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ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

5. Absorption of Medicines.

Proofs. —The particles of most medicinal substances, when applied tothe living body, become absorbed and pass into the circulation. Twofacts prove this, viz., the disappearance of certain substances from a shutcavity into which they had been introduced,—and the detection of medi-cinal particles in the blood, secretions, or solids of the body.

a. Disappearance from a shut cavity. —Drs. Christison and Coindetfound that four ounces of a solution of oxalic acid injected into the peri-toneal sac of a cat, killed the animal in fourteen minutes. On a post-mor-tem examination, although none of the thud had escaped by the wound,they found scarcely a drachm remaining.—( Edin. Med. and Surg. Journ.xix. 335).

b. Detection in other parts of the body. — Tiedemann and Gmelin(Versuche iiber d. Wege avf welchen Substanzen aus dem Magen u. Darm-kanal ins Blut gelangen. 1820) have detected the following substances inthe blood of animals to whom those agents had been administered: cam-phor, Dippel’s oil, musk, indigo, rhubarb, lead, cyanuret of potassium,sulphocyanuret of potassium, iron, mercury, baryta, and alcohol. Byother experimenters, asaftntida, sal ammoniac, iodine, hydrocyanic,and sulphocyanic acids, &c. have been found. (For authorities consultMagendie ’s Elementary Compendium of Physiology, and Christison’sTreatise on Poisons).

In the solids of the body several substances have been recognized:for example, madder in the bones, silver in the skin, copper in the liver,lead in the liver, spinal cord, and muscles, mercury in various parts, &c.

In the secretions various medicinal agents have been recognized.—Thus, in the cutaneous secretions, mercury, iodine, sulphur, the odorousmatter of musk, of garlic, and of onions, and other substances, havebeen detected;— in the breath, several substances have been recognizedby their odour; for example, camphor, alcohol, ether, phosphorus,asafcetida, sulphur, the odorous matter of garlic, and of onions, &c.The milk sometimes acquires purgative properties, in consequence of theemployment of purgatives (senna, for example) by the nurse. Bitters,indigo, iodine, and madder, have also been distinctly recognized in it.In the urine so many substances have been discovered, that it will be mostconvenient to exhibit them in a tabular fonn. The following is takenprincipally from the experiments of Drs. Wohler and Stehberger, as men-tioned by the late Dr.Duncan (Supplement toEdinburghDispensatory , 1829.)

SUBSTANCES WHICH PASS OFF BY THE URINE.(A) Unchanged, or nearly so.

Salts.

Carbonate of potash.

Nitrate of potash.

Chlorate of potash.Sulpho-cyanuret of potassium.

Sulphuret of potassium. Tartrate of nickel andFerro-cyanuret of potassium potash .

(in 66 minutes.) Borax.

Silicate of potash. Chloruret of barium.

Borax.

Chloruret of barium.

Madder f (“ 15 minute:Rhubarb (in 20 minutes.)

Colouring Principles.

Gamboge.

Logwood (in 25 minutes )

Red radishes.

Mulberry.

Black cherry (in 45 minutes.)Cassia Fistula (in 55 minutes.)Elder rob (in 75 minutes.)