First principles of medicine / By Archibald Billing.

  • Archibald Billing
Date:
1831
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: First principles of medicine / By Archibald Billing. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    duces inflammation as a poison, but this is not to be referred to when considering the tonic effect of small doses of the mineral, the tonic effect being a modification of vital actions, the caustic or poisonous effect a des- truction of the machinery; there is no analogy between the disease which the tonic cures and the diseased state produced by the caustic poison. Therapeutics and toxicology require very different modes of investigation, and notwithstanding that expe- riments which have been made with poisons are very interesting and useful for the purpose of finding anti- dotes, they do not advance us much in reasoning upon the remedial use of the same substances. ° The tonic property is often combined with astrin- gency, but that they are not identical is evident from quinine or cinchona bark being tonic, tannin or oak bark not. Stimulants by temporarily exciting the nervous sys- tem when weak in some cases give the digestive organs more power for the moment, the new nourishment in- creases the strength of nerve as well as other parts, and thus stimulants and generous diet become in reality a part of the tonic plan, and from stimulants being so often administered with tonics, tonics have been thought stimulant, it is of the utmost consequence to know that they are not, otherwise there may be a fear of using them where they would be very beneficial along with evacuants and sedatives, for full doses of quinine may be beneficially used along with digitalis and bleeding on the one hand, or with wine on the other. Every practitioner acknowledges and recollects the benefits derived from tonics combined with stimulants,