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ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.
priapism, copious diarrhoea, excessive thirst, trembling, emaciation, andoccasional syncope. The patient died after six weeks’ illness. Onanother, occasion this physician had the opportunity of examining thebody after death. In some parts the bowels were highly inflamed, inothers they exhibited an approach to sphacelation. The liver was verylarge, and of a pale rose colour.
Such cases, however, are very rare. In many which might be referredto, enormous quantities of iodine have been taken with very slight effectsonly, or perhaps with no marks of gastric irritation. Thus Dr. Kenned}',of Glasgow (quoted in Dr. Cogswell’s Essay), exhibited within eightydays, 953 grains of iodine in the form of tincture : the daily dose was atfirst two grains, but ultimately amounted to 18 grains. The health of thegirl appeared to be unaffected by it. It should here be mentioned thatthe presence of bread, potatoes, sago, arrow-root, tapioca, or other amyla-ceous matters, in the stomach, will much diminish the local action ofiodine, by forming an iodide of starch, which, as will hereafter be men-tioned, is a very mild preparation.
Modus Operandi. — That iodine becomes absorbed, when employedeither externally or internally, we have indisputable evidence, by itsdetection not only in the blood but in the secretions. Cantu ( Journ. deChimie Med. tom. ii. p. 291) has discovered it in the urine, sweat, saliva,milk, and blood. In all cases it is found in the state of iodide, orhydriodate ; from which circumstance he concludes that its influence onthe body is chemical, and consists in the abstraction of hydrogen. Ben-nerscheidt {Journ. de Chim. Med. tom. iv. p. 383) examined the serum ofthe blood of a patient who had employed tor some time iodine ointment;but he could not detect any trace of iodine. In the crassamentum, how-ever, he obtained evidence of its existence, by the blue tint communicatedto starch.
Uses. — («.) In bronchocele. Of all remedies yet proposed for bron-chocele, this has been by far the most successful. Indeed, judgingonly from the numerous cases cured by it, and which have been published,we should almost infer it was a sovereign remedy. How ever, it is to berecollected that of those who have written on the use of iodine in thiscomplaint, some only have published a numerical list of their suc-cessful and unsuccessful cases. Bayle ( Bibliotheque de Therapeutique,tom. l er , p. 394) has given a summary of those published by Coster,Irmenger, Baup, and Manson, from which it appears that of 364 casestreated by iodine, 274 were cured. Dr. Copland {Diet, of Pract. Med.)observes that of several cases of the disease which have come before himsince the introduction of this remedy into practice, “ there has not beenone which has not either been cured or remarkably relieved by it.” Imuch regret, however, that my own experience does not accord with thisstatement. I have several times seen iodine, given in conjunction withiodide of potassium, fail in curing bronchocele ; and I know others whoseexperience has been similar. Dr. Bardsley {Hospital Facts and Observa-tions, p. 121) cured only nine, and relieved six, out of thirty cases, withiodide of potassium. To what circumstance, then, ought we to attributethis variable result ? Dr. Copland thinks that where it fails it has beengiven “ in too large and irritating doses, or in an improper form; andwithout due attention having been paid to certain morbid and constitu-tional relations of the disease during the treatment.”