Pharmacology : action and uses of drugs / by Maurice Vejux Tyrode.

  • Tyrode, Maurice Vejux, 1878-
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Pharmacology : action and uses of drugs / by Maurice Vejux Tyrode. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    small doses, to increase the bronchial secretion. This increase is a secondary action brought about by the first stage of nausea and is equivalent to that observed in spontaneous nausea and vomiting or in seasickness. The chief members of the group are certain alkaloids, Em- etine and Cephaline found in Ipecacuanha, Quebrachine, As- pidosamine, etc., found in the Quebracho bark, and lastly Apomorphine, the artificial emetic, made by boihng morphine with hydrochloric acid. EMETINE when given to a man in small doses, produces a feeling of nausea and a marked increase in the bronchial secretions, but if the dose is large, vomiting occurs in from half an hour to an hour and may be repeated a few times until the drug has been all ejected from the stomach. Diarrhoea frequently accom- panies vomiting, and in dogs, marked inflammation of the stomach and intestines is usually observed. On postmortem examination, the mucous membrane is swollen, reddened and contains many ecchymoses just as after arsenical poisoning. Such evidences of irritation of the gastro-intestinal tract may even be observed after subcutaneous administration, a fact which tends to show that this drug is excreted, at least in part, by the stomach and bowels. The site of injection also shows marked inflammation and often pustulation. The kidneys are frequently irritated. All these evidences of local irritation and the fact that the vomiting is not very prompt, suggest that the emesis is due to a local action on the stomach rather than to stimulation of the vomiting centre. In warm-blooded animals the blood pressure is lowered, and death takes place from paralysis of the heart when emetine is given in sufflcient doses intravenously or subcutaneously. Cold- blooded animals also show a paralysis of the heart muscle, of the central nervous system and a decrease of the irritability of the striated muscles. APOMORPHINE is the most exceUent emetic, for it acts in a specific way by stimulation of the vomiting centre. When given to a man or dog subcutaneously in sufficient doses, it causes pro-