On the characters, actions, and therapeutic uses of the ordeal bean of Calabar, (Physostigma venenosum, Balfour) : a graduation thesis, for which a gold medal was awarded by the Edinburgh University, August 1862 / by Thomas R. Fraser.

  • Fraser, Sir Thomas Richard, 1841-1920.
Date:
1863
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the characters, actions, and therapeutic uses of the ordeal bean of Calabar, (Physostigma venenosum, Balfour) : a graduation thesis, for which a gold medal was awarded by the Edinburgh University, August 1862 / by Thomas R. Fraser. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    I have also furtlier experienced a dimness of vision, a supposed increase in tlie salivary secretion, or at least an accumulation ot fluid in the mouth, whatever its source, and a marked, though shght, perspiration. At this stage attempts to walk, or even to move the limbs, are difficult, and may be unsuccessful, while at the same time consciousness is perfectly retained. These symptoms reach a certain climax and then gradually decline, dizziness being generally the most persistent, and they almost entirely subside after a night's rest. The heart's action is described in Dr Christison's case as becoming irregular and tumultuous. The same irregularity has been observed in some of the cases which have come under my notice; and in many, the cardiac contractions have been found to diminish in number. In one experiment, eight grains of the powdered kernel, in an hour and a half, reduced the pulse twenty beats. (Experi- ment 2, Actions on Man.) These results agree, as far as they go, with the conclusions from experiments on the lower animals. The most marked symptom is the muscular paralysis, both of the voluntary muscles and of the heart. It is well known that important differences may exist in the actions of agents on different animals, as to the details of experiments, and as to the prominence which is given to one or more of these. This is well seen in the present instance, where the physiological action on the heart of man is, from the facilities of observation, shown with great distinctness. The epigastric sensation was one of the first symptoms in every instance in which I have myself taken the powdered kernel, or any of its preparations, and in every ease in which it was administered therapeutically. The sensation is rather peculiar, and its quality may be imderstood by some, by saying that it resembles tlie un- pleasant feeling whiclx is produced when a piece of solid food of too large a size is suddenly bolted. It is at first very slight, recurs at intervals, and is first perceived about fifteen minutes after the administration. It is accompanied by eructations, which generally occur during the sensation, being preceded and followed by it. In one ease it was produced by the external application of the tincture (Case 6, Section IV. Therapeutics). General muscular weakness has in each of the experiments been mentioned as a prominent symptom. It is very difficult to discover the immediate cause of this action,—whether it be due to a change in the inherent property of muscular fibre, or in the nerves which convey the impressions which act as the direct stimulants of these fibres. The latter view appears to be the more probable, because we have found that the voluntary muscles are distinctly removed from the influence of the will, and in an order the reverse of that in which an agency could be brought in contact with these muscles by the blood,—as the paralysis of the lower precedes that of the upper extremities. We have also seen that the function of the
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