PURPLE FOXGLOVE. 845
Pulsation;—a circumstance also noticed by Dr. Holland.wh -ch f thC P rece ding, there are various other affections of the heart inover .1 ° x ^ ove may be found serviceable, either by its sedative influencet]ll . oi cncuHtum, or by its power of relieving dropsical effusion
6. In P/ ll inrC,ic Property-
n ary i n <-hisis —Digitalis has been declared capable of curing pulmo-Publi ? onsui n pti ° n , and numerous cases of supposed cures have been"dtin IW ' 15a .vle (Bibl. Therap. t. iii. p. 362) has collected from thett te Af* S Zanders (op. ante cit.) Kinglalse, Fowler, Beddoes ( Observ. onelucid^f a ^ emenf °f ^ ie Consumptive, 1801), Drake, Mossman ( Essay to]\j„ 1 e ^ le Nat. Orig. and ('annex, of Scroph. and Gland . Consumpt.),°f lM an ’ ^ en '' ar (On Diqit
(On Digitalis ), Magennis, Moreton, and others, reports
oared Cas , es , troated b y foxglove.i > and 35 reli pvnfl Hut a mi
7
° c cas.
"'Inch
Of these, 83 are said to have been. .. 35 relieved. But a more accurate and extended experience
pallia,-P 10ve d, that this medicine possesses no curative, and very slight
ir, jr Qr " O’ Powers in genuine phthisis: it is totally incapable of prevent-ing 0 c ausing the removal of tubercular deposits, and has little, if anynishi n , Ce i’ ln re farding the progress of consumption. Its power of dimi-
is, as e vapidity of the circulation cannot be doubted; but this effectthan ; r " Holland (op. cit. p. 551) iustly remarks, “ofless real moment
j generally supposed.”
,,• insanity and, Epilepsy. —In these maladies foxglove may prove^ nal v serviceable by repressing excessive vascular excitement,en Ce ot . S( ;“' e fimes accompanies them. Furthermore, the specific influ-coiitrii, l llS re roedy over the cerebro-spinal system may now and thentuve 0 f Ute v t0 ^ le beneficial operation of foxglove. But the precise na-\vliU e tl t US influence not having as yet been accurately ascertained,sid ej . i , le Pathology of the above-mentioned diseases is involved in con-ca,u 0 i e obscurity, it follows that the therapeutic value of this influence8t C- w . y bo ascertained empirically. In insanity, Dr. Ilallaran (Inquiry,to rt . ( ] u 1 Observ. on the Cure of Insanity, 1810) recommends foxglovetioj, oe vascular action after the employment of depletion and purga-ofthe M UlS been used in this disease, with success, by Dr. Currie (Mem.Bill T/i ^ oc " London , vol. iv.), and by Fanzago (quoted by I3ayle,v ice a bl t- iii. p. 320). In epilepsy it is, 1 conceive, less likely to be ser-'ascup 4 ? Jec . ause dds disease is less frequently accompanied with the'Ogly a ', e 1 Xc d ei n c nt, against which foxglove is most successful. Accord-ant lle in some few cases it has proved serviceable (Scott, Ed. Med.U'erciv^' f°. urn - 'fan. 1827), in others it has either been unsuccessfulOp s a ’ laid. vol. ix. p. 274), or has only given temporary relief (Currie,
In
°ther V” ^ ar . lous other diseases. —Besides the pi'eceding, there are severals i°n a l v ac ies against which foxglove has been employed with occa-'laoted i CUe df) as scrofula (Haller, Merz, Schiemann, and Hufeland ,yitalis, i f„i^ a yl e J Bibl. Ther. t. iii. p. 369) and asthma (Ferriar , On Di-
***' ^ ~ ■ - '*'»■» -«T-T7TI/r-J
and H'fO ; Fogo [asthma cured by an overdose of foxglove],glove J ° Urn - vol. xviii. p. 345). For other diseases relieve
p. 345)
Ed. Med.d by fox-
V’e T — r . _ _ f
a ad T»... 1 ? us f refer the reader to the works of Murray (App. Med. vol. i.)(°P- supracit.'i
r. Ss " ration.—T he ordinary dose of foxglove, in powder, is from
^ ICt: vi-liinntn/l , - (IV, • L.'1V
S’"- ss. U) gr iss repeate( \ every six ho1 • IxFusun Digitalis, C. E. D.—(