As an anodyne, to relieve the pain of neuralgia; as a re- solvent or discutient in chronic indura- FlS- *2, tions; as an anti- spasmodic in the latter stages of hooping-cough; by some supposed to be a prophylactic in scarlatina. Exter-' nally applied, it pro- duces a local ano- dyne impression ; and if applied to the eyes, it causes dilatation of the pupil, for which purpose it is fre- quently used by the oculist. It is em- ployed in substance, infusion, and ex- tract. Dose of pow- der, one grain twice a day; of the ex- tract—an inspissat- ed juice — I of a grain to one grain.— Extract. Belladon. Alcoholicum, U. S., dose the same. The dose in each case is to be increased until dryness of the throat is produced. 68 MATERIA medica. Emplastrum Belladonnas, U. S.,—made by mixing the extract with lead plaster—is used to relieve neuralgic pains; also in dys- menorrhoea. Unguentum Belladonna-, U. S.,—made by rubbing up 3i of the extract with 3i of lard. Used to painful or sprained joints, and sometimes applied to the rigid os uteri in cases of protracted labour; used also for dilating the pupil for the operation of cataract. The three last-mentioned narcotics, from their tendency to produce delirium, have been sometimes named Delirifacients. Extract of Hemp. (Extractum Cannabis, U. S.)—The plant which yields this medicine is the common hemp ( Cannabis sativa, var. Indica), a native of Persia, but cultivated throughout the world. It secretes a peculiar resinous matter, which is much more abundant in the plants grown in India than in those of Europe or America. This resin is sold by the natives under the name of cherrus. In the East, the dried flowering tops, from which the resinous matter has not been removed, is also employed under the name of gunjah. The active principle is a resinous matter, called cannabin, soluble in alcohol and ether; also a volatile oil. Effects on the System.—It exhilarates the spirits, increases the ap- petite, alleviates pain, produces sleep, and is stated to act as an aphrodisiac. In large doses it occasions delirium of a peculiar character, attended with a cataleptic condition. Dr. Pereira says, that, in his hands, Its effects very much resembled those of opium. Uses.—In India it has been employed with great benefit in teta- nus, hydrophobia, rheumatism, and cholera; its operation being chiefly directed to the relaxation of spasm. It has not been so suc- cessful in Europe or America. The extract is made by boiling the dried flowering tops (gunjah) in alcohol until the resin is dissolved out, and then distil off the spirit; dose, gr. j-v. The tincture (made by dissolving three grains of the extract in a fluid drachm of diluted alcohol), is sometimes employed. CLASS VI. EXCITO-MOTOR STIMULANTS. This class of stimulants produce their effects through reflex action,—that is, by so impressing the spinal cord as to excite the anterior or motor centres into action, and consequently to produce muscular movements. These may frequently be of a spasmodic character, and even amount to general convulsions. excito-motor stimulants. 69 As remedial agents) they are employed where it becomes neces- sary to arouse the muscular structure into action, though usually in cases of local or temporary torpor, as in partial paralysis, or in inertia.' Some of them possess decided narcotic properties. Nux Vomica, U. S.—Seeds of the Strychnos nux vomica, a middling-sized tree, growing in the East Indies. The fruit is a berry about the size of an orange, containing many seeds imbedded in a juicy pulp. These are rather less than an inch in diameter, circular and flattened, slightly concavo-convex. Externally they are covered with a whitish silky down. The interior is hard, of a horny consistence; difficult to powder. They have no odour, but an intensely bitter taste; they yield their active principle to dilute alcohol more readily than to water. Nux vomica owes its virtues to two alkaline principles which it contains, called .strychnia and brucia, which exist in combination with igasuric acid. Strychnia may be procured either from nux vomica, or from St. Ignatius' bean, which contains it in large quantities. As found in the shops it is usually granular, but it may be made to -crystallize. Colour, white; no odour ; taste, intensely bitter ; almost insoluble in water; soluble in alcohol; slightly so in ether; unites with acids to form salts. Brucia is found in false Angustura bark; its pro- perties are similar to those of strychnia, though feebler. Effects on System.—Given in very small doses it acts as a tonic to the digestive organs; in rather larger quantities, its influence seems to be directed' chiefly to the muscular system, through the medium, however, of the spinal marrow. There is, at the same time, an increased sensibility to external impressions, trembling of the limbs, and slight convulsive motions, which subsequently extend to the involuntary muscles, producing, in poisonous doses, the most violent tetanic spasms; the individual perishes apparently from asphyxia, brought on by the spasm of the respiratory museles. There is no narcotism, nor is the pulse much affected. There is strong reason for believing that the peculiar impression of the medicine is exerted entirely through the medium of the spinal marrow, and not through the medium of the brain. Uses.—The cases which would seem most obviously to be met by nux vomica, or strychnia, are those attended with deficient nervous energy, as indicated by a torpid or paralytic condition of the mus- cles. The cases of paralysis to which it is applicable are such as are not attended with organic lesion of the brain. It is said to be more advantageous in paraplegia than in hemiplegia; also in local palsies, and in incontinence of urine, depending on a loss of power of the muscles of the bladder. The first obvious sign of its influ- ence on the system, in cases of paralysis, is a tingling sensation ex- perienced in the part affected. 70 MATERIA medica. Dose of the powder, 5 grs. three or four times a day, gradually increased until a sensible effect is produced. A better form is the alcoholic extract (Extrac. Nucis Vomicae, U. S.), the dose of which is from half a grain to two grains. The tincture (Tine. Nucis Vo- micae, U. S.) is made in the proportion of giv to the pint; dose, gtt. x-xx. Dose of strychnia, ^th to &th of a grain, three times a day. Strychnia may be applied endermically in cases of amaurosis, when not of an organic character,—half a grain being sprinkled upon a blistered surface on the temple. Ergot. (Ergota, U. S.—Spurred Rye.)—A diseased product of the Secale cereale, or common rye, caused by a fungous parasite,—in the form of numerous sporidia, visible by the microscope. This fungus, when lodged upon any of the grasses, will produce the dis- eased condition of the seed called ergot or spur. Rye grown upon poor and wet soils is most subject to it. Occurs in spurred grains from half an inch to an inch in length, cylindrical, tapering, and curved like a cock's spur; colour, externally purplish-brown; inter- nally, dull white; odour, in mass, resembling that of putrid.fish; taste, acrid and unpleasant;—virtues to boiling water and alcohol. It contains an oil and Ergotine. Effects.—In the ordinary dose it occasions no perceptible, effects on the male system; but on the female it produces decided uterine contractions, particularly in the impregnated condition; and these contractions are of a tonic nature. It also sometimes produces nausea, giddiness, and stupor, indicating a narcotic influence. Ergotized grain, used for a length of time, has been known to produce fatal effects—such as dry gangrene, typhus fever, and con- vulsions. Uses.—Chiefly to facilitate labour; but only when the delay arises simply from a want of contractile power of the uterus;—also to aid in the expulsion of the placenta, and of clots, hydatids, and polypi; also in uterine hemorrhage. Dose of powder, 9j,—to be repeated if necessary. Infusion, made with 3J of ergot to fgiv boiling water; dose, one-third. Vinum Ergotas, U. S.,—dose, f 3j to f3iij. Ergot should not be kept in the powdered state. CLASS VII. ARTERIAL SEDATIVES. Medicines which tend directly to depress the action of the circu- lation; producing a slower and weaker pulse, and diminishing the ARTERIAL SEDATIVES. 71 frequency of the respirations, without any special tendency to the nervous system. They have also been named refrigerants, from the cooling effect generally produced upon the surface of the body by their use, owing to a diminished capillary circulation. They are indicated in cases of high vascular action, as the diffe- rent phlegmasise, and fevers unaccompanied with typhoid symptoms. Although sedative in their general impression upon the system, some of them, as antimony, produce a local stimulant effect upon some of the organs. They cannot be employed as substitutes for bloodletting, since the latter actually takes away materials from the circulating fluid ; but they are valuable adjuvants to this treatment, and are much employed with this view. Antimony. (Antimonium, U. S.)—The antimonials are the most sedative of all the refrigerants, and are used very extensively with this indication. Given in quantities too small to produce any ob- vious effect in the healthy system, they nevertheless prove alterative in disease. In rather larger doses, though still too small to occasion nausea, they produce a decided sedative action. In still larger doses, they cause nausea, thereby directly increasing their power as sedatives or refrigerants. In yet larger quantities they vomit. Although sedative to the system at large, the antimonials act as stimulants to the lungs, skin, and kidneys, and sometimes the liver and salivary glands. They act by being taken up by the circula- tion. Their effects continue for some time after the suspension of their use, and by cautiously increasing the dose, great tolerance of the medicine may be induced. The preparations of antimony most used are the following :— 1. Tartar Emetic. (Antimonii et Potassa? Tartras, U. S.)— Prepared by saturating the excess of acid in the bitartrate of potassa (cream of tartar), with the sesquioxide of antimony, by boiling them together. It should always be crystallized, to free it from impurities. Prop.—A white, crystalline salt, without odour, of a nauseous, metallic taste, efflorescent, very soluble in water, insoluble in pure alcohol; decomposed by the pure alkalies, alkaline carbonates, and the vegetable astringents. Effects and Uses.—The best of the antimonials; used as an alte- rative in chronic cutaneous diseases, and in scrofulous affections; but requires to be persevered in for some time. Dose as an altera- tive, ^ to Jg gr. In rather larger quantities, as from TV to \ gr., it acts as a refrigerant, and may be given whenever the action is above the normal standard, as in fevers, inflammations—especially of the lungs,—when it acts also by increasing the secretion. It 72 MATERIA MEDICA. has been given in very large doses in acute pneumonia and other pectoral diseases, on the contra-stimulant plan of Rasori, as a sub- stitute for the lancet, the patient taking from one to two grains, and upwards, every two hours. There is considerable risk, how- ever, in this method, arising from the excessive depression which is sometimes produced, and also from the effect on the stomach and bowels. The poisonous effects.are an austere, metallic taste, excessive nausea and vomiting, burning pain in the stomach, colic, extreme depression of the circulation, spasms, watery evacuations from the bowels, and great prostration; resembling very much a violent case of cholera. The remedies are demulcent drinks, astringent infu- sions, and stimulants, both internal and external. Antimonial Wine. (Vinum Antimonii, U. S.)—A solution of tartar emetic in wine, in the proportion of gr. ij to f £j. The best wine must be used—as the Teneriffe, Sherry, or Madeira, or else the solution will not be perfect. This preparation is employed for its diaphoretic and expectorant effects; also as an emetic for chil- dren. Dose 20 drops to f 5J- Tartar Emetic Ointment. (Unguentum Antimonii, U. S.) — Made by rubbing up 3ij of powdered tartar emetic with 3j of lard. Used to the skin as a counter-irritant by its pustulation, in chronic internal disorders of the chest or abdomen. 2. Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony. (Antimonii Sul- phuretum Precipitatum, U. S.)—Prepared by boiling together the ter-sulphuret of antimony and a solution of potassa; strain, and add sulphuric acid while yet hot; then wash away the sulphuret of potassium, and dry the precipitated sulphuret. It is an orange-red, insoluble powder, composed, chemically, of a mixture of the oxide and sulphuret of antimony. Kermes Mineral is a similar compound, made like the preceding, with the exception that no acid is added, but the precipitate falls spontaneously. Golden Sulphur of Antimony is formed by adding an acid to the liquid, after the precipitation of the Kermes mineral: it contains some uncombined sulphur. None of these preparations are much used at present. They are occasionally given as alteratives, combined with guaiac and calo- mel, in the form of Plummer's Pill, in chronic skin diseases. Dose, 1 to 2 grs. 3. Antimonial Powder (Pulvis Antimonialis), made in imitation of'James's Powder.—Prepared by burning the sulphuret of antimony with hartshorn shavings, in a wide-mouthed vessel. It consists of phosphate of lime and oxide of antimony; colour, white; no taste or smell; insoluble in water; uncertain in its operation. Used in fevers and cutaneous diseases. Dose, 3 to 8 grs. ARTERIAL SEDATIVES. 73 VEGETABLE ACIDS. Nearly all of them are refrigerant, and are well adapted, when properly diluted, to inflammatory and febrile complaints. Too long used, they enfeeble digestion, and produce symptoms of marasmus. Those most employed in medicine are the Acetic, Citric, and Tar- taric. Acetic acid—(Acidum Aceticum, U..S.)—in the form of vinegar, diluted with water, is a refreshing drink in febrile cases. It is also useful as a cooling application to the surface. The strong acetic acid is an irritant poison. Dilute acetic acid and distilled vinegar are'of about equal strength. Citric acid—(Acidum Citricum, U. S.)—-exists in the lemon, lime, sour orange, tamarind, and many other fruits. It is used either in the form of lemon-juice, or the solid crystalline state. The decomposition of lemon-juice may be partially prevented by ex- posing it to a freezing temperature, whereby all the watery parts are separated, and the juice much concentrated; or by making it into a syrup with sugar. The crystalline acid is prepared by saturating lemon-juice with chalk, and then decomposing the citrate of lime by sulphuric acid, and evaporating. The crystals are large, white, transparent rhombs, of a very sour taste, soluble in water; apt to be adulterated, if in powder, with tartaric acid; fraud detected by carbonate of potassa, which causes no precipitate with citric acid. A solution in the pro- portion of 3ixss citric acid to Oj water, is about the strength of lemon-juice; 9j of acid to Oj water is the proportion for lemonade. It is a valuable antiscorbutic. Tartaric acid—(Acidum Tartaricum, U. S.)—is found in the juice of the grape, tamarind, &c. It is much employed as a cheap substitute for citric acid. SALINE SUBSTANCES. Most of the neutral salts produce a refrigerant effect upon the system, both as a direct result, and indirectly, in consequence of the purgative power which many of them possess. Most of them are described under the head of Cathartics. The one most espe- cially refrigerant, is Nitrate of Potassa (Potassa? Nitras, U. S.), commonly called Saltpetre, or Nitre. It is procured from the banks of the Ganges, as a natural exudation from the soil; also from artificial nitre-beds in Europe. When purified, the crystals are large, six-sided prisms, with numerous transverse striae; no odour; taste, saline and cool- ing • soluble in water, not in pure alcohol; fuses by heat, when it 74 MATERIA MEDICA. may be run into moulds ; a high heat decomposes it. Effects.-—Tn moderate doses, it reduces the circulation, and diminishes the tem- perature of the body, not, however, as waff supposed, by its solution in the stomach. It probably exerts some chemical influence on the blood, rendering it less inflammatory. At the same time, it is diu- retic, or diaphoretic, according as the patient is kept cool or warm. Large quantities are apt to produce nausea and vomiting, and even poisonous effects; though very considerable doses may be taken with impunity, provided they be given largely diluted in some mucilaginous fluid. Used in fevers of a high grade, as an adjuvant to the lancet; also very useful in hemorrhages, and in all inflammations, except those of the stomach and bowels. Often combined with tartar emetic, and sometimes with calomel. Dose, 5 to 10 grs. every hour or two. The Nitrous Powders consist of a combination of nitre, tartar emetic, and calomel,—much employed in febrile complaints of a bilious character. CLASS VIII. NERVOUS SEDATIVES. These are medicines which occasion great depression of the sys- tem, attended often with nausea, sometimes with vomiting and purging, weakness and irregularity of pulse, syncope, giddiness, confused vision, and occasionally convulsions, delirium, and stupor. They are named by some writers sedative narcotics, from their effects on the brain. The mosti mportant of this group are Foxglove and Tobacco. FOXGLOVE. (Digitalis, U. S.)—The Digitalis purpurea is a biennial plant with long radical leaves, from the midst of which an erect stem arises the second year, terminated by a raceme of beautiful purple flowers. The parts used in medicine are the leaves, which require to be selected and dried with great care, and pre- served so as to exclude the light. When dried they should have a fine green colour, a slight odour, with the strong bitterness of the recent plant. They contain a peculiar principle termed digitalin, on which their activity depends. Effects on System.—-Those of a sedative narcotic; causes tight- ness and dull pain in the forehead, vertigo, dimness of vision, con- fusion of intellect, great reduction of the heart's action—in some cases as much as 30 pulsations a minute. It is also .powerfully diuretic. Poisonous doses produce nausea and vomiting, great NERVOUS SEDATIVES. 75 prostration, cold sweats, hiccough, convulsions, and death. It is cumulative in its action, and therefore its effects require to be care- fully watched. Digitalis is chiefly used to diminish the action of the heart in hypertrophy and dilatation of that organ, also in certain forms of nervous palpitations ; in aneurism of the aorta; in inflammation, as an adjuvant to the lancet; in scarlatina, pertussis, epilepsy, mania, and some forms of hemorrhage; also as a diuretic. Dose in sub- stance-gr. j, two or three times a day; of the infusion (Infusum Digitalis, U. S.), made, by adding 3ij to Oj of water, f gss; of .the tincture (Tine. Digitalis, U. S.), v%x to ti^xxx. Tobacco.^ (Tabacum, U. S.)—Leaves of the Nicotiana tabacum, an annual plant, native of tropical America. It has an erect, hairy stem, long sessile leaves, viscid and hairy. As found in the shops it is of a yellowish-brown colour; strong, narcotic, penetrating odour; bitter, acrid, and nauseous taste. Alcohol and water extract its virtues. Its active principle, named nicotina, is a volatile, alka- line, oily liquid, without colour, with a very acrid taste, and an odour resembling that of tobacco; it is extremely poisonous. To- bacco contains another principle named nicotianin, a fatty substance, seeming to owe its properties to containing a little nicotina. An empyreumatic oil is yielded by the destructive distillation of to- bacco ; it gives the peculiar odour to old' tobacco-pipes; it is very poisonous. Effects on 'System.—In very small quantities, it is a sedative to the system at large; in larger doses, acts on the brain, producing vertigo and stupor, together with nausea and vomiting, extreme depression, coldness of the skin, syncope, and sometimes convulsions. Small doses repeated are more dangerous than a large one, in con- sequence of the latter being rejected from the stomach. In its effects, it resembles digitalis, surpassing it, however, in its depress- ing influence over the muscular system, but being inferior to it in its influence over the circulation. UseSi—Chiefly to relax the muscular System, as in strangulated hernia, obstinate constipation from spasm of the bowels, or reten- tion of urine from spasm of urethra. Not much given by the Stomach on account of the excessive nausea it produces; chiefly by enema (infusion, made in proportion of 3J tobacco to Oj of water,— one-half to be used at once). Dangerous and even fatal symptoms have resulted from the tobacco injection. It may also be used in the form of cataplasm, in cases of spasmodic croup, lead colic, tetanus, and rheumatic affections. Wine. ( Vinum Tabaci, U. S.)—Used as a nauseant and diuretic. Tobacco ointment (Unguentum Tabaci, U. S.), is made by boiling fresh tobacco in lard; it is used in cutaneous diseases, especially tinea capitis. The ointment is sometimes made from the oil. 76 MATERIA MEDICA. Indian Tobacco. (Lobelia, U. S.)—The Lobelia inflata is a native of America, where it was employed as a medicine by the aborigines. It is an annual plant, growing a foot or more in height, with an erect stem; the fruit is an inflated capsule. The whole shrub is used in medicine. It contains a volatile, acrid, peculiar principle, named lobelina, analogous to nicotina. Effects.—Narcotic, acrid, emetic, and antispasmodic, strongly re- sembling those Of tobacco. It is chiefly used as an antispasmodic in asthma, either by giving it in full doses so as to excite vomiting, or in small quantities frequently repeated till nausea conies on. Its infusion may be used in the form of" enema in strangulated hernia. Used internally chiefly in the form of tincture (Tine. Lobelias, U. S.), —dose, f 3J- Fatal effects have followed the empyrical administra- tion of lobelia. Aconite. (Aconitum, U. S.)—Leaves and root of the Aconitum napellus, or monkshood, a perennial herbaceous plant, growing in the mountainous parts of Europe. The root is tapering; leaves deeply divided; flowers of a dark-blue colour. All parts are pos- sessed of acrid properties, and when fresh, emit a faint narcotic odour. Taste of the leaves and root, at first bitterish and acrid, and followed by a peculiar tingling sensation, often amounting to numbness, which extends to the soft palate. Effects.—Those of a sedative narcotic, or rather of a benumber, since it diminishes sensation, causes a feeling of numbness and tingling along the extremities, muscular debility, contraction of the pupil, but no delirium or stupor. Poisonous doses cause excessive burning and numbness of the mouth, throat and stomaeh, with violent vomiting, prostration, great loss of sensibility, but neither coma nor convulsion. It differs from tobacco and digitalis in not producing stupor or giddiness, as a general rule. It yields its vir- tues to alcohol. Its peculiar properties depend upon an alkaline principle termed aconitia or aconitina ; there is also a volatile acrid principle, besides some extractive,. &c. Aconitia is a white solid substance, existing in combination with an acid. It possesses all the powerful properties of the plant in a highly concentrated degree. In fact, when pure, it is as subtle a poison as prussic acid; though much of the alkaloid sold in the shops is worthless. Its very high price forms an objection to its use. The alcoholic extract of aconite (Extr. Acouiti Alcoholicum, U. S.), when well prepared, forms an excellent substitute for the aconitia. The common extract of the Pharmacopoeia (Extractum Aconiti, U. S.)—an inspissated juice—is not so good. Uses.—Internally in chronic rheumatism, gout, cancer, &c.; but it is more valuable as an external application, particularly in neu- ralgia, when applied in the form of tincture. Dose, of the purest aconitia, y^th of a grain (Pereira); but is very NERVOUS SEDATIVES. 77 seldom used; of the tincture of the root (Tinct. Aconiti Radicis, Xj g)—a saturated tincture—5 drops three times a day; of the tinc- ture of the leaves (Tinct. Aconiti Foliorum, U. S.), gtt. xx-xxx; of the alcoholic extract, £th of a grain. The ointment is made by adding the aconitia to fresh lard; it is used in neuralgia. Hemlock. (Conium, U. S.)—Leaves and seeds of the Conium macu- latum, a biennial um- belliferous plant, a Fig- I3- native of Europe, but naturalized in the U. S. It has a spindle- shaped root, and a smooth branching stem marked with purple-coloured spots. The leaves are com-^ pound, tripennate and bipennate. Believed to be the same plant as the xaveiov of the Greeks, and the cicu- ta of the Romans. The leaves should be collected from plants growing in sunny situations, and preserved in close vessels. When well preserved they retain their green colour and narcotic odour. Taste bitter and nau- seous. Imparts its virtues to alcohol and ether. The seeds are small, and have a slight odour and taste, but retain all the active properties of the plant. The active principle is an alkali named coneia, of a highly acrid nature, sparingly soluble in water, forming salts with the acids. Effects on System.—Said by Christison, who has experimented upon it, to act as a direct sedative to the cerebro-spinal system, oc- casioning paralysis of the voluntary muscles, and subsequently of the muscles of respiration, together with vertigo and general debi- lity. Its influence appears to be exerted more over the nerves of motion than over those of sensibility, producing a paralysing effect upon the muscles supplied by the former. jjses-—Employed by the ancients as a discutient or resolvent, in enlargements and indurations of the glands and viscera; also in 78 MATERIA MEDICA. scrofula, bronchocele, leprosy, syphilis, and ulcers of a cancerous character. Its chief reputation has been in cancer, for which it was introduced into practice by Stork of Vienna; but it is highly probable that its alleged virtues in this disease are solely due to its narcotic powers. Hemlock is used in powder—dose, 3 or 4 grains two or three times a day; Picture—dose, f 3ss to f 3J ; extract—an inspissated juice of the leaves,—3 grs. two or three times a day. Hydrocyanic Acid. (Acidum Hydrocyanicum, U. S.)—This acid is a compound of hydrogen and cyanogen, and is of vegetable origin, being found in the bitter almond, cherry laurel, and in most of the species of the primus and amygdaleos. Usually obtained, however, by decomposing the bicyanide of mercury, by hydrochloric, or hydrosulphuric acid. The concentrated, or purest acid, is a limpid fluid of a sp. gr. of 0-697 ; having a strong peculiar odour, which, however, differs from that of the oil of bitter almonds; ex- tremely volatile; boils at 79°; has a great tendency to undergo decomposition, and is extremely poisonous. It is never employed in the undiluted form. The medicinal or dilute hydrocyanic acid is procured by the reaction of hydrochloric acid on cyanide of silver in water. Its properties are similar to those of the concentrated acid, only in a less degree; it contains from 2 to 3 parts of real acid in 100 of water. It is very liable to decomposition, especially when exposed to the light; hence it should be kept in a dark place. Effects on System.—In very small doses, repeated, it causes a bitterish taste, nausea, vertigo, faintness, but no very certain alte- ration of the circulation. The more violent effects are great and sudden prostration, giddiness, and faintness, tetanic convulsions, and insensibility, difficult and spasmodic respiration, and death. The peculiar odour of the acid is usually very distinct. The post-mortem appearances are not very definite. The best antidotes are chlorine, ammonia, the cold affusion, and artificial respiration. Uses.—Internally, as a remedy in certain nervous affections, par- ticularly gastrodynia ; also in hooping-cough, asthma, epilepsy, hy- pertrophy and palpitation of the heart, and in the cough of phthisis. Externally, it is employed as a wash in certain forms of skin disease, —the proportions being 3ij of the dilute acid to Oss distilled water. Dose of the officinal acid, 1 to 3 drops, repeated till some obvious effect is produced. As a substitute for hydrocyanic acid, the cyanide of potassium may be used, since it is not, like the former, apt to undergo decom- position when kept. It may be given in the dose of i gr., gradually increased. When swallowed it becomes converted into hydrocyanic acid, by the acid of the stomach. Another good substitute is the oil of bitter almonds—in the dose of .£ of a drop, to be repeated. alteratives. 79 CLASS IX. ALTERATIVES. Alteratives are medicines which, by slowly and gradually modi- fying the nutrition of an organ or tissue, subvert diseased action and bring about a healthy condition. No especial evidence of their action upon the system is afforded, except the gradual disappearance of disease, and the restoration to health. It is highly probable that most, if not all the true alteratives aet by entering into combination with the proteine principles, either of the blood, or of the tissues, forming compounds incompatible with the continuance of the morbid nutrition of the part. Now, by con- tinuing their use for some time, the nutrition becomes completely modified; and, on discontinuing them, the tissue gradually returns to a healthy nutrition; the compounds, which had in the mean time been formed, being removed by absorption. It can easily be understood, then, how such remedies, if pushed too far, will prove injurious by breaking down the crasis of the blood, and inducing a cachectic condition. Some of them appear to possess the power of especially attacking morbid deposits of a proteine nature, as indurations, or thickenings from a deposit of coagulable lymph, &c.; such an action is some- times called liqurfacient. Mercury. (Hydrargyrum, U. S.)—In the metallic state, it is not believed to act upon the system; but, when swallowed in that state, it very soon is oxidized, and then becomes efficient. The vapour from metallic mercury is known to be active, as is seen from its effects on artisans who work in that metal. The effects of mercury on the system may conveniently be considered under the two heads of its alterative and its salivanf, operation. • When given in very minute doses, and continued for a length, of time, it augments all the secretions, causing increased action of the mucous membranes generally; at the same time, the absorbents are stimulated to greater activity, so that under its operation, effused fluids are seen to dimi- nish or disappear, and glandular enlargements are often dispersed. It also usually relaxes the bowels, in consequence of the augmented secretion of their mucous membrane. In larger doses, mercury acts as a sialogogue, producing all the above-mentioned effects, only to a greater degree, and in addition, increased action of the salivary glands, with swelling and soreness of the gums—a train of symptoms denominated salivation. The signs of the mercurial sore mouth are the following : slight swelling 80 materia medica. and tenderness of the gums, particularly when the teeth are pressed together; a"coppery taste in the mouth; a peculiar, unpleasant breath, and an increased flow of saliva, Tvhich may become excessive. During this state, the fat is rapidly absorbed, the patient becoming emaciated; the nervous and circulatory systems are excited, andthe blood, when drawn, exhibits the same appearance as in inflammation. On some constitutions, mercury produces a sort .of poisonous effect, causing great prostration, a small and frequent pulse, with a pallid and contracted countenance. It sometimes occasions an erup- tion upon the skin of a miliary character, and in some instances, gives rise to profuse sweats. The remedy for these effects is pure fresh air, and a tonic course of treatment. Mercury produces its influence upon the system, in consequence of being absorbed, as is proved by the fact of its being detected in several of the secretions, as well as in the solids. Uses.—1. As an~alterative.—In functional disorder of the diges- tive organs, as indicated chiefly by the appearance of the stools, which are either scanty, dry, and of a clay colour, showing a defi- ciency of bile, or very copious, liquid, and of a bilious colour, showing a redundancy of bile;—in constipation, which very often depends on a deficient hepatic secretion, or deficient secretion of the intestinal mucous membrane;—in some forms of chronic cutaneous disease.—Dose,—as an alterative, half a grain to a grain of calo- mel, or three grains of blue mass, every night, or every other night, to be followed next morning with a laxative, if the bowels are con- fined. In acute cases, much smaller doses inay be given, and more frequently repeated. 2. As a sialogogue.—In fevers, mercury is very useful; chiefly in exciting the secretions. The proper indications for its use are a dry tongue, torpor of the bowels, dry skin, and scanty urine; it is an important remedy in typhoid fever; but here the mildest salivation is only required. In very high grades of, fever, it is almost im- possible to salivate.—In inflammation, it is a valuable therapeutic agent, acting as a true antiphlogistic or anti-plastic, preventing the formation of coagulable lymph, more particularly where the serous membranes are involved; generally, bloodletting should be premised: it is contra-indicated in inflammations of an erythematous, gangre- nous, malignant, or scrofulous character.—In diseases dependent on disordered secretion of the liver, as dysentery, diarrhoea, ascites, &c. —To promote absorption, as in the various forms of dropsies.—To produce what has been termed its revolutionizing effect, in certain specific diseases, especially syphilis, but only in its secondary form; also, in colica pictonum, in which it may be usefully combined with opium. It is contra-indicated in scrofula, phthisis, all malignant dis- eases, and suppurations. Dose, as a salivant, half a grain to a grain ALTERATIVES. 81 of calomel, or 3 to 5 grs. blue pill, three times a day: opium to be added, if it purge. If the stomach be irritable, the mercurial oint- ment may be rubbed on the insides of the arms and thighs, or ap- plied to blistered surfaces; or fumigations with cinnabar may be resorted to. There is a great difference in the susceptibility of different persons to the salivant action of mercury; it is much more difficult to sali- vate children than adults. Sometimes the medicine accumulates in the system, and breaks out with great violence. In producing salivation, the mildest impression is all that is re- quired ; excessive salivation is always to be avoided. The treatment for it is to reduce the local inflammation by leeches and blisters, if necessary; astringent and detergent washes of alum, sugar of lead, &c, and opium internally. Preparations of Mercury.—It is not, at present, given in the liquid form. When given in the metallic state, it is extinguished, by being first rubbed up with different substances, which serve to divide it very minutely, and perhaps, partially to oxidize it. Mercurial or Blue Pills. (Pilulas Hydrargyri, U. S.)<—Made by rubbing up metallic mercury with conserve of roses and liquorice- root ;—requires a long trituration. Colour, bluish; becomes darker by exposure; weight of the officinal pill, three grains. Dose, as a sialogogue, one pill, three times a day; as an alterative,.one pill, every other night;—sometimes given in emulsion. Mercury with chalk. (Hydrargyrum cum Cretd, U. S.)—Pre- pared by triturating mercury with prepared'chalk; colour, bluish- gray ; a mild mercurial, particularly useful in the bowel-affections of children. Dose, from 1 to 10 grs., three or four times a day. Mercurial Ointment. (Unguentum Hydrargyri, U. S.)—Some- times called blue ointment; prepared by rubbing up together mer- cury, lard, and suet, until the mercury is extinguished; colour, bluish; becomes darker by age; used to produce the mercurial im- pression, by rubbing into the skin; also to blistered surfaces. Mercurial Plaster. (Emplastrum Hydrargyri, U. S.)—Made by rubbing up mercury with melted rosin and oil, and then mixing with melted lead-plaster; used to discuss glandular swellings, &c. Mild Chloride of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Chloridum Mite, U. S.) —Chemically, a protochloride ; common name, Calomel. Made by subliming a mixture of the protosulphate of mercury and chloride of sodium; double decomposition ensues, resulting in the formation of protochloride of mercury and sulphate of soda; crystalline at first; requires to be powdered and washed in water; colour, ivory- white ; no taste or smell; insoluble in water or alcohol; incompa- tibles, alkalies, alkaline earths, and sulphurets. Dose, as a sialogogue, 82 MATERIA MEDICA. gr. ss to gr. j, three times a day; as an alterative, gr. j, every night, or every other night. Howard's calomel is a very fine variety, made by allowing the vapour to come in contact with watery vapour. Corrosive Chloride of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Chloridum Corro- sivum, U. S.)—Common name, Corrosive Sublimate ; chemically, a bichloride; made, by subliming a mixture of the bisulphate of mer- cury and chloride of sodium. At first, it is in white, semi-transparent masses; soluble in water and alcohol; taste, metallic and styptic; very poisonous; best antidote is albumen; not much used inter- nally ; not so liable to salivate as calomel; externally applied, it is escharotic; a weak solution, or ointment, is employed in venereal sore throat, and cutaneous diseases. Black Oxide of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Oxidum Nigrum, U. S.) —Chemically, a protoxide; made by adding calomel to lime-water, or a solution of potash; colour, black; used chiefly as a wash for . chancre, in the form of black wash. Dose, \ gr. • v Red Oxide of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Oxidum Rubrum, U. S.)— Chemically, a binoxide ; common name, red precipitate ; made by heating the nitrate; occurs in small, shining, red crystals; never used internally; but externally, as a stimulant for old and indolent ulcers; also, for psorophthalmia, in the form of ointment. Iodide of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Iodidum, U. S.)—Chemically, a protiodide ; made by rubbing up mercury and iodine together with alcohol;' colour, greenish-yellow; used in secondary syphilis; dose, one grain, gradually increased. Biniodide of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum, U. S.)— Prepared by action of corrosive sublimate on iodide of potassium; colour, brilliant red; used as an ointment in skin diseases. Red Sulphuret of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Sulphuretum Rid/rum, U. S.)—Common name, Cinnabar ; found native; made by heat- ing together mercury and sulphur; colour, fine red; powder is called vern\ilion,—used for fumigation. Black Sulphuret of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Sulphuretum Nigrum, U. S.)—-Old name, Ethiop's mineral; prepared by rubbing sulphur and mercury together in a mortar; colour, black; scarcely ever used at present. Yellow Sulphate of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Sulphas Flavus, U. S.)—Common name, Turpeth mineral; made by the action of boiling water on the bisulphate; the yellow subsulphate precipi- tates; very little used; emetic, in the dose of 5 grains. Nitrate of Mercury. (Hydrargyri Nitras, U. S.)—Used only in the form of ointment,—called citrine ointment (Unguent. Hydr. Nitratis, U. S.), made by.heating the fresh nitrate- with lard and neat's-foot oil. This is of a fine citron colour, when first made, but spoils by being kept; much used in skin diseases, and as a stimu- lant to ulcers. ALTERATIVES. 83 Ammoniated Mercury. (Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, U. S.)—■ Common name, irhite precipitate ; made by adding the solution of- ammonia to a solution of corrosive sublimate; occurs in white masses, without odour; used only as an ointment for cutaneous diseases. Iodine. (Iodinium, U. S.)—A simple, non-metallic solid, of a bluish-gray colour, and metallic lustre, with a peculiar odour; volatile ; sparingly soluble in water; more so in alcohol. Effects on System.—Jn very small doses, it acts as a general tonic, occasionally increasing the flow of urine, and sometimes pro- ducing salivation. If continued for a length of time, it stimulates the absorbents, causing emaciation. If still longer employed; it acts upon the nervous system and digestive organs. In large doses, it is a corrosive poison. Used chiefly to promote the absorption of indurations and enlargements, &c. Probably, the best remedy in goitre, in which it may be employed both internally and externally. Scrofula is another disease in which iodine acts beneficially, parti- cularly in the form of glandular swellings, ophthalmia, abscesses, &c.; also in chronic rheumatism, chronic cutaneous diseases, and tertiary syphilis. Dose, \ to $ a grain, but not in substance, on account of its difficult solubility. Tinctura Iodinii, U. S.—Contains gj of iodine to Oj alcohol; not quite saturated; when long kept, it is partially decomposed; dose, 10 to 20 drops, in sweetened water. The tincture used ad- vantageously, externally, in lupus, erysipelas, and other skin dis- eases; and also in affections of the joints; to be applied by means of a small brush. Compound Tincture of Iodine, (Tinct. Iodinii Composita, U. S.), contains Jss of iodine, gj of iodide of potassium, and Oi of alco- hol. Iodide of Potassium. (Potassii Iodidum, U. S.)—Made by mix- ing together iron filings and iodine with water, by which iodide of iron is formed; then decomposing with carbonate of potassa. It is in the form of white cubical crystals; somewhat deliquescent; very soluble in water and alcohol; taste, acrid and saline; its aqueous solution has the property of dissolving iodine. It acts on the system very much as iodine, though less energetically;—used in cachectic conditions, particularly in tertiary syphilis ; in the various forms of scrofula, rheumatism, &c. Dose, 3 to 20 grs., three times a day. Sometimes it produces some irritation of the bowels, and vertigo. Lugol's Solution of Iodine. (Liquor Iodinii Compositus, U. S.)— Made by dissolving gjss iodide of potassium and 3vj iodine, in Oj water; dose, 6 to 30 drops, three times a day, gradually in- creased. This is an active and excellent preparation, much used by Lugol in the treatment of scrofula. S4 MATERIA MEDICA. There are many other preparations of iodine, more or less em- ployed; as the iodide of lead; iodide of sulphur,—used in the form of an ointment, in certain cutaneous affections;—iodide of zinc, &c. Iodine Ointment. ( Unguentum Iodinii, U. S.)—Made by rubbing up together iodine and lard. Unguentum Iodinii Compositum, U. S.—Made like the other, with the addition of some iodide of potassium; both are used in indolent scrofulous tumours.—Iodine and iodide of potassium are sometimes employed in the form of bath. Arsenic. (Arsenicum, U. S.)—Probably inert, so long as it re- tains its metallic state; but very active, as an oxide, or salt. Effects.—In very minute doses, it is tonic and alterative; but, if persisted in, it causes muscular debility and general depression of the system, It acts by being absorbed into the blood, as is proved by its existence in the secretions. In large doses, it is a powerful corrosive poison. Symptoms of poisoning—pain and heat of sto- mach, pain of throat, vomiting of aorid matters, incessant thirst, prostration, and death. Antidote—the hydrated peroxide of iron, which acts chemically, forming an insoluble arsenite of iron.—Used chiefly in intermittent diseases; will often cure intermittent fever, when quinine fails; also, in chronic skin diseases, particularly of a scaly character; also in nodes. Dose of arsenious acid, jgth of a grain, three times a day, in pill. Fowler's Solution. (Liquor Potassse Arsenitis, U. S.)—Made by boiling together 64 grs. arsenious acid and carbonate of potassa, each, in f^xij water, and then adding f^ss spirits of lavender, to impart a colour. Dose, 10 drops; but often this will be found too much for some constitutions. The arsenical preparations should be given on a full stomach, and their effects very carefully watched. One of the first symp- toms of the system being brought under their influence, is an oedema of the eyelids, which will subsequently spread over the face. LOCAL REMEDIES. CLASS X. EMETICS. Medicines which, as an ordinary result, produce vomiting. The effect of an emetic is not immediate; usually from 10 to 20 minutes EMETICS. 85 elapse before vomiting occurs. Emesis is partly the act of the sto- mach, and partly of the brain and spinal marrow; if the brain be stupified by narcotics, the stomach becomes very insusceptible to the action of emetics. Some emetics act only if immediately ap- » plied to the stomach; others produce their effect no matter how in- troduced into the system. The act of vomiting is chiefly reflex. If the eighth pair of nerves be cut, no vomiting is produced by eme- tics. The susceptibility to their influence is increased by irritation or inflammation of the stomach, and by fever; it is lessened by ner- vous disorders, and by narcotic poisons. - Emetics are useful to remove improper matters from the stomach, as poisons or ingesta; to deplete from the system; to promote the secretions; to produce muscular relaxation; to give a shock to the system, and thus break up morbid associations; to cause pressure on the surrounding viscera; to reduce arterial action; and to cause revulsion to the stomach. They should be avoided, if possible, in congestion of the brain, hernia, the advanced stages of pregnancy, and in inflammation of the stomach and surrounding parts. Ipecacuanha, U. S.—Root of the Cephaelis ipecacuanha, a perennial plant, growing in Brazil; about 5 or 6 inches high. The roots, as met with in the shops, are several inches long, contorted, Fig. 14. of a grayish-brown colour, about the thickness of a small quill, ap- parently composed of a series of transverse rings, from which cause it is often called annulated. The cortical portion, which includes 8 86 MATERIA MEDICA. the rings, is hard, horny, and brittle, resinous in its fracture; the ligneous portion is small and inert. There are three varieties, brown, red, and gray. Colour of powder, light fawn; odour, slight in mass. The powder excites sneezing, and, in some, asthmatic symptoms. Water and alcohol extract its virtues; but injured by long boiling; also by exposure to the light. Active principle, an alkali called emetia. Uses.—In very small doses it is tonic and alterative; rather larger doses prove diaphoretic and expectorant; still larger quanti- ties cause vomiting. Its emetic operation is mild, prompt, and cer- tain ; hence it is very useful as an evacuant from the stomach. It has been used with advantage in hemorrhage.—Dose, as an altera- tive, i to £ gr.; as a diaphoretic, £ to grs. ij ; as an emetic, 15 to 30 grs.; best given in warm water. The Vinum Ipecacuanhas, U. S., contains %] to Oj;—dose, as an emetic, f^j,—for an adult. Used chiefly as a diaphoretic and ex- pectorant. The Syrupus Ipecacuanhas, U. S., is of about the same strength. There are several indigenous emetics, the most important of which are the following: Gillenia, U. S.—Root of the G. trifoliata and G. stipulacea. It is sometimes called Indian physic. It has a long, branching root, of a reddish-brown colour. Dose of powder, 20 to 30 grs. A good substitute for ipecacuanha. Euphorbia Ipecacuanha, U. S. (American Ipecacuanha), and E. Corollata, U. S. (Large Flowering Spurge), are very irritant and powerful emetics, especially in the fresh state. They are not much employed on account of the uncertainty of their operation. Dose, gr. x-xxx. Lobelia, U. S. (Indian Tobacco.)—Herbaceous part of the L. inflata, an annual plant. Along with its emetic properties it is also narcotic, producing very much the effects of tobacco. Used chiefly in spasmodic asthma. Dose, 5 to 20 grs. The tincture is officinal; —dose, f 3 j; repeated if requisite. # Sanguinaria, U. S.—Root of the S. Canadensis, or blood-root; distinguished by its red colour, and truncated appearance. Emetic, and slightly narcotic; also used in catarrhs. Dose, 10 to 20 grs.; —of tincture, f 3ij to f gss. Squill and Tobacco are emetic in large doses, but are seldom em- ployed for this purpose; the great prostration produced by the latter is an objection. Mustard, in powder, is a stimulant emetic; it may be used in some cases of narcotic poisoning. CATHARTICS. 37 MINERAL EMETICS. Tartar Emetic differs in its action, as an emetic, from ipecacu- anha, in causing much more retching, nausea, and general disturb- ance of the system; hence employed to act upon the surrounding viscera, as in congested liver or spleen; to break up the paroxysms of intermittents; to produce relaxation in croup, and in dislocations; in nervous diseases, as in neuralgia and amaurosis. Ipecacuanha is preferable in poisoning from narcotics. Often • combined with ipecacuanha. Dose, 2 or 3 grs.; best given in divided quantities, dissolved in water. Dose of Vinum Antimonii as an emetic, f3J, repeated, for an adult. Sulphate of Zinc.—A very prompt and powerful emetic, causing but little nausea. Chiefly used in cases of narcotic poisons,—best to combine it with ipecacuanha. Dose (medium), gr. x; in narco- tic poisoning, 3J- Sulphate of Copper.—A still more powerful emetic than the last;—used also in narcotic poisoning;—sometimes in membranous croup. Medium dose, 2 or 3 grs.; in cases of poisoning by nar- cotics, 5 to 15 grs.;—danger of inflammation from over-doses. The Turpeth Mineral, Arsenic, and Corrosive Sublimate, are each emetic in large doses, but are scarcely ever used with this intention. Alum is occasionally employed. CLASS XL CATHARTICS. These are medicines which evacuate the alimentary canal. They act either, 1, by increasing the peristaltic movement, or, 2, by augmenting the mucous secretions, or, 3, by stimulating the liver to throw out bile. Such cathartics as merely evacuate the intes- tinal contents, are termed Laxatives ; those which produce increased secretion into the bowels, Purgatives; and such as cause large wa- tery discharges,.Hydragogues. Cathartics also differ as to the part of the canal which they affect; thus aloes chiefly acts upon the rec- tum; gamboge and calomel upon the upper bowels; the neutral salts upon the whole tract. Some occasion a great amount of de- pletion, while others, as rhubarb, produce a tonic impression. The term drastic is applied to such as act with great violence. 88 MATERIA MEDICA. Uses.—To evacuate the bowels from noxious matters; to relieve constipation and its attendant evils; to deplete from the system; to promote absorption, in dropsies; to cause revulsion to the bowels, particularly in cerebral disorders. They are contra-indicated in inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bowels; and should be cautiously employed in typhoid fever. Their activity is in- creased by the addition of small quantities of emetics and bitters. Their griping effect is best obviated by combination with aromatics or opium. They act most powerfully when taken in an empty sto- mach. Hypercatharsis is best checked by an anodyne enema. There are several articles of diet which are laxative, and may be usefully employed in medicine, such as the ripe fruits in their fresh state, or the same dried and stewed,—particularly peaches, prunes, and tamarinds. Sugar is also laxative, particularly in the form of West India molasses. Rye or oatmeal mush and molasses form an excellent article of diet in habitual costiveness, and in hemorrhoids. Sugar is apt to disagree with the stomach of dyspeptics, on account of its liability to generate an acid. Bran is an excellent article of diet in dyspepsia and constipation; believed to produce its laxative impression by mechanical irritation; best used in the form of bran- bread, made from the unbolted flour Purging Cassia. (Cassia Fistula, U. S.)—Fruit of the C. fis- tula, a tree growing in the East and West Indies; consists of pods about a foot in length, containing numerous seeds surrounded with a black, sweetish pulp. The pulp is procured by bruising the pods, and boiling in water. It is a mild laxative, and forms one of the ingredients in the Confection of Senna. Dose 3J to 3j. Manna, U. S.—Concrete juice of .the Ornus Europasa, a tree growing in the countries bordering the Levant. Procured both by spontaneous exudation and incisions. Three varieties found in commerce. 1. Flake Manna, the result of spontaneous exudation; comes in pieces two or three inches long, about an inch wide, bear- ing the marks of the bark, &c, on which it has concreted; colour, yellowish-white; odour, faint; taste, sweetish. 2. Common Manna, or Manna in sorts, procured, when the season is more advanced, by incisions; consists of particles of the flake, mixed with a fluid por- tion and impurities ; xcolour, darker; inferior. 3. Fat Manna, ob- tained still later in the season; consists chiefly of the fluid portion, with numerous impurities; colour, much darker. Manna consists of common sugar, united to a peculiar saccharine principle, called mannite. Uses.—A mild laxative, adapted to cases of constipation, hemor- rhoids, and.pregnancy; also to children. Dose £ss to gij. Castor Oil. (Oleum Ridni, U. S.)—Product of the Ricinus communis, or Pal ma Christi (Fig. 15), growing in various parts of cathartics. 89 the world. As found in the United States, it is an annual. The fruit is a three-celled capsule, each cell containing an oblong, spot- ted, brownish seed. The seeds are powerfully purgative, in conse- quence of an acrid principle which they contain, and which is dissi- pated by a high heat. The oil is procured either by expression or decoction. 1. Expression. The seeds are gently heated, and then subjected to powerful pressure; a thick, whitish oil exudes, which is boiled for some time in a large quantity of water; this dissolves out the mucilage, and coagulates the albumen; the clean oil is now Fig. 15. removed, and boiled with a minute quantity of water, to drive off the acrid principle. 2. Decoction. The seeds are bruised and boiled in water; the oil rises and is skimmed off the surface, and is again boiled to remove the acrid principle; apt to have a 8* 90 MATERIA MEDICA. darker colour than the other. The acrid principle is thought to consist of two acids, named ricin-oleic, and ricin-stearic acids. Uses.—A mild and certain cathartic, intermediate in its action between laxatives and purgatives. The more it is free from colour, smell, and taste, the better; soluble in cold alcohol; particularly applicable to cases of children and pregnant women; also in irri- tated and inflamed bowels, colic, dysentery, and diarrhoea. Ordi- nary dose f 3j, though less will frequently operate. Infants require a larger proportionate dose than adults, in consequence of their digesting it. May be given in boiling milk, hot coffee, &c.; but best in the froth of porter or ale; also as an emulsion. Linseed oil and melted butter may be substituted for castor oil. Rhubarb. (Rheum, U. S.)—Root of different species of Rheum, as R. palmatum (Fig. 16), R. undulatum (Fig. 17), R. compaction (Fig. 18), &c, growing in Tartary and other parts of Asia; also cultivated in Europe. It is a perennial plant, with large branching roots and numerous large petiolate leaves. The roots, when dug up, are carefully dried, sorted, and sent to market. Three varieties are recognised: 1. Russian or Turkey Rhubarb. This .kind is prepared with extreme care, at a frontier town between Tartary and Russia, each piece being bored down to its centre to ascertain its soundness: imported from St. Petersburg. The pieces are irregularly cylindrical in shape, with angular edges, of a lively yellow colour externally, variegated within; yields be- fore the knife, feels gritty to the teeth, stains the saliva, and has a bitter and astringent taste; it is the most valuable. 2. Chinese Rhubarb. Probably of similar origin with the other; shipped from Canton; the pieces are smooth and powdery on the outside, appear- ing as if rasped. Colour, not so lively; odour and taste, similar to the other; the perforation extends quite through, and some- times presents the remains of the string upon which it was dried; inferior in value, but much cheaper. 3. European Rhubarb.— Comes in long thin pieces, more compact; does not tinge the saliva, nor feel gritty to the teeth; inferior to the others as a purgative. Active principle, rhubarberin,—a yellow, crystalline, volatile sub- stance ; contains also tannin, oxalate of lime, rheic acid, an odorous principle, colouring matter, &c. Water and alcohol extract its virtues; it should not be long boiled. Uses.—A good tonic cathartic, operating chiefly on the peristaltic motion; does not deplete, and hence the best purgative in typhoid cases. Much used in constipation, combined with aloes and soap. It sometimes gripes, in which case it may be combined with aro- matics. Dose, as a laxative, 5 to 10 grains; as a purgative, 20 to 30 grains; given in powder or pill. The following are the officinal preparations; Infusum Rhei, made in the proportion of 3ij to Oj water; Tinctura Rhei, useful in typhoid complaints; Tinct. Rhei CATHARTICS. 91 et Aloes, formerly'called Elixir Sacrum ; Tinct. Rhei et Gentianas ; Tinct. Rhei et Sennas, or Warner's Gout Cordial; Syrupus Rhei; Fig. 16. Fig. 17. Fig. 18. Syrupus Rhei Aromaticus, or Spiced Syrup of Rhubarb ; Syrupus Rhei et Sennas ; Vinum Rhei; Extractum Rhei; Extractum Rhei Fluidum ; Pilulce Rhei ; Pil. Rhei. Compositce.—Roasting impairs the purgative property of rhubarb, but does not affect its astringency. Aloes. (Aloe, U. S.)—Inspissated juice of the leaves of different species of Aloe, as A. spicata, A. Socotrina, and A. vulgaris,—^suc- culent plants with long, narrow, toothed leaves, growing in tropical countries. The juice is procured either by draining from the leaves, by expression, or by boiling. Several varieties recognised in com- merce : 1. Cape Aloes. Obtained from the A. spicata, growing at 92 MATERIA MEDICA. the Cape of Good Hope; occurs in masses of a shining, dark olive- green colour, of a vitreous fracture, translucent at the edges; powder, of a greenish-yellow colour; odour, disagreeable; taste, intensely and permanently bitter. 2. Socotrine aloes—from the A. Socotrina; pieces of a yellowish-brown colour, less shining than the former; fracture conchoidal; odour, aromatic; taste, very bitter; much the most valuable variety. 3. Barbadocs. aloes,— prepared in the West Indies; the product chiefly of the A. vulgaris; colour dark-brown, not shining; odour disagreeable; much used for horses. 4. Hepatic aloes,—known in India as Bombay aloes ; probably an inferior variety of Socotrine and other sorts; it has a dark liver colour. Aloes consists of a peculiar soluble matter, termed aloesin, and an insoluble substance called apotheme. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol. Uses.—A warm purgative, slow in its operation, acting on the lower bowels; will sometimes produce piles, if too long continued; it also has a tendency to the pelvic viscera generally; chiefly given in constipation, combined with soap, rhubarb, or colocynth. Dose, as a laxative, 2 to 6 grs.; as a purgative, 10 to 15 grs. The offi- cinal preparations are the following: Pilulce aloes et assafostidce, very useful in the constipation of old people ; Pilulce aloe's et myrrhas, or Rufus' Pills; Pil. Rhei compositce; Pulvis aloe's et canellas or hierapicra ; Tinctura aloe's ; Tine. Aloes et myrho?yov elixirproprie- tatis; Vinum aloes. Senna, U. S.—Leaflets of different species of Cassia, as the C. acutifolia (Fig. 19), C. obovata, C. elongata, C. JEthiopica, small shrubs growing in tropical Asia and Africa. Several commercial varieties : 1. India senna, the product of the G. elongata, grown in Arabia and Africa, and thence taken to India; leaflets long and narrow, intermingled with pieces of pods. 2. Tinnivelly senna; probably from the same source as the preceding, but much longer and more distinct; very free from impurities, and highly esteemed. 3. Alexandria senna, product of the A. obovata and A. acutifolia, derived from Upper Egypt; it contains also the leaves of the Argol. 4. Tripoli senna, from the A. uEthiopica,—seldom now found in market. The true senna leaves may be recognised by their oblique lower edges, and the inequality of their insertion into the footstalk; odour, faint, but peculiar; taste, sweetish and nauseous ; active principle, cathartin. Senna is an active hydragogue cathartic; generally administered in combination with manna, or the neutral salts. Infusion (Infusum Sen- nas, U. S.) made in the proportion of 3j to Oj. Its griping tendency obviated by combining with aromatics, or the neutral salts.—The CATHARTICS. 93 following preparations are officinal: Tinctura Sennas et Jdlapas, or Elixir salutis; Confectio Sennce, or Lenitive electuary; Syrupus Sennas ; and Fluid extract of senna. Fig. 19. The leaflets of the American Senna (Cassia Mar Hand ica, U. S.), an indigenous plant, possess similar properties to those of the true senna, and may be advantageously used as a purgative, in a rather larger dose. Scammony. (Scammonium, U. S.)—Dried juice from the root of the Convolvulus scammonia, a climbing plant, growing in Syria and Asia Minor. It is obtained by slicing off the root, and allow- ing the juice to concrete. Formerly, the commercial varieties were distinguished as Aleppo, Smyrna, and Montpellier scammony; at present, they are generally known under the two heads of genuine and factitious. The purest kind (seldom" seen here), is denominated virgin or tear scammony; it consists of shapeless masses, rather porous, of a dull ash colour, and free from impurities. The sort usually met with is in saucer-shaped pieces, three or four inches in diameter, of a dark ash-gray colour, hard, and containing numerous adulterations. It is often common to designate the genuine drug, from whatever source procured, as Aleppo scammony; while the term Smyrna scammony, is applied to the others. The spurious or factitious scammony, is chiefly manufactured in the south of France. Odour peculiar, resembling old cheese; taste acrid and bitter; chemically, a gum-resin, the resin being the active portion. Effects.—A drastic cathartic; over-doses cause irritation and in- flammation of the bowels; seldom given alone. Dose, five to ten grs.;—an ingredient in the Compound extract of cohcynth. 94 MATERIA MEDICA. Jalap. (Jalapa, U. S.)—Tu- ber of the Ipomaa Jalapa (Fig. 20), a climbing Mexican plant. The tubers are imported either whole or sliced. They vary from the size of a walnut to that of an orange; externally, of a black- ish-gray colour, heavy,hard, and of a brownish fracture; odour peculiar and nauseous; taste nauseous; colour of powder, light brown. The root is apt to be adulterated. Virtues im- parted partly to water, and partly to alcohol. Active ingredient is a resin; it contains also much starch, and some gum and sugar. Effects.—A powerful hydra- gogue cathartic; much used in dropsies and chronic affections of the joints, particularly in combination with cream of tar- tar. Dose, 15 to 30 grs.; dose of calomel and jalap, 10 grs. of each,—used in bilious complaints; dose of jalap and crem. tartar, 10 to 20 grs. of the former, and 2 to 4 drachms of the latter. The Resin of Jalap is the alcoholic extract: dose, 8 to 10 grs. Extract of Jalap is used in doses of 10 to 20 grs.; the tincture is also officinal. The Pulvis Jalapa? Compositus, U. S., is a mixture , of one part of jalap and two parts of cream of tartar. The May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum, U. S.), an indigenous perennial plant, possesses very similar medical properties to those of jalap. The root, which is the part used, is very long and branching, of a brownish colour externally. It contains a peculiar principle—podophyllin. It may be employed in the same cases as jalap. Dose, the same. The extract is officinal. Colocynth. (Colocynthis, U. S.)—Fruit of the Citrulluscolocyn- this, or Bitter cucumber, a vine resembling the common cucumber, growing in the South of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Fruit about the size and shape of an orange; has a yellow rind, and a white, light, and porous pulp, containing numerous seeds. As found in the shops, it is usually divested of the rind. Taste, extremely bitter; virtues to water and alcohol; the infusion gelatinizes on cooling in consequence of the pectin contained; aetive principle, colocynthin. Fig. 20. CATHARTICS. 95 Effects.—A powerful hydragogue, producing in over-doses inflam- mation of the bowels Not much used alone.—Dose, 5 to 10 grs. Fig. 21. The compound extract (Extractum Colocynthidis Compositum, U. S.), is an excellent cathartic; it contains colocynth, aloes, scammony, soap, and cardamoms;—dose, 10 to 15 grs. Black Hellebore. (Helleborus, U. S.)—Root of the Hellebo- rus niger, growing in the southeast part of Europe. Sometimes called the Christmas rose.\ The root, as found in the shops, consists of a knotted caudex, from which proceed numerous black fibres, smooth and brittle; odour, slight; taste, bitter and nauseous; be- comes much feebler by being kept; virtues to alcohol and water. Effects.—A drastic hydragogue, also emmenagogue; much used by the ancients in mania; not so much employed at present. It is sometimes named Melampodium. Dose, 10 to 20 grs.;—of the tincture (Tine. Hellebori, U. S.) f 3J ) of the extract (Extractum Hel- lebori, U. S.) gr. iij-v. Gamboge. (Gambogia, U. S.)—Inspissated juice of the Hebra- dendron cambogioides, a native of Ceylon and Siam. The juice is procured by breaking off the leaves and young shoots; at first it is of a yellow colour, but becomes a dark orange by hardening. Usually found in cylindrical pieces, many of which are hollow. Fracture glossy; colour of powder, bright yellow; no odour, and but slight taste; forms with alcohol a golden-coloured tincture, and with water a yellow turbid emulsion. Effects.—A powerful drastic cathartic; over-doses dangerous. Dose, 3 to 6 grs., usually given in dropsy, combined with cream of tartar; also in tape-worm. Compound Cathartic Pill. (Pilidae Catharticce Compositce, V. S.) 96 MATERIA MEDICA. —An admirable compound cathartic, containing calomel, scam- mony, gamboge, colocynth, aloes, and jalap; dose for an adult, three pills. Croton Oil. (Oleum Tiglii, U. S.)—Derived from the seeds of the Croton tiglii, a small tree growing in the East Indies. The oil is procured by first roasting the seeds and then subjecting them to pressure. As first obtained it is nearly colourless; but as found in the shops, it has a yellowish-red hue; odour, faint and peculiar; taste, acrid and burning; partially soluble in alcohol, which sepa- rates it into its constituent portions; of these, the acrid principle, called crotonic acid, is soluble, while the true oil, which is a mild fixed oil, is not soluble. Most liable to be adulterated with castor oil; fraud detected by the solubility of the latter in alcohol. Effects.—One of the most powerful drastic cathartics ; over-doses very dangerous; applicable in obstinate constipation, and in coma; advantage from the smallness of the dose. Dose, 1 to 3 drops, best given in form of pill made up with crumb of bread, each con- taining half a drop. Applied externally, it produces a pustular eruption, and may be used as a revulsive, in diseases of the chest, &c.; it should be mixed with olive oil. Its external irritant effect varies much in different persons. Elaterium, U. S.—rProduct of the Momordica elaterium, or squirting cucumber Fig. 22. (Figure 22), a vine growing in the South of Europe. The fruit is about the size of a lime, oval, of a green- ish colour, and co- vered with numerous prickles. When ripe it bursts, projecting its contents. Elaterium is procured by slicing the frui£, and the juice allowed slowly to drain away upon a muslin sieve, when it gradually deposits the medicine. This is in small flattish pieces, of a grayish-green colour, light and friable; has no odour, jbut a bitter and nauseous taste; active ingredient, elaterin. Effects.—Probably the most active of all cathartics. Used chiefly in obstinate dropsy. Dose of the purest (Clutterbuck's), £ gr.; of MINERAL cathartics. 97 the commercial, \ gr.; dose of elaterin, Jg- to T\ gr. Always best to commence with very small doses, from the uncertainty of the preparation. MINERAL CATHARTICS. Sulphur, U. S.—Used in medicine in the form of flowers of sul- phur, or common sublimed sulphur washed in water (Sulphur Lo- tum, U. S.) Odour and taste slight; insoluble in water, and nearly so in alcohol; soluble in oils. Effects.—A mild laxative, but slow in its operation, sometimes griping; it has a decided tendency to the skin, and is thought to act on the bronchial mucous membrane. It is used in constipation attended with piles, in combination with cream of tartar; also, in dyspepsia, chronic rheumatism, chronic catarrhs, and cutaneous erup- tions. Dose as a laxative, 3J to 3ij- Externally, an excellent remedy for scabies, in the form of sulphur ointment; also, in the form of vapour and bath. The bath is best in the form of the natural sul- phur waters. Sulphur Praseipitatum, U. S., lac sulphuris, milk of sulphur— made by boiling together sulphur and lime, and then adding muri- atic acid, which precipitates the sulphur in the form of a hydrate ; colour, nearly white, but darkens by exposure. It has no advantage over the other form. Calomel.—As a cathartic, it is indicated in cases where the liver is deficient in action, or is secreting vitiated bile. It is slow in its operation, requiring six or eight hours. It is apt to produce nausea and griping some time after being taken, which are no doubt owing to the bile poured out. It is believed to act by being absorbed directly into the vena porta, and so finding its way into the liver. Ordinary dose, 5 to 15 grains, but best to combine it with other purgatives, as rhubarb or jalap. There is a great difference in the susceptibility of different persons to its action. It is one of the ingredients in the Compound Cathartic Pills. Magnesia.—Sometimes called calcined magnesia, and magnesia usta. Procured by exposing the carbonate to a red heat. A very light white powder; its degree of levity, however, depends upon its amount of trituration, its density being increased by that pro- cess. In this way the magnesia of Henry, Husband, &c, is made; almost insoluble in water. Effects.—A mild and useful cathartic, particularly when there is acidity in the prirnae viae. Its cathartic operation is somewhat un- certain, depending upon the presence of an acid: it sometimes accu- mulates in the bowels. It is also used in sick headaches, and in nephritic complaints; also, in bowel-complaints, combined with rhu- barb. Dose 3J;—best given rubbed up in syrup. 98 MATERIA MEDICA. Carbonate of Magnesia. (Magnesias Carbonas, U. S.)—Pre- pared by decomposing any soluble salt of magnesia by an alkaline carbonate. Occurs in white cakes, extremely light and porous; in- soluble in pure water; somewhat soluble in carbonic acid water. Effects.—A gentle laxative, but dependent for its operation on the acid found in the stomach and bowels; apt to occasion flatulence from the escape of the carbonic acid. Dose, 3J to 3ij- SALINE CATHARTICS. Nearly all are of mineral origin. They closely resemble each Other in their operation upon the system, producing watery evacua- tions, from their influence over the secretory vessels of the mucous membrane. They are likewise refrigerant, and are hence peculiarly adapted to febrile and inflammatory complaints, but are contra-indi- cated in typhoid disorders. Solution of Citrate of Magnesia. (Liquor Magnesia? Citra- tis, U. S.)—Made by adding carbonate of magnesia to a solution of citric acid and syrup; to be put into a strong bottle and corked be- fore effervescence has ceased. It is a very agreeable cathartic. Dose, f 3ij-viij. Epsom Salts. (Magnesia? Sulphas, U. S.)—Procured from the bittern of sea-water after the crystallization of the chloride of so- dium. A better method is by the action of sulphuric acid on mag- nesite; also from springs. As usually found, the crystals are small and needle-shaped; contain 50 per cent, of water of crystallization; effloresce slowly; very soluble in water; taste bitter and saline; sometimes contains sulphate of soda as an impurity. One of the best saline cathartics, and very extensively employed. Dose for an adult ^j ; best given in carbonic acid water. Glauber's Salts. (Soda? Sulphas, U. S.)—Procured as the residuum after making muriatic acid; also from the bittern of sea- water. Occurs in four-sided crystals; efflorescent; contain more than 50 per cent, water of crystallization; more soluble at 90° than 212°; taste, very nauseous and bitter; not so much used as Epsom salts;—dose about the same. Sulphate of Potash. (Potassa? Sulphas, U. S.)—Formerly called vitriolated tartar ; the residuum after the manufacture of nitric acid, from sulphuric acid on nitre; contains no water of crystalliza- tion ; occurs in small, white, and very hard prismatic crystals; not very soluble ; not much used as a cathartic, but chiefly in the pre- paration of Dover's powder. Dose, gss. Tartrate of Potassa. (Potassas Tartras, U. S.)—Formerly called soluble tartar. Prepared by adding cream of tartar to a hot solution of carbonate of potassa. The crystals contain no water "of ENEMATA. 99 crystallization; they are deliquescent, have a cooling bitterish taste, and are very soluble in water;—not much used at present. Dose, Sss to gj. Cream of Tartar. (Potassa? Bitartras, U. S.)—Exists in the juice of grapes, from which it is deposited during the vinous fer- mentation, because it is insoluble in alcohol. It incrusts the sides of the wine casks, and is detached in the form of thick cakes of a reddish-gray colour, and sold under the name of argol. This, when properly purified, assumes the form of white transparent crystals of pure cream of tartar. It is generally kept powdered. Taste, acid; soluble in sixty parts of cold water, and in fifteen of boiling water. Effects.—A hydragogue cathartic; also diuretic and refrigerant. Very useful in dropsy; much employed, in combination with jalap, in chronic affections of the joints; and with sulphur in hemorrhoids. Best given in sweetened water, or as an electuary with molasses;— dose, ^ss to 3jj. Rochelle Salts. (Sodas et Potassas Tartras,!]. S.)—Made by adding carbonate of soda to cream of tartar. Occurs in large, white, transparent, prismatic crystals of unequal sides; efflorescent; very soluble in water; taste less unpleasant than most of the others. It is one of the best of the saline cathartics. Dose 3j to ^iss. The Seidlitz powders consist of a mixture of 3ij Rochelle salts, and 9ij bicarbonate of soda in one paper, and 35 grs. tartaric acid in another paper; each paper to be dissolved in a separate tumbler, and the two mixed, when effervescence occurs from the escape of carbonic acid, and the patient swallows a mixture of Rochelle salts and tartrate of soda. Phosphate of Soda. (Soda? Phosphas, U. S.)—Prepared by the action of sulphuric acid on bone earth, which consists of carbo- nate and phosphate of lime; sulphate of lime is thrown down, and superphosphate of lime remains in solution; this is now to be de- composed by carbonate of soda. Occurs in large, rhombic, transpa- rent crystals; very efflorescent; contain more than 50 per cent, of water of crystallization ; taste resembles that of common salt; soluble in water;—dose, 3j to ^ij. Particularly applicable to cases of children, but not much used on account of its expense. ENEMATA. Purgative injections are very useful, particularly to act on the lower bowels, and when there is irritability or inflammation of the stomach. The common laxative enema is composed of a table- spoonful of salt, molasses, and lard, each, with a pint of warm water; it may be rendered more active by the addition of castor oil, or the 100 MATERIA MEDICA. infusion of senna. Turpentine and assafoetida are useful in tympa- nitis. Cold water alone is frequently employed in constipation. Large quantities of warm water are useful, by the mere distension produced. CLASS XII. DIURETICS. Diuretics are medicines which increase the secretion of urine. Their action is much influenced by the external temperature, being promoted by cold, and diminished by heat. The two functions of the skin and kidneys are opposed one to the other,—whatever favours one secretion interfering with the other, and vice versa. Their action is also influenced by that of the bowels; free catharsis being always opposed to diuresis. Diuretics may act, 1, either by being absorbed and coming into direct contact with the kidneys; 2, by promoting absorption into the blood-vessels; 3, by a stimulating impression on the mucous mem- brane of the urinary passages. Sometimes. stimulant and tonic articles prove diuretic by the increased quantity of blood sent to the kidneys in a given time; certain mental emotions have also a powerful effect, as fear and anxiety. They are used chiefly in dropsies, and in inflammations and irri- tations of the urinary organs, after proper depletion. As a class, they are rather uncertain in their action. Diuretics may be divided into several classes, as the Saline, Alka- line, Acrid, and Sedative. Dr. Golding Bird makes two divisions, —renal hydragogues, or such as merely increase the watery portion of the urine, and renal dcpurants, or those which increase the solid constituents of the urine; the latter include the saline and alkaline diuretics. SALINE DIURETICS. Cream of Tartar. (Potassas Bitartras, U. S.)—Exists in various vegetable juices, particularly that of the grape. Procured from wine casks during the vinous fermentation; the salt being insoluble in alcohol, is gradually deposited as a crust on the sides of the cask. In its crude form it constitutes the argol of the shops, of a reddish colour. Purified by repeated solutions. When pure, it is perfectly white, crystalline, has an acid taste, more soluble in hot than cold water. It is an excellent hydragogue cathartic, and also diuretic. STIMULANT DIURETICS. 101 Well adapted to dropsies of an inflammatory type, from its possess- ing refrigerant properties. Should be given in a large quantity of cool water. Dose, ^j to §ij daily. Acetate of Potassa. (Potassa? Acetas, U. S.)—Prepared by action of distilled vinegar on carbonate of potassa. Very deliques- cent, soluble in water and alcohol; formerly named sal diureticus ; acts as a cathartic in large doses; produces diuresis in doses of 9j to 3j, every two or three hours, in a large quantity of water; used as the former. Nitrate of Potassa.—Already spoken of under the head of refri- gerants. Sometimes powerfully diuretic, especially when the sur- face is kept cool: used in the same cases as the two former. Dose, 10 to 20 grains, repeated, so that from 3j to 3IJ may be taken in twenty-four hours. alkaline DIURETICS. Carbonate of Potassa. (Potassa? Carbonas, U. S.)—Prepared from pearlash by dissolving in cold water, filtering, and evaporating, at the same time stirring so as to cause it to granulate, the object of which is to expose as small a surface as possible to the air, and thereby prevent deliquescence. It contains impurities, as the sili- cate, sulphate, and muriate of potassa. The purest carbonate, called salt of tartar, is made by heating two parts of cream of tartar with one of nitre. Occurs in the form of small, white globules, of a nauseous, alka- line taste. It is a decided diuretic; used chiefly as an adjuvant, in dropsy accompanied with acidity of stomach; also as an anti- lifhic in gravel. Dose, 10 to 20 grains, three or four times a day; may be given in carbonic acid water. The bicarbonate (Potassce Bicarbonas, U. S.) is prepared by passing carbonic acid through a solution of the carbonate. Occurs in white, flat prisms; inodorous; not so soluble as the carbonate. Uses.—Same as the carbonate, but preferable on account of its more agreeable taste. Dose, 3ss to 3J, repeated. STIMULANT DIURETICS. Squill. (Scilla, U. S.)—Bulb of the Scilla maritima, a plant growing upon the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a peren- nial plant, having a large, pyriform bulb, from which spring long, shining green leaves, and a single long flower-stem. There are two varieties, the white and the red; but they are similar in pro- perties. The bulb is sometimes imported whole, but generally in transverse or longitudinal slices ;. of a yellowish-white colour; con- torted ; tough; of a feeble odour, and a bitter, nauseous taste. Im- 102 MATERIA MEDICA. parts its virtues to alcohol, water, and vinegar. Contains a peculiar principle called scillitin. Effects.—In moderate doses, stimulant to most of the secretions, particularly the kidneys and lungs. In large doses, it is emeto- cathartic. Much used in dropsies of an enfeebled character. Often advantageously combined with calomel, and sometimes with digi- talis. Dose, 1 to 3 grs., two or three times a day, gradually in- creased till some obvious effect is produced. As a diuretic, it is usually given in form of pill or powder. The preparations of squill are noticed under the head of Expectorants. Meadow Saffron. (Colchicum, U. S.)—Bulb and seeds of the Colchicum autumnale; a native of Europe; grows about 6 or 7 inches high. Bulb about the size of a chestnut, covered with a brownish membrane; internally, solid, white, and fleshy. It should be ga- thered in July or August. Sometimes the bulb is dried whole, but generally it is cut into transverse slices about an eighth of an inch thick, whitish, inodorous, of a bitter and acrid taste. The pieces should each have a notch on one side. Apt to be spoiled in keep- ing ; hence very uncertain, as found in the shops. The seeds are small, of a reddish-brown colour and of a bitter, acrid taste; the virtues reside in the outer coating. The seeds contain all the vir- tues of the bulb, and are less apt to be injured by keeping. It con- tains a peculiar alkaline crystalline principle, called colchicina, not identical with veratria, as was at one time supposed. The virtues are best imparted to wine and vinegar. Effects.—Stimulant to most of the secretions; rather jeduces the action of the heart and arteries; seems also to influence the nervous system. In very large doses it is irritant to the stomach and bowels. It is chiefly used in gout and rheumatism, in which it may be combined with saline cathartics and antacids. Scudamore's Mix- ture consists of a draught containing 15 to 20 grs. magnesia, 3J to 3ij sulph. magnesia, and f 3J to f3ij vinegar of colchicum. Dose of the bulb or seeds, gr. j-iij,—rarely used. Vinum Colchici Radicis, U. S.—Contains half a pound of the bruised bulb in a pint of wine; colour, dark reddish-brown; dose, 30 drops up to f 3J, gradually increased. Vinum Colchici Seminis, U. S.—Is made by macerating 3IJ bruised seeds in a pint of wine for 14 days; dose, the same. Acetum Colchici, U. S. ( Vinegar of Colchicum),—made by ma- cerating the bulb in vinegar, then adding alcohol. Dose, gtt. xx. -xxx." Tinctura Colchici Seminis, U. S.—Dose, same as the above. Extractum.Colchici Aceticum, U. S.—A good preparation. Dose, gr. i—iij, three or four times a day. The White Hellebore of Europe ( Veratrum album), and the Green STIMULANT DIURETICS. 103 Hellebore of the U. S. ( Veratrum viride), are analogous in their pro- perties to colchicum. Both depend for their activity upon a power- ful alkaline principle called veratria. Veratria is occasionally em- ployed externally in the form of ointment, in cases of neuralgia. It is a violent acrid poison; even its external application is attended with a burning, tingling sensation. The ointment is made by rubbing up 10 or 20 grs. with an ounce of lard. The dose of veratria is the twelfth to the sixth of a grain. Turpentine. (Terebinthina, U. S.)—Juice of different species of the Pinus, Abies, and Larix. Many varieties of turpentine are known in commerce, but only two are used in the United States. 1. White Turpentine (Terebinthina, U. S.)—Derived chiefly from the Pinus pcdustris, or long-leaved pine of the South. Grows from 60 to 70 feet high; the leaves are in threes, about a foot in length. The turpentine is collected by making incisions in the trunk of the tree in spring, when the juice exudes, and is collected in barrels. It hardens on exposure. Colour, yellowish-white; odour, peculiar; taste, hot, bitter and pungent, depending on the volatile oil. 2. Canada Turpentine (Terebinthina Canadensis, U. S.)—Some- times called Balsam of Fir, and Canada Balsam; product of the Abies bfdsamea, or Balm of Gilead; found in vesicles under the bark. It is a transparent, yellow, thick liquid; odour, terebinthi- nate and aromatic; taste, same as the former.—All the turpentines are inflammable, scarcely soluble in water, soluble in alcohol; che- mical composition, a resin and a volatile oil. Uses.—In chronic rheumatism, and chronic disorders of the urinary organs; also, externally, as stimulants to indolent ulcers. Dose, gr. x to 3j. Sometimes given by enema. The oil of turpentine, already, alluded to under the head of Arte- rial Stimulants-, is more frequently employed as a diuretic in chronic nephritic complaints; dose, 10 to 20 drops. Tar (Fix Liquida, U. S.)—Procured chiefly from the Pinuspalus- tris of North Carolina, by the slow combustion of the wood arranged in large piles. It is an empyreumatic product, consisting of a resin held in solution by acetic acid and empyreumatic oil, and coloured by charcoal: slightly soluble in water; more so in alcohol and ether. The aqueous solution—tar water—is used in chronic pecto- ral complaints. The vapour of tar is employed for the same affec- tions, by inhalation.—Dose, internally, 3ss to 3J- The ointment of tar is officinal;—used in tinea capitis. Pitch is the residue after the volatile parts are driven off from tar ;—used in plasters. Crrasote (Creasotum, U. S.)—Is one of the ingredients in the volatile oil of tar. Colourless when pure, of an oily aspect, very 104 MATERIA MEDICA. volatile; odour, strong, peculiar, and empyreumatic ; taste, hot and acrid; slightly soluble in water; much more so in alcohol. Uses.— Antiseptic, styptic; employed in sickness of stomach and in hasma- temesis; dose, 1 drop every half hour, or hour. Used externally as a stimulant; also in the form of ointment. Resin (Resina, U. S.)—The residue after the distillation of the oil of turpentine; two varieties—the yellow and white. Uses.—Chiefly to form plasters. Resin Cerate—Basilicon Ointment (Ceratum Resinas, U. S.)— An excellent stimulant application to ulcers arising from burns. Emplastrum Resina?, U. S. (Adhesive Plaster.) Copaiva. ( Copaiba, U. S.)—Product of the Copaifera officinalis, a tree of South America. Procured by making incisions in the tree. As it flows first, it is clear, but becomes thick and dark by exposure; colour, orange-red; odour, peculiar and strong; taste, hot and bitter; insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol. Chemically, a volatile oil and an acid resin called copaivic acid ; virtues depend on the oil, which may be separated by distillation. Copaiva will soli- dify, if exposed to the air in thin layers; also if rubbed up with magnesia. Uses.—A stimulant diuretic, sometimes producing nausea and vomiting; acts also upon the mucous membranes generally. Em- ployed chiefly in gonorrhoea, before or after the inflammatory symp- toms ; also in chronic dysentery, and chronic bronchitis. Dose, 10 drops to 3ss, 3 times a day; of the volatile oil (Oleum Copaibas, U. S.), 5 to 10 drops. Copaiva is often given in the form of capsules. Pilulas Copaibas, U. S., are made by rubbing up copaiva with magnesia. Dose, gr. x-xx. Cantharides. (Cantharis, U. S.) — History, &c, described under the head of Epispastics. As a diuretic it is more stimulating than the preceding, being apt to irritate the urinary organs, and produce strangury. Used chiefly in chronic disorders of the urino- genital organs, as chronic gonorrhoea and leucorrhoea, incontinence and retention of urine, spermatorrhoea, and amenorrhoea; also in ob- stinate skin diseases. Dose, gr. j, two or three times a day; gene- rally given in the form of tincture (Tinct. Cantharidis, U.S.),— dose, 10 drops, gradually increased till, some obvious effect is pro- duced. MILDER DIURETICS. Juniper Berries. (Juniperus, U. &)—Fruit of the Juniperus communis, an evergreen shrub, growing in both continents;—about the size of a pea, globular, of a dark-purple colour, glaucous and MILDER DIURETICS. 105 shrivelled. Imported chiefly from Trieste. Odour, aromatic; taste, sweetish, warm, and terebinthinate; virtues depend on a volatile oil, and are yielded to water and alcohol. Effects.—A good, moderately stimulant diuretic and carminative; used chiefly as an adjuvant;—with cream of tartar, as a drink, in dropsy. The infusion contains ^j of the bruised seeds to Oj of water. Dose of the oil (Oleum Juniperi, U. S.), 5 to 15 drops, several times a day.—Spiritus Juniperi Compositus, U. S., is an alcoholic solution of the oils of juniper, caraway, and fennel.—The tops are also occasionally used in medicine. Indian Hemp. (Apocynum Cannabinum, U. S.)-—Root of the A. cannabinum, an indigenous, herbaceous plant, emitting a milky juice when wounded. Odour, strong; taste, bitter and nauseous; virtues to water and'alcohol. In full doses acts as an emeto-cathartic; occasionally a very powerful diuretic in some cases of dropsy. Dose of the decoction (^ss in Oiij water, boiled down to Oj), f^j to f^ij, three times a day. Dandelion. (Taraxacum, U. S.)—Root of the Leontodon tarax- acum, an herbaceous, perennial plant. The root is spindle-shaped, several inches long, of a brownish colour externally, lighter within; all parts abound in a milky, bitterish juice, particularly the root, which is more powerful in the fresh state. Effects.—Tonic, diuretic, and laxative; believed to have a specific influence over the liver; used in dyspepsia attended with derange- ment of the liver; and in certain forms of dropsy. Infusion. (Infusum Taraxaci, U. S.)—^j of the fresh, or ^ij of the dried root, in Oj water;—dose, f^ij several times a day. Extract. (Extractum Taraxaci, U. S.)—Prepared by bruising the fresh root, straining, and evaporating;—dose, 20 to 30 grs. Fleabane. (Erigeron, U. S.)—Herbaceous parts of the E. hete- rophyllum, and E. Philadelphicum, indigenous plants. They are gently diuretic, and are chiefly employed as adjuvants in dropsy, and in chronic nephritic disorders. Best given in decoction, (^j to Oj water,)—the whole to be taken in the course of the day. Wild Carrot. (Carota, U. S.)—Seed of the Daucus carota, an indigenous, perennial plant. The flowers are in umbels, which are flat at first, but afterwards contract so as to form a cup. The seeds are brownish, of an oval shape, with stiff hairs attached. Odour, slight; taste, aromatic and bitter; contain a volatile oil, which may be separated by distillation. Effects.—A moderately stimulant diuretic; used as an adjuvant in dropsy, in the form of infusion. The garden carrot has similar properties, though feebler. It is sometimes used, grated, as a poultice. Parsley Root. (Petroselinum.)—Has also diuretic properties; 106 materia medica. the same is true of Horseradish and Mustard. Sometimes an infu- sion of several of these is given, in cases of dropsy of an enfeebled character. Sweet Spirits of Nitre. (Spiritus JEtheris Nitrici, U. S.)— Prepared by the action of sulphuric acid on alcohol and nitrate of potassa, by distillation; chemically, the hyponitrite of ethyl, dis- solved in alcohol. Prop.—Colourless, limpid, of an ethereal odour, and a pungent, sweetish taste; apt to deteriorate when kept, becoming acid; soluble in alcohol and water; apt to be impure, as found in the shops. It is diaphoretic, diuretic, and antispasmodic; much used in fevers with nervous irritability, especially for children. Dose, 20 drops to f3j, every 2 or 3 hours. The only sedative diuretic much employed is Digitalis. It does not succeed so well in dropsies attended with much plethora, as in those of a relaxed debilitated character. It is useful in cases accom- panied with albuminous urine. Its diuretic powers are increased by combining it with squill and calomel. It is not very speedy in its operation, generally requiring several days to produce its diuretic effect. Dose of powder, one grain twice a day; of the tincture, 10 drops; of the infusion, f^ss. CLASS XIII. DIAPHORETICS. Diaphoretics are medicines which increase the function of per- spiration. The name sudorifics is often applied to such as increase the sensible perspiration or sweat. They act in different ways : (1) by relaxing the surface; (2) by direct stimulation of the sudorife- rous glands; (3) by stimulating the system generally ; (4) by sym- pathy from the stomach; (5) by filling the blood-vessels. As a class of medicines, their action is not very certain, depending a good deal upon the state of the system at the time, and also upon the tempe- rature and hygrometric condition of the atmosphere. They are use- ful as evacuants, promoting at the same time absorption; they also produce revulsion to the surface. Diaphoretics may be divided into the refrigerant, the nauseating, and the alterative. NAUSEATING diaphoretics. 107 REFRIGERANT DIAPHORETICS. Citrate of Potassa. (Potassa? Citras, U. S.)—Prepared by action of citric acid, or lemon-juice, on carbonate or bicarbonate of potassa. A white, soluble, deliquescent salt; used as a diaphoretic in fevers, particularly in the forms of neutral mixture and efferves- cing draught. Neutral Mixture. (Solutio Potassee CJitratis, U. S.)—Prepared by saturating lemon-juice (or an ounce of citric acid, rubbed up with /our minims of oil of lemons, and dissolved in a pint of water), with carbonate, or preferably, the bicarbonate of potash, and fil- tering. Dose, a tablespoonful every hour or two: this quantity contains 15 grains of the salt. . The effervescing draught is the same, given in a state of efferves- cence. It is made by dissolving 3lj °f the carbonate, or 3iij of the bicarbonate in f^iv water; then add a tablespoonful of this solu- tion, mixed with the same quantity of water, to a tablespoonful of sweetened lemon-juice, or citric acid solution. Laudanum, in small quantities, may be added, if it produces griping. Spirit OF Mindererus. (Liquor Anvmonice Acetatis, U. S.)— Prepared by the action of distilled vinegar on carbonate of ammonia. A limpid, colourless liquid, when properly made;' taste, cooling and bitterish ; an excellent diaphoretic in fevers. Dose, a tablespoonful every hour or two. Nitrate of Potassa,—already spoken of as a refrigerant. It will frequently produce diaphoresis, especially if combined with other medicines of this sort; the Nitrous Powders are a combination of tartar emetic, nitre, and calomel. Nitre and tartar emetic are often prescribed, as a diaphoretic, in solution. nauseating diaphoretics. The Nauseating Diaphoretics comprise such medicines as pro- duce diaphoresis, by relaxing the cutaneous capillaries; in this way, nearly all emetic substances will promote perspiration, if given in small doses. The only ones much employed are, Ipecacuanha and Tartar emetic. They are indicated in all cases of high arterial excitement, not attended with irritation or inflammation of the stomach. Tartar emetic is usually given in the dose of the sixth to the twelfth of a grain. Ipecacuanha is chiefly used as a diaphoretic, in combination with opium, in the form of Dover's Powder—(Pul- vis Ipecac, et Opii, U. S.)—This is made by rubbing up one part of ipecac, and opium each, with eight parts of sulphate' of potassa; the dose is 10 grains. It is a very useful anodyne diaphoretic, in rheumatism, diarrhoea, and dysentery; also in pneumonia and bron- chitis, after proper depletion; it should not be used, if there be much arterial excitement, or determination to the head. 108 MATERIA MEDICA. ALTERATIVE DIAPHORETICS. The chief Alterative Diaphoretics are Sassafras, Mezereon, Guaiacum, and Sarsaparilla. Sassafras, U. S.—Bark of the root of the Sassafras officinale, an indigenous tree. Occurs in irregular fragments, of a reddish cinnamon-colour, brittle, of a very aromatic odour and taste. Arirtues depend on a volatile oil. It is a mild stimulant diaphoretic, used chiefly in domestic practice; not much employed alone, but forms an agreeable adjuvant to other medicines. It is one of the ingre- dients in the Compound Decoction of Sarsaparilla. The sassafras pith (Sassafras Medulla,!]. S.) is procured from the young twigs. It is in cylindrical pieces, white, and very light; forms with water a thick, gummy solution. The mucilage is made by adding 3J to Oj of boiling water; it is a very pleasant applica- tion to irritated or inflamed surfaces, as in ophthalmia, erysipelas, eczema, &c. Mezereon. (Mezereum, U. S.)—Product of several species of the Daphne, especially the D. mezereum, a shrub three or four feet high, growing in Europe. The bark of the root is the part directed by the Pharmacopoeias, but the bark derived from the branches is generally found in the shops. It comes in strips three or four feet long, folded in bundles, or wrapped in balls; covered externally with a grayish-brown epidermis, whitish within, tough and pliable. Taste, sweetish at first, then very acrid; it yields its properties to boiling water. It contains a peculiar principle called daphnin, which, however, is not active : its activity depends on an acrid resin. The fresh bark applied to the skin will produce vesication. An ointment (Unguentum Mezerei, U. S.), made from the bark, is used to maintain the discharge from blisters. Mezereon is a stimulant alterative diaphoretic, if directed to the skin ; it will act also on the kidneys. Used chiefly in combination with others, in chronic skin diseases, chronic rheumatism, and se- condary syphilis. Best given in the form of decoction, made by boiling 3ij mezereon, and gss liquorice root, in Oiij water, down to Oij. Used sometimes as a masticatory in cases of paralysis of the tongue. Guaiacum Wood, and Guaiac. (Guaiaci Lignum et Guaiaci Resina, U. S.)—Products of the Guaiacum officinale (Fig. 23), an evergreen tree of South America and the West Indies. The wood comes in billets, covered with a grayish bark, extremely hard and compact; the alburnum, or sap wood, is of a yellowish colour; the heart wood of a brownish-green; commonly called lignum vita?. It has no odour except when rubbed or burned; taste, bitterish and pungent; activity depends on the contained guaiac. Guaiac (resin) is procured either by spontaneous exudation, or ALTERATIVE DIAPHORETICS. 109 by boiling the.raspings and shavings in water, or by heating in the fire billets of the wood which have been bored longitudinally. It comes in masses of a deep olive-brown colour, mixed.with various impurities; fracture resinous; odour feeble and balsamic; taste Fig. 23. slight at first, but afterwards acrid ; melts by heat, evolving a fra- grant odour. Chemically, a mixture of a peculiar extractive, called guaiacine, and a resin; much more soluble in alcohol than in water. Effects.—Stimulant, alterative, and diaphoretic; in large doses irritant to the bowels. Used in chronic rheumatism, secondary syphilis, and chronic skin diseases. Dose of guaiac, 10 to 30 grains. There are two tinctures, the simple and the volatile or ammoniated; the latter is used in dysmenorrhea;—dose of either, m- Sarsaparilla, U. S.—Root of different species of the genus Smilax, as the S. officinalis, S. sarsaparilla, S. syphilitica, &c.; perennial, climbing plants, growing in Mexico and South America. The leaves are ovate, and alternately inserted upon short footstalks, with numerous tendrils proceeding from the stem. The roots are very long and slender, inserted upon a common caudex. Several varieties are known :—1. Honduras sarsaparilla,—comes in bundles two or three feet long, consisting of one or more roots, folded lengthwise, and secured by a few circular turns. 2. Jamaica sar- sajutrilla,—distinguished by the reddish colour of its epidermis, probably of similar origin with the last. 3. Brazilian, or Para sarsaparilla, sometimes called Lisbon and Rio Negro sarsaparilla,— this comes in cylindrical bundles, about three feet long and one thick; it is an excellent variety. There are also the Caraccas and Mexican varieties. The dried root has but little odour; a mucilaginous and acrid 10 110 MATERIA MEDICA. taste, especially when chewed for some time; imparts its virtues to water and alcohol; the cortical portion is the most active. It contains a peculiar principle, called sarsaparillin or smilaein, also much starch, lignin, &c. Long boiling is injurious to it. Effects.-—An alterative diaphoretic; sometimes creates nausea and vomiting. Improves the state of the constitution; slightly strengthens and induces plumpness in cachectic cases, and in de- praved states of the general health. Useful in secondary syphilis, chronic rheumatism, chronic cutaneous diseases, &c. It is not often administered alone ; generally in combination with the other stimu- lating diaphoretics. Dose of powder, 3SS to 3J j °f the Infusion (Infusum Sarsaparilla?., U. S.), made by macerating 3j of the root in a pint of boiling water, f giv. The Compound Decoction (De- coctum Sarsaparilla? Compositum, U. S.), is made by boiling toge- ther bruised sarsaparilla with guaiacum woodj mezereon, liquorice root, and sassafras, in water, for fifteen minutes, and then straining. It. is made in imitation of the Lisbon diet drink. . Dose, f^iv several times a day. The Compound Syrup (Syrupus Sarsapa- rilla? Compositus, U. S.) is also officinal,—an excellent preparation; it contains sarsaparilla, guaiacum wood, red roses, liquorice root, the oils of sassafras, anise, and partridge-berry. Dose f3ss, three times a day. The Fluid Extract (Extractum Sarsaparillas Fluidum, U. S.) is made by macerating bruised sarsaparilla, liquorice root, sassafras bark, and mezereon, in dilute alcohol for fourteen days, then filter, add sugar, and evaporate down to the requisite bulk. It is a strong and certain preparation; dose, f51—ij- The root of Aralia nudicaulis, or False Sarsaparilla, an indi- genous plant, possesses kindred properties to those of sarsaparilla. Uses, the same. CLASS XIV. EXPECTORANTS. Medicines which increase or promote the evacuation of the bronchial secretions. In the healthy condition there is a certain amount of secretion always going on in the air passages, which is removed by evaporation or absorption; but in disease of these organs, there is either an arrest of the natural secretion, or it be- comes excessive, and cough results. Some expectorants are thought to act by producing relaxation, as STIMULANT EXPECTORANTS. Ill the nauseating expectorants ; others by stimulating the mucous ex- halants; some, possibly, by sympathy from the stomach. The nauseating class are alone indicated in cases of inflammatory or febrile excitement; the stimulating, in cases of enfeebled action, or when of long duration. Anodynes are useful adjuvants, when the expectoration is attended with pain. NAUSEATING EXPECTORANTS. The emetics, generally, prove expectorant, in consequence of the relaxation produced; only two, however, are much employed with this view, tartar emetic and ipecacuanha ; the dose of the former is i grain, or of antimonial wine, 15 to 25 drops every two hours; the dose of ipecacuanha is gr. ss-j, or of the wine, 25 to 30 drops. STIMULANT EXPECTORANTS. Seneka. (Senega, U. S.)—Root of the Poly gala senega, indi- genous in the United States. A small, herbaceous perennial, with Fig. 24. alternate smooth leaves. The root consists of a thick, knotty head, with the radicles much twisted, with a projecting, keel- like %line. Colour, yellowish- brown externally, whitish with- in. The cortical portion contains the active principle, named sene- giu or polygalic acid. Odour, peculiar; taste, at first sweetish and mucilaginous, then acrid. Water and diluted alcohol ex- tract its virtues. Effects.—A stimulant expec- torant, and diuretic; large' doses act as an emeto-cathartic ; some- times also produce diaphoresis and emmenagogue effects. Used as an expectorant, where there is no inflammation; in latter stages of bronchitis, humoral asthma, secondary croup, &c. An in- gredient in Coxe's Hive Syrup. Dose, 10 to 20 grains;—of the decoction (Decoctum Senegas, U. S.; (|j to Oiss water down to Oj) f^j to fsij, three times a day;—-of the syrup (Syrupus Senegas, U. S.), f 3j. 112 MATERIA MEDICA. Squill.—Already described as a diuretic. As an expectorant, it s much resembles senega, and is used in similar cases. May be advantageously combined with ipecacuanha, or tartar emetic. Dose, gr. j, several times a day;—of the vinegar, f 3ss to f 3j;—of the syrup or oxymel, the same dose;—of the tincture, 20 to 40 drops. Coxe's Hive Syrup (Syrupus Scillas Compositus, U. S.), contains equal parts of squill and senega, together with tartar emetic; much used in croup, catarrh, and hooping-cough ; dose for a child, 10 drops to f 3j, according to the age. Black Snake-Root. (Cimicifuga, U. S.)—Root of the Cimi- cifuga racemosa, sometimes called cohosh and richweed, an indige- nous perennial plant, se'veral feet high, having ternate leaves, and long racemes of white flowers. The root consists of a tuberculated caudex, several inches long, from which numerous slender, brittle radicles proceed. Colour, blackish; odour, feeble; taste, bitter, earthy, and astringent. Virtues to boiling water; strongest when fresh. Effects.—Not especially an expectorant, but a general tonic and stimulant to the secretions, especially of the lungs, skin, and kid- neys. In very large doses, it seems to affect the brain. Used in rheumatism, hysteria, and pulmonary disorders; also an excellent remedy in chorea. Dose of decoction (^j to Oj water), a teacupful, several times a day. Garlic. (Allium, U. S.)—Bulb of the common garlic, Allium sativum. It is about an inch in diameter, flattened, is covered-by a membrane, and consists of several smalt conical bulbs, arranged round a common stem, called cloves. Odour, strong; taste, acrid and bitter, depending on a volatile oil, which is of a yellow colour, extremely acrid and irritating. The expressed juice is the best for internal use; to be given mixed with sugar. Dose, f3ss to f3J- Used in chronic catarrhs, asthma, &c. Sometimes employed ex- ternally, as a poultice to the feet of children. Assafcetida.—As an expectorant, a good deal resembles garlic. A valuable remedy in coughs of a nervous character, as hooping- cough, spasmodic asthma, infantile coughs, and coughs of old people. Dose, 5 to 15 grains, given in pill or emulsion. Ammoniac. (Ammoniacum, U. S.)—Inspissated juice of the Dorema ammoniacum, an umbelliferous plant of Persia. Found in tears and in masses; the former is the purest; occurs in pieces of various size, spheroidal; of a reddish-yellow colour externally; brittle when cold; of a resinous fracture. The masses are of a darker colour, and contain many impurities. Odour, peculiar, in- creased by heating it; heat softens, but does not melt it; taste, bitter, nauseous, and acrid; chemically, a gum-resin and volatile STIMULANT expectorants. 113 oil, partially soluble in water and in alcohol; forming, with the former, a milky emulsion, and with the latter, a clear tincture. Effects.—Similar to those of assafoetida, arid the Other fetid gum- resins. Used chiefly as a stimulant expectorant, in chronic enfee- bled cases. Dose, 10 to 30 grains. Pilulce Scilla? Compositce, U. S.—Contain squill, ammoniac, ginger, and soap;—dose, 5 to 10 grains, several times a day. Externally applied, ammoniac causes irritation of the skin. Used sometimes as' a plaster (Emplastrum Ammoniaci, U. S.) Galbanum, U. S.—A substance much resembling ammoniac in its medical properties; not much used except for making plasters. Benzoin. (Benzoinum, U. S.)—The product of Styrax Benzoin, a native of Siam and Malacca. The juice which exudes on inci- sion, hardens on exposure. It is a balsam, used for obtaining benzoic acid. Balsam of Tolu. (Balsamum Tolutanum, U. S.)—Product of the Myrospermum Toluifcrum, or Myroxylon Toluiferum, growing in South America.—Procured by making incisions into the tree. When first procured, it is of a soft, tenacious consistence, but becomes hard and darker by exposure; odour, very fragrant; taste, pleasant and sweetish ; inflames by heat; soluble in alcohol, ether, and the fixed oils; boiling water extracts its benzoic acid; chemically, it consists of benzoic acid, volatile oil, and cinnamic acid. The acid may be separated by sublimation;—it is used in making the paregoric elixir. Effects.—A stimulant expectorant; used in chronic pulmonary complaints; a pleasant adjuvant to cough mixtures; dose, 10 to 30 grs. The tincture (Tine. Tolutana), and syrup (Syrupus Tolu- tanus), are officinal; the latter used to flavour cough mixtures. Balsam of Peru. (Balsamum Peruvianum, U. S.)—Product of the Myroxylon Peruiferum, or Myrospermum Peruiferum, growing in South America.—Believed to be procured by boiling the young branches; supposed by some, that both the balsams are the product of the same tree, one being obtained by exudation, the other by de- coction. A thick, viscid fluid, resembling molasses; colour, dark reddish-brown; odour, fragrant, less pleasant than that of Tolu; taste, warm, bitter, and pungent; inflammable; yields its benzoic acid to boiling water; chemical composition, the same as that of Tolu. Effects.—A warm stimulating expectorant and tonic, adapted, to the same cases as the preceding; used sometimes externally to in- dolent ulcers. Dose, f3ss. 114 MATERIA MEDICA. CLASS XV. EMMENAGOGUES. . Medicines which promote the menstrual discharge. It is questionable whether there are any medicines which specifically affect the uterus; most of them seeming to act by contiguous sym- pathy. As amenorrhcea is sometimes a primary disease, and some- times the result of other causes, the treatment must, in the first place, be directed to the restoration of the constitution to a natural state ; in plethoric cases, depletion will be required; in the relaxed, a tonic course. Emmenagogues are usually most efficient when given just before the expected period of the discharge. Savin. (Sabina, U. S.)—Leaves of the Juniperus sabina, an evergreen shrub, indigenous to Europe, and cultivated in the United States. It resembles in appearance the red cedar. As found in the shops, the leaves are of a greenish colour, strong, heavy odour, and bitter and acrid taste; active properties depend on a yellow volatile oil. Effects.—A stimulant to the secretions generally; over-doses are very irritant, and even poisonous; by some highly esteemed as an emmenagogue; its use very dangerous in pregnancy, in consequence of the irritation or inflammation of the uterus produced, bringing on abortion. It is questionable whether it has the power of directly exciting uterine contraction. Dose, 5 to 20 grs.; of the oil, 2 to 5 drops, three times a day;—acts as a rubefacient, when applied to the skin. Most of the drastic cathartics will prove emmenagogues, probably through the sympathy existing between the bowels and uterus. The two most employed, are aloes and blade hellebore. Aloes is one of the most efficient remedies in amenorrhcea, par- ticularly when combined with iron and assafoetida. It is contra-indi- cated in cases of inflammation or hemorrhoids. Dose, 1 or 2 grs., two or three times a day. Black Hellebore—an uncertain emmenagogue, as found in the shops; usually given in the form of tincture; dose, f3ss to f3j, two or three times a day. Guaiac is by many highly recommended in amenorrhcea. Dr. Dewees praises it also in dysmenorrhcea. Best given either in the form of tincture, or ammoniated tincture; dose, f 3j, three times a day. Seneka is also esteemed emmenagogue by some writers; it is a ERRHINES. 115 general stimulant to the secretions, and may sometimes promote menstruation. Canthartdes will often produce a decided emmenagogue effect; indicated only in cases of enfeebled action; never in cases of inflam- mation. Dose of tincture, 10 to 30 drops, three times- a day. A blister to the sacrum will'sometimes have the same effect. The Preparations of Iron are perhaps the most certain of all the emmenagogues; they are more employed than the others; the subcarbonate, or the sulphate, usually preferred. They are particu- larly indicated in cases of chlorosis; never in plethora; often com- bined with aloes. CLASS XVI. SIALOGOGUES. Medicines which promote the secretion of the saliva. Some articles effect this when'taken internally, as antimony, silver, nitro- muriatic acid, iodine, and especially mercury; others produce it by a topical or local action, as mustard, ginger, tobacco, &c. As re- medies, they are employed in paralytic affections of the tongue and throat; in diseases of the tonsils or salivary glands; sometimes as revulsives from neighbouring organs, as in toothache and earache. They are also called masticatories. They, are all described under other heads. CLASS XVII. ERRHINES. Substances which promote the nasal secretion. As they gene- rally excite sneezing, they are also termed sternutatories. They all .act by direct application; and nearly any foreign substance applied to the mucous membrane of the nose will produce this effect. They are used as revulsives in amaurosis, chronic ophthalmia, &c.; also in syncope; also to promote the discharge of accumulated mucus, and of foreign bodies. The most powerful errhines, are Tobacco, Ammonia, Euphorbium, and Veratria. 116 materia medica. CLASS XVIII. EPISPASTICS, Medicines which, when applied to the skin, produce a blister. Called also vesicatories. The Rubefacients will also blister if applied for a sufficient length of time. Effects.-—They act as general stimulants to the system; and are useful in typhoid cases; they will sometimes set aside a paroxysm of intermittent or remittent fever, by virtue of the powerful impres- sion produced. They are powerfully revulsive, and are used in diseases of the internal organs. It is advisable not to employ them in the very height of inflammatory diseases, lest the excitement should be increased. They produce local depletion by the serous discharge which they occasion. They also do good'in. certain cases, by substituting their own action, which spontaneously subsides, for some morbid action in the part, as in obstinate herpes, &c. They are also employed for their local stimulant action; for the pain which they cause, in hypochondriasis; and to procure a denuded surface for the endermic application of .medicines. Spanish Flies. (Cantharis, U. S.)-—The Cantharis vesicatoria is an insect from six to ten lines in length, by two or three in breadth, of a shining green colour. They abound in the south of Europe, and are collected in the summer by shaking them from the trees in which they lodge, and letting them fall into large cloths, which are plunged into hot vinegar and water, for the pur- pose of destroying the insects : they are then perfectly dried in the sun, and put into canisters. Odour, strong and peculiar; taste, acrid and burning ; colour of powder, grayish-brown, with fragments of shining green. Should not be kept in the powdered state, as it is very apt to attract moisture and decompose. Apt to be attacked by insects; virtues to water and alcohol. Contain a peculiar crys- talline principle called cantharidin. Effects.—Internally, a diuretic and emmenagogue; externally, it forms the best epispastic. The following are its preparations: Ceratum Cantharidis, U. S.—(Blistering Plaster.)—Made by mixing together yellow wax, rosin, lard, and powdered flies. This is the preparation used for spreading blisters. Soft leather, muslin, or paper may be employed, and the cerate applied with a spatula, without heat. The shape and size of the blister must be determined by the part to -which it is to be applied. Sometimes a thin gauze is interposed between the skin and cerate, which is thought to prevent the absorption of the active principle. From six to eight hours is rubefacients. 117 sufficiently long to allow a blister to remain on: if vesication has not then taken place, a warm poultice is to be applied. For children, a much shorter time will suffice. The best dressing is simple cerate; or, if to be kept discharging, basilicon ointment; if not disposed to heal, a mixture, of Goulard's and simple cerate. The strangury, often resulting from the application of blisters, is best relieved by an anodyne enema, and the free use of diluent drinks. Unguentum Cantharidis, (U. S.)—Used only for dressing blis- ters, to maintain the discharge. Prepared by mixing the decoction with resin cerate, and evaporating to a proper consistence. Emplastrum Picis cum Cantharide, (U. S.)—Emplastrum cale- faciens, or warming-plaster. Prepared by melting together the cerate of cantharides with Burgundy pitch. Used as a gentle rube- facient in chronic cases. It sometimes causes vesication, particu- larly if improperly made. Linimentum Cantharidis, (U. S.)—Made by digesting cantha- rides in oil of turpentine. A very powerful, prompt, and stimula- ting liniment, and vesicant. Used sometimes in typhus fever. Other species of the Cantharis possess vesicant properties, par- ticularly the C. vittata, or potato-fly, which is indigenous. It is smaller than the preceding, but resembles it in all its medicinal properties. CLASS XIX. RUBEFACIENTS. Medicines which cause inflammation of the skin, when applied externally. The indications for their use, as well as the principles of their operation, are very much the same as those of Epispastics. The latter are preferred when a slow and stimulant effect is desired; the former, where the impression is to be sudden and transient. Rubefacients cannot deplete like blisters; they are likewise inferior in their power of breaking up morbid associations, as in intermittents. As revulsives, rubefacients are most useful in spasms and nervous irritations; blisters, in local inflammations. Burgundy Pitch. (Pix Burgundica, U. S.)—Abies excelsa or Norway spruce fir, a lofty evergreen, native of northern Europe. Procured by stripping off the bark, under which it concretes in large masses; then melting in boiling water, and straining. A spurious pitch is manufactured out of rosin and common pitch.—It IIS MATERIA MEDICA. is hard, brittle, and of a yellowish-brown colour, of a weak terebin- thinate odour and taste ; usually contains many impurities.—Used in the form of plaster to the skin, where it produces a mild rubefa- cient effect. In some persons it brings out a pustular eruption. The pitch plaster, made by spreading the melted pitch on soft leather, is used in chronic pulmonary and rheumatic complaints, &c. Canada Pitch. (Pix Canadensis, U. S.)—Product of the Abies Canadensis or Hemlock spnlce, a native of Canada and the Northern States. The pitch, sometimes called hemlock gum, is a spontaneous exudation on the old trees; it is scraped off, boiled in water, and strained. It is hard and brittle, of a dark brownish colour, and feeble odour; heat softens and renders it adhesive.—Uses, and mode of application, the same as the former. Solution of Ammonia. (Liquor Ammonias, U. S.)—Prepared by saturating water with gaseous ammonia; found in the shops of different strengths. Applied to the skin, it produces a rubefacient, or even epispastic effect very speedily; usually employed in combi- nation with olive oil, in the form of Linimentum Ammonia?, U. S., or volatile liniment,—made in the proportion of half an ounce of aq. ammonia to two ounces of oil; an excellent mild rubefacient in rheumatism, and catarrh, especially of children; may be farther diluted if too powerful. Granville's antidynous lotion is made by mixing the strongest liquor ammonia with oil of rosemary and tinct. camphor; it is a very power- ful application, and will cause vesication in a few minutes; used in neuralgia, &c. Mustard. (Sinapis, U. S.)—Product of two different species, viz. : Sinapis alba and Sinapis nigra (Figs. 25, 26), natives of Europe. Two kinds of seeds are found, the white and the black; the former are of a light-yellowish colour, and globular; the latter are smaller, of a dark-brown colour, externally, and whitish within. They have no odour when whole; yield a yellow powder, which is decidedly odorous when moistened; taste, hot, pungent, and bitter; strongest in the black ; the outer coating of both is mucilaginous; both yield a mild fixed oil, on pressure. The active principle of the black mustard is a volatile oil, which does not pre-exist in the seed, but is developed by the reaction of water upon two organic princi- ples, named sinapisin and myrosyne. In the white mustard, the active principle is a fixed acrid substance, which does not pre-exist in the seed, but is generated by the reaction of water on sulpho- siuapisin and myrosyne. Swallowed whole, the seeds are stomachic and laxative, and are used in dyspepsia. The powder, in small doses, is stimulant; in large quantities, emetic. Externally applied, it is an active rube- ESCHAROTICS. 119 facient, and is much used under the form of mustard poultice, or sinapism, — made by simply stirring up the powder with warm water; flour may be Fig. 26. >.0 added to dilute it. It should not be allowed to remain on longer than from 15 to 30 minutes; never to produce vesication. Care should be taken not to leave it too long on persons insensible to pain, lest ulceration and sloughing result. Oil of Turpentine is a powerful rubefacient; used by saturating a flannel and applying it to the skin; some- times produces a violent in- flammation and eruption on the skin. Cayenne Pepper maybe advantageously used as a ru- befacient, by heating it in spirits, and rubbing it over the surface; particularly ap- plicable in the low forms of disease. Fig. 25. CLASS XX. ESCHAROTICS, OR CAUSTICS. Substances which cause a slough by destroying the life of the part to which they are applied. Some of them act directly, others indirectly, through chemical agencies. Used to form issues or run- ning sores, to repress fungous granulations, to change the character of diseased surfaces, and to open abscesses. The hot iron, or actual cautery, is the most powerful escharotic; not so much employed at present as formerly; occasionally used to arrest hemorrhage. The moxa is a modification of the actual cautery; it consists of small rolls of muslin soaked in a solution of chromate, or nitrate of 120 materia medica. potassa, and dried. When used, one end is set on fire, and the other placed on the skin. It acts as a powerful revulsive;—useful in deep- seated pains, paralysis, disease of spine, &c. Lunar Caustic. (Argenti Aritras Fusus, U. S.)—Made by dis- solving pure silver in diluted nitric acid, evaporating, melting, and running into moulds.- It occurs in cylindrical pieces, enveloped in paper to protect it from the light, which decomposes it. Colour, grayish-white; taste, austere and metallic; very soluble. As a caustic, it acts through its chemical affinities for the albumen of the tissue. It is a safe and excellent escharotic; particularly useful to change the character of unhealthy ulcers, whether common or spe- cific ; the best application for ulcers of the cornea; also to inflamed tonsils. Sometimes a concentrated solution is preferred. The weak solution is an admirable stimulant application, as already noticed under the head of Tonics. Potassa, U. S. (Common caustic, Lapis infemedis.)—Chemi- cally a hydrate of potassa; made by adding quicklime to a solution of carbonate of potassa, and evaporating the resulting solution to a proper consistence, and then pouring into proper moulds. Occurs in cylinders of a gray colour; very deliquescent; powerfully alkaline; very soluble. A more powerful caustic than nitrate of silver; apt to extend its effects, and consequently not so safe; used chiefly to form issues, which is best effected by rubbing a moistened stick of potassa over a piece of sticking plaster, applied to the skin, and having a hole in it of the size of the intended issue; sometimes used also to open abscesses, and to destroy poisoned surfaces. The strong solution sometimes applied to the spine, in tetanus. The Potassa cum Calce, U. S. ( Vienna paste)—is used sometimes to open bubos. Dried Alum. (Alumen Exsiccatum, U. S.)—Commonly named burnt alum; prepared by heating alum until deprived of its water of crystallization; a dull-whitish powder; a mild escharotic;—used to repress fungous granulations. Sulphate of Copper.—Usually applied in the solid form; in which state it forms the best remedy in granulated conjunctivitis. A strong solution is useful in cancrum oris; the weaker solution is a good stimulant, as mentioned under the head of Tonics. Arsenic. (Acidum Arseniosum, U. S.)—Procured in smelting the ores of arsenic; of a milk-white colour; vitreous fracture; trans- parent within, but becomes opaque on exposure; has no odour; taste, faintly sweetish; powerfully poisonous; soluble in water and alcohol._ A dangerous escharotic from liability to absorption.—Used chiefly in cancerous sores; also in lupus, and onychia maligna; should always be very much diluted before applying it. emollients—demulcents. 121 Corrosive Sublimate.—A powerful escharotic in the undiluted state, but seldom thus employed. A weak solution used as a gargle in venereal sore throat, and as a lotion in chronic skin diseases; recommended in onychia maligna, mixed with equal parts of sulph. zinc. More fully described under the head of Mercury'. The solution of the nitrate, and the acid nitrate of mercury, are also used as escharotics; -the latter especially in ulcers of the uterus. The Mineral acids are all powerfully caustic in the undiluted form; not used as such]"however; but employed, sufficiently diluted, as stimulant washes to indolent ulcers. CLASS XXI. EMOLLIENTS. Medicines which soften and relax the skin, when externally ap- plied. They diminish the pain and tension of inflamed parts, often assisting in producing resolution; or, if too far advanced for that, they aid the suppurative process. Their action is believed to be purely mechanical. They all owe their efficacy to moisture; in fact, water is, by some, considered the only emollient; a temperature above 62° F. is requisite;—aqueous vapour is still more emollient than warm water. The usual method of applying emollients is by cata- plasm, of which the best is that made from flaxseed meal. Nearly all the Demulcents have an emollient effect when externally applied. CLASS XXII. DEMULCENTS. Substances of a bland; unirritating nature, capable of forming a viscid solution with water. They are closely allied to Emollients; in fact, they produce the same effect upon the internal passages as the latter do upon the skin. They consist chiefly of gum, sugar, oil, or starch, and are useful both as adjuvants to other acrid or irri- tating medicines, and also, when given alone, to defend inflamed or irritated surfaces, with which they come into direct contact, as the stomach and bowels,—when they may be given either by the mouth, 122 MATERIA medica. or by enema. Also very much used in inflammations and irritations of parts on which their action must be indirect, as in bronchitis and urinary disorders; in the latter instances, they probably act by being absorbed. Several of the demulcents are much used as arti- cles of diet for the sick. They are also used, in solution, as vehi- cles for other medicines. Gum Arabic. (Acacia, U. S.)—Product of several species of Acacia, especially the A. vera, A. Sene- Fig. 27. gal, an&A.Arabica. They are thorny shrubs, or trees, growing in the deserts of Arabia, Africa, and India. The gum exudes spontaneously and by incisions. The varieties are as follows:—1. Tur- key gum, imported from the Levant; comes in small, irregular fragments, either whitish, or very light yellowish- red : among these are larger round pieces with numerous cracks, brittle, and completely soluble in. water. 2. Gum Senegal, from the western coast of Africa; larger fragments, darker colour, less brittle, of a conchoidal fracture. 3. Gum Barbary, from the northern part of Africa; has a dark colour, apt to contain impurities, less abundant than the others.—Guerin has discovered three distinct principles in gum:— 1. Arabin—found in pure gum Arabic, and which is completely soluble in water. 2. Bassorin—found in Bassora gum; characte- rized by swelling up considerably in water, but not dissolving. 3. Cerasin—found in the gum of fruit trees; distinguished by being converted into arabin by the action of boiling water. Uses.—Chiefly as a demulcent, in pectoral affections, diarrhoea, and dysentery; an ingredient in most cough mixtures; also in phar- macy, in the compounding of pills. Mucilage for drink is made by dissolving §j in Oj of water. The syrup (Syrupus Acacia?, U. S.), is chiefly used in pharmacy. Tragacanth. (Tragacantha, U. S.)—Product of several species of Astragalus, particularly of A.'verus,—small, thorny shrubs grow- ing in Persia and Asia Minor. The gum exudes spontaneously. Occurs in irregular, tortuous pieces, of a dirty yellowish colour; translucent, resembling horn; hard, but difficult to pulverize; con- sists chiefly of bassorin; swells up, but does not dissolve in water, —forms with it a paste. A demulcent,—used chiefly in the prepa- ration of troches. Slippery Elm Bark, (llmus, U. S.)—Inner bark of the Ulmus fulva, a large indigenous tree. It is stripped off in pieces several DEMULCENTS. 123 feet in length, and folded longitudinally. Colour, tawny ; texture, fibrous; odour, peculiar; taste, sweetish, peculiar, and mucilaginous. It is a good demulcent, and is used in dysentery, &c.; also nutritious ; generally given in infusion. (Infusum Ulmi, U.S.) The "powder may be employed by simply stirring in boiling water, and made of any thickness, and flavoured according to the taste. A poultice made from the powder forms an excellent emollient application to the inflamed skin. Flaxseed. (Linum, U. S.)—Seeds of the Linum usitatissimum, or common flax. They are about a line in length, oval, of a brown colour, and glossy. The cuticle abounds in mucilage; the interior contains a fixed oil, which is procured by expression, and called Lin- see(l 0n—much used in the arts. The mucilage is obtained by in- fusing the seeds in boiling water; not proper to boil them, since the oil would then be extracted, which is unpleasant to the taste; —proportions, gj to Oj of water, flavoured with lemon-juice and sugar;—much used in pectoral and bowel affections, and nephritic disorders. The ground seed forms with hot water an excellent emollient poultice. Irish Moss. (Chondrus, U. S.)—Usually called Carrageen;— botanically, Chondrus crispus. It grows on the rocks on the northern coasts of Europe,—particularly Ireland; also in this continent. Consists of a flat, cartilaginous frond, several inches long, curled, and of a yellowish colour;—odour, feeble; taste, slight; insoluble in cold water, but soluble in boiling water;—contains starch, pectin, and other matters. A nutritive demulcent, used in pectoral com- plaints, dysentery, nephritic disorders, &c. Decoction, made by boiling 3ss in Ojss to Oj. Made also in the form of a jelly, pro- perly "flavoured, as an article of diet. Iceland Moss. (Cetraria, U. S.)—Botanically, Cetraria Islan- dica (Lichen Islandicus); grows in the northern parts of both con- tinents—inland. It is from 2 to 4 inches long; dry, coriaceous, and smooth; deeply channeled; of a grayish-white and brown colour; no odour; of a bitter, mucilaginous taste; soluble in boiling water. It contains a bitter principle, Cetrarin, which renders it slightly tonic as well as demulcent;—the bitterness maybe removed by weak alkaline solutions. Used in chronic pectoral affections, attended with debility; also in chronic diarrhoea and dysentery. Decoction made by boiling Ij in Ojss of water down to Oj. * Liquorice Root. (Glycyrrhiza, U. S.)—Root of the G. glabra, growing in the south of Europe, having a round, tough, and pliable root As found in the shops, it is in long pieces, varying from a few lines to an inch in thickness; of a yellowish-gray colour exter- nally • yellow within; taste, sweet and somewhat acrid. It contains a peculiar saccharine principle called glycyrrhizin, which differs 124 MATERIA MEDICA. from sugar in not undergoing the vinous fermentation; it also con- tains some starch, and a resinous acrid matter. A good demulcent, —used chiefly as an adjuvant with other acrid medicines. Decoc- tion, made with 3j to Oj water. The powdered root used for sprink- ling over pills. Liquorice (Extractum Glycyrrhizcv, U. S.),—made byevapora- ting the decoction. The best is imported from Calabria. Comes in black, flattened cylinders, about an inch in diameter, shiny when broken; of a sweet taste;—much used in cough-mixtures and lozenges. Barley. (Ilordeum, U. S.)—Prepared for medicinal use by clean- ing the grain, and rounding and polishing in a mill; it then consti- tutes pearl barley. It is in small, white, oval grains, with a dark, longitudinal furrow on one side. Consists of starch, gum, sugar, and gluten;—apt to become musty by long keeping. Virtues yielded to boiling water. Barley Water. (Decoctum Hordei, U. S.)—Made by washing ^ij barley in cold water; then boil for ten minutes in a small quantity of water; throw away this water, and add Oij boiling water, and boil down to Oj ;—an excellent drink in inflammatory and febrile affections;—may be flavoured with lemon-juice and sugar. Arrow Root. (Maranta, U. S.)—Product of the Maranta arun- dinacea, growing in the West Indies and Central America; also in Florida. The root is perennial and tuberous, and is prepared for use by first washing, then beating into a pulp, and thrown into water, and stirred, so as to separate the fecula; it is then strained through a sieve and allowed to dry. The best is imported from Bermuda. It is a white, light powder; no odour nor taste; chemi- cally, a pure starch; often adulterated with potato starch; can only be distinguished by the microscope. A nutritious demulcent, par- ticularly adapted to children as an article of diet, also in bowel-af- fections. Given, by first forming a paste with cold water, and then adding this to boiling milk or water. The Canna root, or Tous-les-mois, is very similar to the arrow root: it comes also from the West Indies. Tapioca, U. S.—Fecula prepared from the root of the Jatropha manihot, or cassava plant,—a native of the West Indies and tropical America. The root is large, fleshy, and tuberous. There are two varieties, the sweet and the bitter. The latter contains an acrid, poisonous principle; still, it is the one most cultivated for tapioca, since its poisonous principle, being volatile, is dissipated by heat. The juice being expressed from the root, deposits its starch on standing, and is then dried by exposing it to heat. It is in irregular, hard, white, rough grains, with little or no, odour and taste. Pre- pared for use by boiling in water, which converts it into a sort of diluents. 125 jelly. Used exclusively as an article of diet; may be flavoured to suit the taste;—brandy or wine may be added, in cases of debility, or irritability of stomach. Sago, U. S.—Product of the Sagus Rumphii, or sago palm, in- digenous in the East Indies, growing about 30 feet high. The sago resides in the pith of the trunk; this is agitated in water, to which Fig. 28. it imparts its starch; this subsides, and is passed through a sieve, when the farina is deposited on standing, and then dried; this is common sago. It is in grains of unequal size, of a yellowish colour. The finest kind, called pearl sago, is refined by the Chinese; it is in small, round grains, whitish, hard, and sometimes translucent, with no odour, and a slight taste. It consists almost entirely of pure starch; insoluble in cold water; requires long boiling.—Uses and modes of preparation, the same as for tapioca. CLASS XXIII. DILUENTS. Mild liquids, which dilute the contents of the stomach and bowels; and which, entering the blood-vessels, render the blood thinner, and, at the same time, dilute the secretions. Water is the only liquid, strictly speaking, which can be used for these pur- poses; water is, in fact, the great diluent of nature. The additions which are usually made, are for the purpose of imparting flavour, or rendering it more nutritive. Diluents are useful in inflammatory diseases,—in cases of acrid poisons,—as adjuvants to emetics, &c, also to restore a proper degree of fluidity to the blood. The demul- cents form the best diluent drinks. 126 materia medica. CLASS XXIV. ANTACIDS. Medicines which combine with, and neutralize acids. Their action is entirely chemical. Although all salifiable bases are ant- acids, the only ones employed remedially are the alkalies, alkaline earths, and alkaline carbonates. They do good by removing excess of acid in the stomach and bowels, which is frequently the cause of disease, as colic, diarrhoea, &c. They are also useful in the uric acid diathesis, where there is a tendency to gout, and gravel. Magnesia.—One of the most valuable of the antacids;—very powerful, in consequence of its low combining number; used exten- sively in the colics, and diarrhoeas of children, either alone, or com- bined with rhubarb or calomel; also in sick headaches, gout, and gravel. Dose, gr. x to 3J-—The carbonate is given in double the dose. Carbonate of Soda. (Soda? Carbonas, U. S.)—Procured from the ashes of sea-weeds, in the impure forms of kelp and barilla; generally manufactured from the sulphate, by decomposing it with carbonate of lime. It is in large, rhomboidal crystals, efflorescent, very soluble in water; taste, alkaline; unequal in strength. Dose, 20 to 30 grs.;—of the dried salt, 5 to 10 grs. Bicarbonate of Soda. (Sodce Bicarbonas, U. S.)—Supercarbo- nate of Soda.—Prepared by passing carbonic acid gas through a solution of the carbonate, and crystallizing at a low heat. Usually occurs as a white powder, and contains some sesquicarbonate;—not so soluble as the carbonate, but less disagreeable to the taste. Given in dyspepsia, &c.; also used in making soda and Seidlitz powders. —Dose, gr. 10 to 3j- Carbonates of Potassa.—Already spoken of under Diuretics. As antacids, the carbonate is given in the dose of 10 to 20 grains; the bicarbonate, in from 20 to 40 grains.—The infusion of hickory ashes is sometimes used as an antacid: it owes its efficacy to the carbonate of potassa which it contains. Liquor Potassa?, U. S.—Solution of Potassa is an excellent ant- acid in the diarrhoeas of children; also in dyspepsia, used with bitters. Lime. (Calx, U. S.)—Used medicinally only in solution, under the name of lime-water (Liquor Calcis, U. S.);—made by dis- anthelmintics. 127 solving lime in water, and keeping it in well-stopped bottles, with a portion of lime undissolved, in order that it may be always saturated. It is colourless, of an alkaline taste and reaction; combines with the carbonic acid of the air, and forms a pellicle of the carbonate. Used generally in combination with fresh milk, as a remedy for irri- table stomach,—a tablespoonful of each, taken every half hour. Externally, in combination with linseed oil, as a liniment for burns. The carbonate is used internally in the form of prepared chalk, and prepared oyster-shells. Prepared chalk (Creta Prceparata, U. S.), occurs in the form of small, white, conical masses, insoluble in pure water, somewhat soluble in carbonic-acid-water. It is astrin- gent as well as antacid, and is very useful in diarrhoeas accompanied by acidity—particularly in children; dose, 5 to 20 grains, every hour or two. The Chalk mixture (Misturas Cretas), is made by rubbing up chalk with sugar and gum, and adding cinnamon-water. —Chalk is sometimes applied externally as an absorbent. Prepared oyster-shells ( Testa Prceparata, U. S.), are made from the common shells by grinding, &c, as for prepared chalk. They differ from it only in containing a little animal matter. Uses.—The same. The precipitated carbonate (Calcis Carbonas Prcecipitatus, U. S.), is made by the reaction of carbonate of soda on a solution of chlo- ride of calcium. It is a fine, white powder. Ammonia.—A stimulant antacid, given in aqueous or alcoholic solution. The Liquor Ammonias and the Spiritus Ammonias are seldom used internally, in the undiluted form. The Spiritus Am- monias Aromaticus is an excellent stimulant in languors, faintings, flatulent colic, &c. Carbonate of ammonia is also antacid. CLASS XXV. ANTHELMINTICS. Medicines which destroy, or expel worms from the alimentary canal. Some act by a direct poisonous influence upon the worms, causing their death ; others, by a purely mechanical method; others, ao-ain—as the drastic cathartics—through the increased amount of mucous exhalation produced. Pink Root. (Spigelia, U. S.)—Product of Spigelia Marilan- dica, an indigenous, herbaceous perennial, growing in the Southern 128 MATERIA MEDK'A. States. The root is the officinal part. It consists of numerous branching, wrinkled fibres, attached to a caudex; colour, brownish- yellow externally; odour, faint; taste, sweetish and bitter. It contains a fixed oil, and a peculiar bit- Fig. 29. tor extractive, which is the active principle, and some others. Large doses are ca- thartic and sometimes nar- cotic. It ranks high as an anthelmintic, destroying the worms. Given in powder'and decoction; dose of powder for a child two to four years old, 10 to 20 grains; often combined with calomel. The infusion (Infus. Spigelias, U. S.) made with Jjss to Oj. Often combined with senna, to insure its purgative effect. The Extractum Spigelias et Sennas Fluidum, U. S., is an excellent preparation; dose, Wormseed. (Chenopo- dium, U. S.)—Seed of the C. anthelminticum, or Jeru- salem oak, and also of C. ambrosioides, Indigenous perennial plants, growing throughout the United States. The seeds are about the size of a pin's head; of a green- ish-yellow colour, pungent taste, and a peculiar aromatic odour; virtues depend on a volatile oil. They are an excellent anthelmintic; pe- culiarly adapted to expel the lumbrici of children; best given as an electuary with molasses; to be administered for several successive days, and then followed by a cathartic; dose, 9j-ij. The oil is of a light yellow colour, grows darker by; time; given in the dose of 5 to 20 drops. ANTHELMINTICS. 129 ^-^Pomegranate Bark. (Granati Radicis Cortex, U. S.)—The bark of the pomegranate root is powerfully anthelmintic; useful in the expulsion of the tape-worm; best given in decoction made by boiling ^ij in Oij water, down to Oj; dose, one third, to be taken ib*every half hour. Pride of China. (Azederach, U. S.)—Bark of the root of the Melia Azederach, a beautiful tree, growing in the Southern States. The bark is most powerful in the fresh state; taste, bitter and nau- seous. In full doses, it is emeto:cathartic; overdoses are narcotic. Best given in decoction, repeated for several days, and then fol- lowed by a cathartic. Male Fern. (Filix 3Ias, U. S.)—Root of the Aspidium Filix Mas, growing in Europe and North America. The root is long, cylindrical, and flexible, covered over with the remains of the leafstalks. As found in the shops, it is very apt to be deteriorated. Colour, externally, brown; odour, feeble, but peculiar; taste, astringent and nauseous. It is slightly tonic, and very astringent; also anthelmintic; used to expel the tape-worm. Not much used at present. Dose of powder, 3J to 3iij ) of the oil, 30 to 40 drops; of the ethereal extract, gr. x—xx. Cowhage. (Mucuna, U. S.)—Legumes or pods of the M. pru- riens, a climbing West India plant. The pod is about four inches long, shaped like an Italic/, covered over with brown, bristly hairs, which easily separate when handled, and produce intense itching. Used by steeping the pods in molasses or honey, and then scraping off with a knife. It acts as an anthelmintic in a mechanical man- ner,—the spiculse, adhering to the worms, causing them to loose their hold on the intestine. Dose, of the electuary, a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, to be given for several successive mornings, and then followed by a cathartic. Oil of Turpentine.—Powerfully anthelmintic in large doses; particularly useful in expelling taenia; its purgative.operation must be always insured by combining it with, or following it by castor oil. Dose, f 3j to fjij. In smaller doses, it is very efficacious in removing the ascarides of children, to whom it may be given in combination with castor oil, or else by enema. Tin. (Stannum, U. S.)—Used in the form of powder, which is prepared by melting tin, stirring while cooling, and then passing through a sieve; believed to act mechanically; used chiefly to expel lumbrici, and tasnia. Dose, 3j to 3U, repeated, and then fol- lowed by a brisk cathartic. 12 130 materia medica. Calomel.—An excellent anthelmintic for children ; best adminis- tered by giving a grain or two every night, or every other night, and following, in the morning, with a dose of castor oil and oil of turpentine. It, no doubt, acts through the agency of the bile which is poured out. THE END. 'Xw Lli y. * i>,v/UI ^ KVIaaII vRi FU j-pfV B _y Vj IBB ..v.-.SEBP?*^'^ L^SmWW*