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  • 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.
  • A man holding a tobacco pipe and blowing a smoke ring. Mezzotint by A. Blooteling (Bloteling) after P. Staverenus.
  • An écorché face showing the state of the facial muscles during relaxation. Stipple engraving by H. Singleton (?) after G.T. Stubbs after G. Stubbs, 1815.
  • An écorché face showing the state of the facial muscles during relaxation. Stipple engraving by H. Singleton (?) after G.T. Stubbs after G. Stubbs, 1815.
  • An écorché face showing the state of the facial muscles during relaxation. Stipple engraving by H. Singleton (?) after G.T. Stubbs after G. Stubbs, 1815.
  • An écorché face showing the movements of facial muscles during laughter. Stipple engraving by H. Singleton (?) after G.T. Stubbs after G. Stubbs, 1815.
  • An écorché face showing the movements of facial muscles during laughter. Stipple engraving by H. Singleton (?) after G.T. Stubbs after G. Stubbs, 1815.
  • An écorché face weeping, showing the muscles involved. Stipple engraving by H. Singleton (?) after G.T. Stubbs after G. Stubbs, 1815.
  • An écorché face showing the movements of facial muscles during laughter. Stipple engraving by H. Singleton (?) after G.T. Stubbs after G. Stubbs, 1815.
  • An écorché face weeping, showing the muscles involved. Stipple engraving by H. Singleton (?) after G.T. Stubbs after G. Stubbs, 1815.