852

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

cyamus is frequently preferred. Fouquier , whose observations wit} 1spect to the effects of henbane I have already had occasion to rete ^can find in this narcotic no useful property; and he thinks it ought 0banished from the Materia Medica {op. cit. p. 312). eDJ .

The following are the principal purposes for which it is ordinarilyployed in this country:— c6

1. As an anodyne where opium disagrees, oris from any circunos

objectionable. It may be used in neuralgia, rheumatism, gout, Postitis, the milk-abscess, painful affections of the urino-genital ° r 8scirrhus, and carcinoma. _

2. As a soporific it is available in sleeplessness, accompanied

great restlessness and mental irritability, and where opium, from n .j gmulant or other properties, proves injurious. Sometimes, where it ^to cause actual sleep, it proves highly serviceable by producing a cand tranquil state conducive to the well-doing and comfort opatient. _ 0( jjc

3. As an antispasmodic it occasionally proves serviceable in spasm ^affections of the organs of respiration (e. g. spasmodic asthma), aI *the urino-genital apparatus (e. g. spasmodic stricture and spasm 0 , [tl

sphincter vesicas). Notwithstanding the favourable reports of Stor

the contrary, it is rarely calculated to be of any service in epilepsy 1 ^

4. As a sedative , to allay irritation and preternatural sensibility- ^

troublesome cough it sometimes proves useful by dulling the sensi •of the bronchial membrane to the influence of the cold air. In nep* jj.and vesical irritation, and in gonorrhoea, it is sometimes a usem - tgstitute for opium. In the irritation of teething it is valuable q.power of relieving pain and convulsion. Its advantages over opl UII1,the disorders of children, have been already pointed out. eS -

5. To dilate the pupil the extract may be used as a substitute to

tract of belladonna, than which it is less powerful. pie

6. As a topical sedative and anodyne, fomentations of the herb, 0 , j eextract, are sometimes applied to painful glandular swellings, lXT 0 {ulcers, hemorrhoids, and parts affected with neuralgia. In irnta

the rectum or bladder it is sometimes used per anum. ,. pie

Administration.— The powder of the leaves is rarely employ ed ‘ e .dose is from three to ten grains. The extract and tincture are the Pparations commonly used. ' ^o-

1. Tinctura Hyoscyami, L. E. D.—(Henbane leaves, dried, [ 10 jjj

derately fine powder, E.] 3 v. [Siij. E.] ; Proof Spirit, Oij. [P’ sS ‘ re isMacerate for fourteen [seven, Z).j days, and strain. “ This tinct 0 fbest prepared by the process of percolation, as directed for Tin ctCapsicum; but it may also be obtained, though with greater l° sS ’the process of digestion,” E.) Dose, fjss. to fsij. . p ^-

2. Extractum Hyoscyami, L. E.; Succus spissatus Hyoscyamh(Fresh Henbane leaves, lb. j. Bruise them, sprinkled with a little e( j,in a stone mortar; then press out the juice, and evaporate it, unstr ^to a proper consistence, L. “ This extract is to be prepared

fresh leaves of hyoscyamus by any of the processes directed fo*of Coniuin,” E. The Dublin College orders it to be prepared fr°. ^ v sfresh plant of henbane, in the manner directed for the Succus sp li ^ 0]1)Aconiti). The average produce of extract is from 4 to 5 lbs- ^112 lbs. of the fresh herb (Brande, Diet . Mat. Med. p. 312). The q