A monograph upon aconite : its therapeutic and physiological effects together with its uses, and accurate statements derived from the various sources of medical literature / translated from the German of Dr. Reil, by Henry B. Millard ; prize essay.

  • Reil, Dr. (Wilhelm), 1820-1880.
Date:
1860
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A monograph upon aconite : its therapeutic and physiological effects together with its uses, and accurate statements derived from the various sources of medical literature / translated from the German of Dr. Reil, by Henry B. Millard ; prize essay. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    until, finally, (after two hours) the patient vomits several times. This produces a very favorable change: the pulse and respiration are more regular and frequent; the unnatural anxiety and depression disappear; the whole body becomes warmer: the crawling ceases entirely, but, in its place, there remains a certain insensibility of the skin, a feeling as if the skin were asleep. The head is no longer so painful and full, but much more confused and empty, as in sleepiness; the exhaustion is so great that, upon standing, there is such a giddiness, glittering before the eyes, roaring in the ears, pain in the head and face, and such weakness of the muscles that, in order to escape falling, the experimenter is obliged to sit down again at once. Almost the whole night is passed in this condition, and without sleep (with the exception of about two hours sleep about four o'clock in the morning). The next day, the prover lay, from morning till evening, as if half asleep. The memory and power of attention were very much dis- turbed, the pupils were dilated, the pulse now frequent, now retarded; after mental and bodily activity, there set in a feeling of tightness of the head, with pain in the head and face; the tongue, in the morning, was coated, and there was a clammy taste; the skin, all over the body, was cold and dry; the flow of urine markedly increased. In the case of IIeinrich, the other experimenter, though his provings were made with the same dose, there were several points of difference: The pulse was, at first, frequent, and twenty minutes later there came eructations, scraping in the throat, tightness of the head, the pupils were dilated, the sight was greatly disturbed, the head full and heavy. When forty minutes had elapsed, there commenced a tickling, at first on the tongue and lips, then extending to the face, and thence over the whole body. An itching of the skin was observed at the same time with the tickling, and, in some cases, distortion of the face; the skin was dry. An hour after, pain in the face and head set in. The headache was aggravated by bending the body forward. By and by were added these symptoms : Ringing in the ears and giddiness; the pulse grew slower (falling within two hours from 62 to 51), and was so small, weak, and intermitting that it could hardly be counted. The respiration was impeded, and with this condition there was a feeling as if the thorax were cramped up, and the secretion of saliva was increased. On returning home, there set in great weariness, and after going about for some time, pain in the elbows, knees, and hip-joints. This pain was lessened by pressure, but was not, at any time, wholly relieved. In about four hours, the pain in the head and face became very violent, and spread over the whole body; the tickling in- creased ; an inexplicable feeling of unrest took possession of II., so that he paced the chamber all night as if demented. The skin was now dry and cold; the breathing laborious, but more frequent; the pulsemuch slower (40 in a minute). In one instance, there were also observed violent eructa- tions, inclination to vomit, cramp-like pressing together of the stomach, and contraction of the abdominal muscles; thej-ewas, however, no vomit- ing. On moving about, there set in dizziness, roaring in the ears, and great sensitiveness to the light. The cessation of the tickling was followed by a peeling off of the epidermis on the face. Towards morning, II., being very much fatigued, lay down; when he awoke, he was very warm and in a perspiration. Several times after taking the extract; but especially in this case, II. had erections and pollutions, without lascivious dreams. On the succeeding day, H. was, in the morning, quite well, but in the college, where he was obliged to stand, he was very tired and experienced fresh pains in the joints. In one instance, little papules and vesicles, filled with serous fluid, which were very painful, formed upon the skin of the lower limbs. 5