Experimental researches on the physiological action of nitrite of amyl : (memoir to which was awarded the Warren Prize, for 1871, of the Massachusetts General Hospital) / by Horatio C. Wood, Jr., M.D.
- Horatio Curtis Wood Jr.
- Date:
- [1871]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Experimental researches on the physiological action of nitrite of amyl : (memoir to which was awarded the Warren Prize, for 1871, of the Massachusetts General Hospital) / by Horatio C. Wood, Jr., M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.
6/32 page 4
![Autopsy immediate.—Lnngs whitish. Heart presents curious vermicular waves of superficial motion running- through it, the wave commencing appa- rently at base of the heart, running through auricles and ventricles to apex, and then back again to base. No distinction between arterial and venous blood. Expt. 4.-4.34 P.M. Injected eight drops into peritoneal cavity of a young rabbit, and in 11 minutes twelve drops more. 4.48. Breathing very hurried • panting. 4.52. Rabbit still perfectly quiet. 5.07. Anaesthesia of cornea marked! Occasional convulsive startings. 5.10. Respiration ceased before heart. ^w/o»,s?/.—Everywhere quantities of dark blood. Spinal canal filled with it. Peristaltic action of the intestines very active. Expl. 5.—Killed a large female cat by twenty-two drops of nitrite inhaled. Death without convulsions. Autopsy exactly as in last. Expt. 6.—Pigeon. Four drops of nitrite inhaled. 5 min. Perfectly con- scious, but respiration very much disturbed. 9 min. Five drops more admin- istered. 11 min. Perfectly conscious; struggling violently. 15 min. Died in violent convulsions. Expt. 7.—Adult pigeon. 8.56 P.M. Injected a mucilaginous mixture con- taining nitrite into peritoneal cavity. 9.3. Begins to breathe deeply and labouredly. 9.9. Breathing not now laboured. 9.15. Has been quiet; letup; seems very active ; walks about lively. These experiments show that, as stated by Richardson, the nitrite of amy], when taken into the system in any way in warm-blooded animals, produces its constitutional effects. The train of symptoms that it gives origin to is somewhat peculiar, the most constant and prominent results of its presence being the rapid, deep, hurried breathing, and the steadily progressive loss of muscular power. Dr. Richardson states that the mo- tive forces of the system are at first wildly excited, and then subdued. My experience does not at all coincide with this. In only one instance have I witnessed any early manifestations of motor activity. In this case (Ex- periment 2) the sudden effort to break away was apparently voluntary, and was very probably due to the natural repugnance of the dog to having a bottle filled with suffocative vapour placed close to his nostrils. lu pigeons, convulsions are very frequently produced, but they come as a late symptom, only appearing when the bird is profoundly affected. Pos- sibly the total absence of early convulsions in my experiments was in a measure due to their being chiefly made upon dogs, cats, and pigeons, since Dr. Brunton states, in one of his papers, that in rabbits the nitrite very frequently produces convulsions. That in the few trials I have made upon rabbits spasms have not been prominent, may be owing to the drug having been employed hypodermically, as the authority just quoted states that the convulsions are very probably suffocative. Convulsions are, however, almost as certainly produced by spinal depressants as by spinal stimulants. Thus they are a very constant phenomenon after the administration of veratria, viridia, &c. The frequency of their absence after the use of the nitrite of amyl is somewhat peculiar; but their association, when present, with a steadily progressive paresis is unmistakable evidence that they are](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2147994x_0006.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
