Constitutional syphilis : being a practical illustration of the disease in its secondary and tertiary phases / by James George Beaney.

  • Beaney, James George, 1828-1891.
Date:
1872
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Constitutional syphilis : being a practical illustration of the disease in its secondary and tertiary phases / by James George Beaney. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    who came to me with tertiaries of a very serious character, and who now, after taking the porchloride of mercury, chlorate of potash, and hydrochloric acid, for seven months, is almost perfectly cured. During all this time there has not been any approach whatever to ptyalism, nor any symptom of mercurial irritation. Mercury could in this way be given for any length of time without fear of constitutional disturbance. No attempt has yet been made, of a satisfactory nature, to account for the singular influence which certain drugs have, in so controlling the operation of mercury over the animal organism. It is one of the triumphs of medical science that such a discovery has been made, by which the long- dreaded baneful effects of the powerful drug have been controlled. Now it is as completely under the mastery of the physician as steam is under that of the engineer. We can utilise its beneficial medicinal qualities, without the pro- cess being marred by the activity of its more irritating and corroding qualities. It is interesting to inquire into the rationale of this valuable influence which certain medicines exercise over mercury when in combination with it. Iodine and chlorate of potash are the chief agents in this important modification of its effects upon the organism, and deserve especial notice. Those of us in the profession who have adopted the practice of administering them with mercury, have discovered by experience that they are invaluable in this sense, and find that the efficiency and safety of mercurial medication is only under these circumstances fully secured. To me, the solu- tion of the modus operandi has long been a desideratum, and the only feasible one that presents itself is found in the special function of the iodine and chlorate of potash themselves. These drugs manifestly have the property of influencing the glandular system more particularly. They