COMMON HENBANE.

851

Won,

or cause constipation. Large doses sometimes induce sleep.Say l ^ U ' er ^ rc ^- Gen. de Med. t. i. p. 297), however, ’denies this, lie0 f ’ henbane causes headache, giddiness, dimness of sight, dilatationJUinl, a greater or less tendency to sleep, and painful delirium. Ineases these symptoms are followed by thirst, nausea, griping, and' Cr . Purging or constipation ; and, in a few instances, febrile heat and

s lei

of skin are induced. But I have frequently seen it cause

Jt Jjb though its hypnotic properties are neither constant nor powerfulUse ° re frequently fails to occasion sleep in those accustomed to theopium. Very large doses are apt to be followed by deliriumi s er than by sleep. Its power of alleviating pain and allaying spasmSjJ^^tly inferior to that of opium. In poisonous doses it causes loss ofhc(j ’ dilatation of the pupil, disturbance of vision, distortion of theUi e ’ Corna > and delirium (the typhomania of some authors) generally ofsjQ^raanageable, sometimes of the furious kind, and paralysis, occa-L a 7 with convulsive movements. Irritation of the stomach andUll v • s (manifested by nausea, vomiting, pain, and purging) is occasion-O^uced.—(For abstracts of cases illustrative of their effects, consultI a > Toxicol. Gen. and Wibmer, Wirk. d. Arzneim. u. Gift.)

Jv lts °pcration on the body, henbane presents several peculiarities,tfj' a °pium it is distinguished by the sedative, rather than stimulant,si , ls °f small doses ; by its not confining the bowels; by the dimness ofof > and, when swallowed in large doses, by its producing dilatation0 , * e pupil, and by its being more apt to occasion delirium. The last-'°ued peculiarity is noticed by Dr. Cullen (Mat. Med. ii. p. 272)..1; ler )n° re , in some individuals, opium causes headache, and otherboil ing symptoms, which henbane is not so apt to produce. Fromalj;_jOona and stramonium, to which it is in several respects closely0 f u> it is distinguished by the very rare occurrence of any symptomsFJo^fro-intestinal irritation after the ingestion of large doses of it.ueli n (ij ani ii u g S j h Heilm- Bd. i. S. 463, 3 le Aufl.) says, “ that

it

t] )(; Var >ts the resolvent operation and the stimulant influence overPyt Vasc ular system which belladonna possesses.” Vogt ( Lehrb. d.foil rr ^ a kod. Bd. i. S. 170, 2" Aufl.) ranks hyoscyamus betweenOpj . ° nna and hydrocyanic acid. But, with every respect for thehi ° ns °f so profound a writer, I

ini

cannot concur in the propriety of

the arrau gement. I have never seen, from the use of hydrocyanic acid,Pal SaTne tranquillizing and soothing influence over the mind and exter-of i^cs which I have repeatedly witnessed from the use of small doses1 Por/° s ?y amus > an d the effects of poisonous doses of these two agentsdrr, c str )bingly display the difference of their operation ; for, while hy-< lel;J an ^ c acid causes insensibility and convulsion, henbane producesand paralysis.

on, Es —Hyoscyamus is said to alleviate pain and irritation in variousPqj, s > to promote sleep, to procure quietude, and to obviate spasm.b(. of these objects it is greatly inferior to, and less confidently toth e i le( t on than, opium. Yet it is, on various occasions, preferred toS '*Pnt < r ’ as w ^ lere opium causes headache, or other distressing cerebralh)f] u 0llls > or where it occasions constipation. Again, the stimulantof small doses of opium over the vascular system, and theol^^cyofthis narcotic to lock up the secretions and excretions, forml0 ns to its use in the maladies of children ; in such, therefore, livos-