The animal alkaloids cadaveric and vital or, the ptomaines and leucomaines : chemically, physiologically and pathologically considered in relation to scientific medicine / by A. M. Brown.

  • Brown, A. M.
Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The animal alkaloids cadaveric and vital or, the ptomaines and leucomaines : chemically, physiologically and pathologically considered in relation to scientific medicine / by A. M. Brown. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    furnishing him with a precise increase of oxygen ? But, besides the oxidizers, might it not be possible to discover veritable antidotes to the narcotic leucomaines ? For example, al- kaloids antagonistic to these substances, as atropine is antagonistic to pilocarpine ; coffee, which wakes up the brain ; coca, which sup- presses, they say, for several days together, hunger and fatigue, are perhaps of the number. We must frankly add, however, that if a phar- maceutic product happen to obviate fatigue artificially, that does not imply that it procures by the same time organic restoration—the re- storative effect of a good sleep. It would be well, however, to guard against explaining too many things by alkaloids ; as M. Guerin has remarked, “having abused the microbes we must endeavour to avoid abusing the ptomaines.” But it is just to observe that it Selmi has seen all the importance of animals alkaloids, as regards forensic medicine, if Gau- tier, Bouchard, and others have indicated their role in the genesis of diseases, their important place in normal physiology still remains, to a larger extent, a virgin study, and one which promises fresh harvests in discovery. Already we catch a sort of glimpse that inebriation from work, inebriation from success, inebriation from