IPECACUANHA.

1021

*!, C ls ex ceedingly safe, since inflammation is not produced by it, evenl'h ^ 0Ver ^ ose has been swallowed.

d llCe d '°unting produced by ipecacuanha is not so violent as that in-sucjj einet >c tartar, neither is it so long continued, nor attended withf )o \\- e ^ laUst ' a ' Furthermore, ipecacuanha is less disposed to act on the"ell S ^? le tonic and astringent qualities of the zincic compounds, asst an ,as want of diaphoretic power, distinguish these emetic sub-exp„ , S hom ipecacuanha. Squill (with which ipecacuanha agrees in itsand b °^ an ^ an d emetic qualities) is distinguished by its greater acridity,is y y hs influence not being concentrated on the pulmonary organs, as1'Otygj. Case w 'tli ipecacuanha, which Goes not, therefore, possess that°f stimulating the urinary organs possessed by squill (see pp.

dnppd® m °st remarkable of the effects of ipecacuanha seem to be pro-s ays agency of the eighth pair of nerves. “ How singular it is,”

ipecac * ( Lectures in the “ Lancet” for April 21, 1838), “ that

into t r lan ia taken into the bronchia should excite asthma, and takentern . 6 s i° lnac h should induce another affection of the respiratory sys-rt,i’J 0l ''iting.” Sundelin ( Handb. d. sp. Heilmittell. ii. 5) ascribes thelgpj, "mtion of the bronchial membrane, and the congestion of theby 1 animals killed by emetine, not.to the specific stimulus exertedhaa st - S Sll bstance over the pulmonary mucous membrane, but to an ex-sijpii ar ^ s ti n >ulus over the eighth pair of nerves, by which a conditionserygd"./° suffocative catarrh ( Steckflus) is brought on ; for he has ob-tlffg dj ltle sa me appearances in the bodies of persons who have died ofbro n , Sease ) where there was certainly no inflammatory condition of the(j* 1 Membrane, but a paralytic condition of its small bloodvessels.sip a u s ’"~'Ipecacuanha is employed in full doses as an emetic, or inj e S floses as an expectorant and nauseant.ip e ' n f u U doses, as an emetic. —The mildness of its operation adaptsob,- Uaaha for the use of delicate and debilitated persons, where ourWe)] C(f S , merel y to evacuate the contents of the stomach. Thus it is"hen tli ^° r ^ ie ( h sor( l ers °f children requiring the use of emetics (asOn ac e st omach is overloaded with food, in hooping-cough, croup, &c.)ce e ,c °. Un t °f the mildness and certainty of its action. It is also ex-dis 0r( i^ y useful for adults (especially delicate females); thus, in gastricpr<) mo ? r ' s ’t° evacuate undigested acrid matters from the stomach,—toUien Ce ° l le Passage of biliary calculi,—as a counter-irritant at the com-Ca tarrh ^ ^vers,—in many inflammatory diseases (as acute mucous

as an ’ c yuanche, hernia humoralis, and ophthalmia),—in asthma,—andt° exch VaCUant * n cases narcotic poisoning. When the indication is{ftJeil q, gentle vomiting in very weak and debilitated frames, Dr. PyeWith the * an ^ v °h u 240) has shown it may be effected frequentlyfo Ur . utmost ease and safety by ipecacuanha in doses of from two to"ith re aiDS ^ r ' Sullen (Mat. Med. ii. 474) has expressed some doubtthat tenS r to the correctness of this statement; but it is well knownU°t Stums of Dover’s powder (containing one grain of ipecacuanha)Th e C H" e utly causes vomiting.

i P e cacMi dness °f * ts °P era tion is not the only ground for preferringPulijjoj. nila 1° other emetic substances. Its specific power over thethese u ^ or S ans an( l the stomach leads us to prefer it in maladies off arts, i n which vomiting is likely to be beneficial; especially in