628

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

Hermodac'tylus, Auct.— Hermodac'tyl.

History. —Among the later Greek and the Arabian physicians, a medicine calle<lhe nnodactyl (epiiotSuKTVkos, from 'Ep/«js, Mercury or Hermes , and Sa/truAos, a finger) wasin great repute as a remedy for arthritic diseases. It was first mentioned by Alexanderof Tralles (lib. xi ), who flourished A.D. 560. Paulus of Egina (Opera, lib. iii. cap-78), who lived A.IX 650, Avicenna (lib. ii. cap. 352), Serapion (De simplicibus, cap. 194),and Mesue (Opera, p. 37, Ed. Bonon. 1481), also speak of it. It is deserving of espe-cial notice, that under the name of Surugen or Hermodactyl, Serapion comprehends thekoAx‘ k ^" a,l( l eyfifiepov of Dioscorides and the egjaoSaicTuAos of Paulus.

Natural History . —The cormi brought from Oriental countries in modern time 9under the name of hermodactyls, answer to the descriptions given of the ancient sub-stance bearing this name. I am, therefore, induced to believe them to be identical withthe latter. Their resemblance to the cormi of Colchicum autumnale leads me to rejectthe notion of Matthiolus, at one time entertained by Linnaeus (Murray, App. Med. vol-v. p. 215), and adopted by Martius (Pharmakognosie, 42), that they are produced byIris tuberosa. That they are the underground stems of some species of Colchicum ca"scarcely, I think, he doubted bv any one who carefully examines them. Notwith-standing the statements of Mr. Want (Med. Phys. Journ. vol. xxxii.) and of Sir H-Halford (On the Treatment of Gout), I cannot admit hermodactyls to be the cormi ofColchicum autumnale . Though resembling the latter in several circumstances, the?

five peculiarities. Some of the most eminent pharmacologists 0

stinct-

u»-

, be

possess certain distinctive peculiarities. Some of the most eminent pharmacologyEurope (e. g. Guibourt, Goebel, Geiger, Geoffrey, &c.) also regard them as distilThe Colchicum illyricum, mentioned in many works as vieldinhermodactyl, is

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required to establish the opinion. This plant is a native of Sicily, Crete, Greece , a 1 ,Portugal . Dr. Sibthorp (Prod. FI. Gracce, ii. 250) found it oil Helicon, Parnassus, a 'oilier mountains of Greece . It is not improbable, I think, that Colchicum bulbocodiomay yield hermodactyl, which Dale (Pharmacoloyia, p.245, ed.3* 1 *) tells us, is broug .from Syria . For Dr. Lind ley informs me that this species of Colchicum was f° u,lt r p( l eCol. Chesney near the Euphrates , where it was very common, flowering in March. ,cormi were not brought over. Iris tuberosa was not found there. Forskal (FI.

Arab . p. 77) found Colchicum montanum (which Sprengel, in his Syst. Veg. regal »identical with C. bulbocodiodes) at Kurma, in Arabia .

Description. —Mesue says that hermodactyl is either long, like the finger, orro> t j,eOf the round, he adds, there are three kinds, the white, tiie red, and the black^^^jwhite being the best. Through the kindness of my friend, Professor Royle, I l |ave . ^the examination of two kinds of hermodactyl, procured by him in the bazars of Nor' 1 ^

India, brought, he thinks, from Surat or Bombay, and probably imported therethe Red Sea .

1. Tasteless Hermodactyl. Sorinjan sheeren (i. e. sweet sorinjan), Royle. He 0 f

dactylus, Auct. uostrie eetatis.—In their general form, these cormi resemble tho= eColchicum autumnale . They are flattened, cordate, hollowed out or grooved ou j.side, convex on the other. At their lower part (forming the base of the heart) is a e

or disk for the insertion of the root fibres. Their size varies: the specimens I ft

examined were from J to 1^ inches in length or height, 1 to 1| inches in breadth,about j an inch in depth. They have been deprived of their coats, are externally ^yellow or brownish, internally white, easily broken, farinaceous, opaque, odou ,j oftasteless or nearly so, and worm-eaten. They are readily distinguished from the cor yColchicum autumnale by the following characters, which are correctly stated by Ge > e ,(Trait, de Mat. Med. t. ii. p. 79):—They are not rugose, are white internally, are 'W 0 (rately hard, easily broken, and form a whitish powder; whereas the dried c «r ,^ er ,Colchicum autumnale are rugose, softer, and have a reddish or greyish tint bothnally and externally. fanoW

2. Bitter Hermodactyl. Sorinjan tulkh (i. e. bitter sorin jan), Royle. ? Bulbs oj “

Colchicum (Goebel, Pharm. Waarenk. p. 271). ? ? Hermodactylus rubeus et h?

cenna and Mesue ). The cormi of this variety are distinguished from the prece

their bitter taste, their smaller size, and by having externally a striped or ' j-isb-appearance. Their colour for the most part is darker; in some specimens it 19 )( j ab* 1 " 1One cormus is ovate-cordate ; 1 inch in height or length, \ of an iuch broad, ^'^iii^!J of an inch thick, grooved or hollowed on one side, convex on the other; »> a (r ^ u dii*‘ )yellow colour, semi-transparent, has a horny appearance, and is marked by h> u S