Researches into the action of mercury, podophylline, and taraxacum on the biliary secretion : being the report of the Edinburgh Committee of the British Medical Association / by John Hughes Bennett.

  • Bennett, John Hughes, 1812-1875.
Date:
1869
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Researches into the action of mercury, podophylline, and taraxacum on the biliary secretion : being the report of the Edinburgh Committee of the British Medical Association / by John Hughes Bennett. 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.

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    Amount of Bile secreted in Tiventy-four Hours, in Grains. June 11 1628-00 „ 12 1767-700 t„ 13 2293-527 „ 14 1819-636 „ 15 896-680 t„ 16 1639-968 „ 17 518-701 „ 18 1810-450 19 817-717 July 1 2168-051 2 2941-239 t„ 3 3148-400 „ 4 2560-300 „ 5 2881-500 „ 6 2644-300 t„ 7 2673-900 „ 8 1963-500 Dr. Scott concluded that all the trials gave hut one result, viz. a dimi- nution in the amount of bile and hile solids secreted after the administration of large doses of calomel. We are of opinion, however, that the diminution is not nearly so great as he has made it appear ; thus, for example, if in the first trial we set aside the results of June 12th (as Dr. Scott has done), and only take the amount of bile secreted during the twenty-four hours previous and subsequent to the administration of calomel (as Dr. Scott has done in the second trial), the amount of decrease will be considerably less than he has calculated it to be. Again, if we take the average amount of bile collected during two days previous and two days subsequent to the administration of the second dose of calomel, the result will be very different from what Dr. Scott's calcula- tions make it. Instead of a diminution of 1121 grains, it will amount only to 104 grains; and we must not overlook the fact that on the day when the calomel was administered the dog did not get any food. Dr. Scott does not mention at what hour of the morning the bile was collected. If we suppose it was collected at 10 o'clock a.m., twenty-three hours would thus be left for the action of the calomel, which was ad- ministered at 11 o'clock A.M. on the preceding day. It might be said that the action of the calomel would not be exhausted in that time, and that we ought not, therefore, to admit the collection of bile of the 15th into the cal- culation for obtaining a daily average amount on the two days previous to the administration of the calomel. On June 18th, however, the second day after the second administration of calomel, the amount of biliary secretion increased from 518 grains on the 17th to 1810 grains on the 18th, 171 grains more than the quantity secreted on the 16th, a day on which calomel could not have had any influence on the amount. Consequently we must conclude that the influence of the calomel did not extend, in this case, to the second day after its administration; or, if it did, it was not to diminish, but to in- crease very largely the secretion. Up to the present time we know little or nothing of the duration of the action of a dose of calomel on the biliary secre- tion ; so that we have no reason to assign a period of two days, rather than of one or of three, as the duration of its action. . It would be to ascribe in the one case an increase and in the other a diminution to the same cause; that is, the action of the mercury on the second day after its administration. In short, the number of Dr. Scott's observations are far too few, and not sufficiently long continued, to allow us to draw any definite conclusions from them. It must, I think, be evident, from this notice of all that has been previously accomplished, that no exact information has yet been obtained as to the in- fiuence of mercury on the secretion of bile, or as to any other action it may exercise on the liver.