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  • A short account of cardiac murmurs : being a portion of a lecture on "Modern cardiac pathology and diagnosis" delivered before the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh / by W.T. Gairdner.
  • Trentadil : at last- a real advance in the management of respiratory and cardiac insuffiency.
  • Trentadil : at last- a real advance in the management of respiratory and cardiac insuffiency.
  • Trentadil : at last- a real advance in the management of respiratory and cardiac insuffiency.
  • Trentadil : at last- a real advance in the management of respiratory and cardiac insuffiency.
  • For use in a salt free diet : Ruthmol, the chloride-free table salt : indications: cardiac disease with decompensation, renal affections, hypertension, slow healing wounds, tuberculosis, gout, obesity, allergic phenomena, eczema (idiopathic) / The Antigen Laboratories.
  • For use in a salt free diet : Ruthmol, the chloride-free table salt : indications: cardiac disease with decompensation, renal affections, hypertension, slow healing wounds, tuberculosis, gout, obesity, allergic phenomena, eczema (idiopathic) / The Antigen Laboratories.
  • For use in a salt free diet : Ruthmol, the chloride-free table salt : indications: cardiac disease with decompensation, renal affections, hypertension, slow healing wounds, tuberculosis, gout, obesity, allergic phenomena, eczema (idiopathic) / The Antigen Laboratories.
  • For use in a salt free diet : Ruthmol, the chloride-free table salt : indications: cardiac disease with decompensation, renal affections, hypertension, slow healing wounds, tuberculosis, gout, obesity, allergic phenomena, eczema (idiopathic) / The Antigen Laboratories.
  • For use in a salt free diet : Ruthmol, the chloride-free table salt : indications: cardiac disease with decompensation, renal affections, hypertension, slow healing wounds, tuberculosis, gout, obesity, allergic phenomena, eczema (idiopathic) / The Antigen Laboratories.
  • For use in a salt free diet : Ruthmol, the chloride-free table salt : indications: cardiac disease with decompensation, renal affections, hypertension, slow healing wounds, tuberculosis, gout, obesity, allergic phenomena, eczema (idiopathic) / The Antigen Laboratories.
  • Ornithogalum umbellatum L. Hyacinthaceae Star of Bethlehem, Grass lily. Distribution: Central Europe, SW Asia, NW Africa. All parts are poisonous, especially the bulbs. The toxin is a cardiac glycoside with effects similar to digoxin, vomiting, cardiac irregularities and death in humans and livestock. Only used for decoration by Native Americans (it is a non-native plant that has escaped into the wild from cultivation) and called Sleepydick (Moerman, 1998). One of its toxins is Convallotoxin, also present in Lily of the Valley, Convallaria majalis. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Skimmia japonica Thunb. Rutaceae 'Rubella' Distribution: China, Japan and E. Asia. The genus name is derived from the Japanese word shikimi (Stearn, 1994). All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing skimmianin. It is said to cause vomiting and, if eaten in large quantities, cardiac arrest. (Duke, 1985) Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Leonurus cardiaca (Motherwort)
  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy - normal female, chromosomes have been highlighted by a fluorescent probe for exon 45/47 (note the double yellow band). This disorder is caused by a recessive gene on the X chromosome, so is normally shown only by males, who lack a second X chromosome. The condition starts with difficulty in walking and climbing stairs in early childhood, usually resulting in confinement to a wheelchair by the age of 10, with death from respiratory infection or cardiac failure by about the age of 20.
  • Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca L.): flowering stem with separate floral segments. Coloured etching by M. Bouchard, 1775.
  • Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca L.): flowering stem with separate floral segments. Coloured etching by M. Bouchard, 1775.
  • Adonis vernalis L. Ranunculaceae. Pheasant's eye, the golden flowered spring (or vernal) Adonis, is named in memory of Adonis, the Greek god of plants, who disappeared into the earth in the winter and reappeared in the spring. The flowers were said to have sprung from his blood when he was gored to death by a wild boar, but this plant must have been the blood red Adonis aestivalis, the summer Adonis. Distribution: Eurasia to Spain and Sweden. Gerard (1633) recommends it for renal stone and intestinal colic. Lewis & Elvin Lewis (2003) note it is poisonous, containing cardiac glycosides (adonitoxin, cymarin, K-strophanthin) and flavonoids. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)) bans its use for ingestion 'no dose permitted' but allow it to be prescribed by a herbal practitioner on a one-to-one consultation. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Epimedium pubescens Maxim. Berberidaceae. Horny (sic) Goat Weed. Distribution: China. Marketed as an aphrodisiac, with the ability to act like sildenafil and for osteoporosis. Side effects reported include dizziness, dry mouth, vomiting and cardiac irregularity. It is not listed in Wiart (2006) or Wichtl (1994). Its reputation began, apparently, when a Chinese farmer observed increased sexual activity in his goats after they had been eating Epimedium. Given the enormous profits made by medicines such as sildenafil, it is indicative of its therapeutic value that it has not been taken up by a pharmaceutical company. Poor absorption from the gut and lack of information on toxicity may be responsible. It is not licensed for sale in the UK as a Traditional Herbal Remedy (Traditional Herbal Medicines Registration, January 2013) and has not been assessed or approved by the European Medicines Agency's Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux. Ranunculaceae. Chinese aconite, Chinese wolfsbane, Carmichael's monkshood. Herbaceous perennial. Distribution C. to W. China to N. America. Named for Dr J.R. Carmichael (d. 1877), English physician, plant collector and Protestant missionary from 1862-1877 in Guangdong and Shandong, China initially in Canton. He aided Francis Forbes to collect plants for Kew. Aconitum plants are so poisonous that Theophrastus states that death was the punishment for possessing them. Aconitine is the poison and was used - from Aconitum ferox - in the 'curry murder' in London in 2009. It causes respiratory paralysis, bradycardia (slowing of the pulse), cardiac arrhythmias, tingling, sweating, gastric cramps, diarrhoea and death, both by ingestion and by absorption through the mucous membranes and the skin. Despite this it is widely used in Chinese herbal medicine. It is a restricted herbal medicine which can only be dispensed by a herbal practitioner for external use following a one-to-one consultation, or by prescription from a registered doctor or dentist (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Senna corymbosa (Lam.)H.S.Irwin&Barneby Caesalpinaceae. Argentine Senna. Distribution: Argentine (other species from Europe). This beautiful shrub that flowers from midsummer until the frosts of winter, is the source of one of the best known of all herbal medicines – Senokot (and senna pods and senna tea), introduced to European medicine (as Senna alexandrina from Egypt) by the Arabians. Every part of the plant contains anthraquinones which, if taken internally, act as a powerful laxative to treat constipation by stimulating the nerve cells of the large bowel. Gerard (1633) notes ‘it is a singular purging medicine’ with over a page on its uses. When used regularly the nerves to the large bowel may be destroyed, leaving a permanently dilated large bowel that never functions properly again. This is a plant which causes the condition it treats to become permanent. Additionally, with prolonged use, the lining of the bowel turns black, serum potassium levels may fall, resulting in cardiac irregularities and sometimes death. Coma, neuropathy and hepatitis have also been reported. It is advertised on television (the actor involved is seen to be depressed and bloated until she takes Senokot, after which she is happy - Hippocrates would have attributed this antidepressant effect to the plant's ability to purge her of the black melancholic humour present in her bowel motions). It is available without prescription or health warning against long-term use. What do you think? Lyte (1578) recommends it strongly for depression, but one might claim to be cured rather than take it again. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Senna corymbosa (Lam.)H.S.Irwin&Barneby Caesalpinaceae. Argentine Senna. Distribution: Argentine (other species from Europe). This beautiful shrub that flowers from midsummer until the frosts of winter, is the source of one of the best known of all herbal medicines – Senokot (and senna pods and senna tea), introduced to European medicine (as Senna alexandrina from Egypt) by the Arabians. Every part of the plant contains anthraquinones which, if taken internally, act as a powerful laxative to treat constipation by stimulating the nerve cells of the large bowel. Gerard (1633) notes ‘it is a singular purging medicine’ with over a page on its uses. When used regularly the nerves to the large bowel may be destroyed, leaving a permanently dilated large bowel that never functions properly again. This is a plant which causes the condition it treats to become permanent. Additionally, with prolonged use, the lining of the bowel turns black, serum potassium levels may fall, resulting in cardiac irregularities and sometimes death. Coma, neuropathy and hepatitis have also been reported. It is advertised on television (the actor involved is seen to be depressed and bloated until she takes Senokot, after which she is happy - Hippocrates would have attributed this antidepressant effect to the plant's ability to purge her of the black melancholic humour present in her bowel motions). It is available without prescription or health warning against long-term use. What do you think? Lyte (1578) recommends it strongly for depression, but one might claim to be cured rather than take it again. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Pulmonary artery cells
  • Heart muscle cells
  • Clinical disorders of the heartbeat : a handbook for practitioners and students / by Thomas Lewis.
  • Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), X-ray
  • Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), X-ray
  • Developing heart tube in the chick
  • Human heart (aortic valve) tissue displaying calcification
  • Human heart (aortic valve) tissue displaying calcification