Emergencies : the etiology, pathology and treatment of the accidents, diseases and cases of poisoning which demand prompt action ; designed for students and practitioners of medicine / by Joseph W. Howe.

  • Howe, Joseph W. (Joseph William), 1843-1890.
Date:
1884
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Emergencies : the etiology, pathology and treatment of the accidents, diseases and cases of poisoning which demand prompt action ; designed for students and practitioners of medicine / by Joseph W. Howe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    first, and immediately followed by the preparation of iron. Cold water poured from a height upon the face, chest, and abdomen, and artificial respiration, are also recommended as efficacious remedies. WOOEAKA. The source of this poison has been the subject of con- siderable controversy. Schomberg thought it was a product of a plant called Strychnia ioxifera. JSTothing analogous to the action of strychnia has, however, been found in it, and there is no definite account of its origin. Prof. W. A. Hammond, from numerous experiments made with the drug, believed its action to be exerted mainly on the heart, paralyzing that organ. It was also thought to produce a paralysis of the sympathetic and motor nerves. Woorara is employed by the natives of South America to poison the heads of arrows. It exerts its peculiar efi*ects by being introduced through wounds. When taten into the stomach it is often inert. The symptoms attending a wound poi- soned with woorara are sudden stupor and insensibility, frothing at the mouth, rapid cessations of the respiratory movements and pulsations of the heart. Some writers say that the heart continues its action some moments after res- piration has ceased. Treatment.—^When the poison enters a wound, the part should be sucked and excised, and a ligature placed around the limb between the wound and the heart. Brainard and Green discovered that a solution of iodine and iodide of potassium neutralized the poison, and recommend its ap- plication to the wound, and also its internal administration. Chlorine and bromine are also said to have a similar efiect.