Medicines, their uses and mode of administration : including a complete conspectus of the three British pharmacopoeias, an account of all the new remedies, and an appendix of formulae / by J. Moore Neligan.
- John Neligan
- Date:
- 1849
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Medicines, their uses and mode of administration : including a complete conspectus of the three British pharmacopoeias, an account of all the new remedies, and an appendix of formulae / by J. Moore Neligan. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
87/504
!['he intestines, and i1 us the fecal evacuations are rendered more liquid and more copious. In many, both these properties are united : and some extend their stimulus to the neighbouring viscera also, and hence produce an increased discharge of the supplementary intestinal secretions, as the bile and pancreatic juice. Cathartics also differ as to the part of the intestinal canal on which they act; the effects of some being confined to the small, of others to the large intestines; while many of them appear to stimulate the entire tube. They differ, moreover, s to the degree in which they produce their effects, and hence have been generally divided into three classes :—Laxatives, which operate so mildly as merely to produce the evacuation of the intestinal contents without causing increased secretion or stimulating any of the neighbouring viscera :—Purgatives properly so called, which, besides remarkably increasing the peristaltic action of the in- testines, occasion increased excretion of the fluids from the exhalent vessels, and from the neighbouring viscera, and also extend their stimulant effects to the system in general:—And Drastic or liydragogue cathartics, which operate in the same manner as purgatives, but with muoh greater energy, and which if given in an overdose, produce in- flammation of the intestines, characterised by constant vomiting and purging, and intense pain. Although for the sake of simplicity in our classification we have arranged the remedies belonging to those three divisions under the one head Cathartics ; in prescribing them, due at- tention must be paid to the distinctions in their mode of operation, so as to fulfil the indications for which they may be administered. These distinctions will be more conveniently considered, when treat- ing of the therapeutical effects of the individual remedies of this class. Aloe, [U. S.] L. Aloe socotrina, D. E. Aloes; Socotrine aloes; From (Inspissated juice of the leaves of, Ij.)Aloe spicata, D- L- ; —of an undetermined species of Aloe, E. Aloe hkpatica, D. Aloe barbadensis, E. Aloe indica, E. Hepatic aloes ; Barbadoes aloes ; Indian aloes.—From Aloe vulgaris, D. Extract or unspissated juice, of one or more undetermined species of Aloe, E. The Edinburgh College correctly states, that aloes is ob- tained from various species of the genus Aloe ; they are inhabitants of the East and West Indies, Socotora, Barbary, and the Cape of Good Hope ; and belong to the Natural family Liliacece, and to the Linnasan class and order Hexandria Monogynia. Botanical Characters.—The species of the genus Aloe from which the drug is obtained, are generally characterized by having woody stems, with large, fleshy, amplexicaul, leaves, glaucous, flat above and convex below, having marginal spines or serratures; Flowers, numerous, in spikes or ra- cemes, tubular, coloured ; stamens exseited. Preparation.—It is obtained by cutting the leaves transversely near their base, and evaporating the juice, which flows spontaneously from them, either in the sun or with the aid of heat ,• sometimes the flow of juice from the leaves is aided by plunging them in hot water; and sometimes by pressure, when an interior sort of aloes is obtained ; a still worse description is pro- cured by evaporating a decoction of the leaves. Physical Properties.—Obtained in these different ways, and from various parts of the world, aloes differs much in its physical properties, consequently several varieties of the drug are met with in commerce. 6*](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21143602_0087.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
