A study of doses : essay LVII / by William Sharp.

Date:
1890
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A study of doses : essay LVII / by William Sharp. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    hundred drugs and their different doses, first to learn the organs of the body which are the seat of the action of each drug, and next to discover the best doses for each morbid process in these organs, the little band of pioneers will not be forgotten. II. Experiments. Opium. [Papaver somniferum). This drug is considered the most important of all drugs by the practitioners of the old school. But the uses made of it by them are in direct opposition to the uses suggested by the following experiments. Hahnemann’s remark, prefacing his provings of Opium is that “ it is much more difficult to observe the effects of Opium than those of any other drug.” This diflBculty seems to have been experienced by him because he did not attend to the different effects of different doses. Experiments in health. The experimenters were Dr. Sharp, Mr. Gr. M. Seabroke of Rugby, Mr. J. B. Haslam of Rugby, Dr. Applebe of Coggeshall, Essex, Mr. H. C. Shann of Yoi’k, and Mr. G. P. Richards of Edinburgh. Dr. Sharp.—From many experiments the results have been as follows :—In doses varying from one drop of Opium 1 {i. e. one part of Tincture of Opium to ninety- nine of Proof Spirit) to one, two, and five drops of Tinc- ture of Opium his pulse is quickened only; the bowels are slightly relaxed ; the brain a little excited ;—one action. Mr. Seabroke.—Took six drops of Tincture of Opium, and his pulse being 54 rose to 58 and then fell to 52 :— two actions. On another occasion he took ten drops of Tinct. of Op. and his pulse fell from 72 to 53 ; after some hours it returned to 64; this was attended with some drowsiness :—one action in the contrary direction to that of the smaller doses. At a former time Mr. Seabroke took, without knowing what it was, one di’op of Opium 1, night and morning for ten days; the effect was a considerable increase of appetite. A while after this he took five di’ops of the same centesimal dilution, night and morning for ten