1088
ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MF.DICA.
• i nf coun'
drastic purgative, sometimes proves serviceable on the principle uter-irritation or revulsion (see p. 45). . , tu be,
3. In obstinate constipation from sluggishness of the intestm a
elaterium is occasionally useful. But care must be taken to_ aS ^
that the constipation does not depend on any mechanical imp et ' nnhernia, intersusception, &c.) to the passage of the fieces. fo«n^
4. In gout .—A combination of elaterium and opium hasserviceable in gout (see p. 623. Also Sutton, Tracts on Gout, p* * - t0
Administration. —The dose of good elaterium is from one-sixtee^ sub'one-half of a grain. I hear and read of practitioners giving t on jystance to the extent of one, two, or even three grains; but this cbe from the bad quality of the drug. I have repeatedly emp*°) ’ r ofseen others exhibit elaterium, and have always observed that a q u . - n ga grain of good elaterium acted very powerfully, sometimes naway several pints of fluid; and half a grain usually occasioninging, as well as violent purging. I confess I should not venture t° e .a grain of the same preparation. It is usually given in the fo nn 1
The basis of the pills may be extract of gentian.
recti^
As elaterin (the active principle of elaterium) is soluble in 1 (tspirit, a tincture of elaterium (tinctura elaterii) may be empl°I®
A/\n p 1 \ac*i /loo nlo f ovi n a T*, + 4 /,«■ ^1 — — .1 *. «» ^*AC*1 T1 . > 1. t
contains, besides elaterin, a bitter principle and green resin, “^jglithas been given either in powder (mixed with sixty-four times its % - n(e )of bitartrate of potash), or in solution in rectified spirit {solutio elaby Dr. Golding Bird ( Land. Med. Gaz. xxv. 908) in doses of ° nteenth to one-eighth of a grain (see p. 1085). ^ e re-
Antidotes. —In the event of a case of poisoning by elaterivutb ^ a tli,medies would be demulcent drinks and clysters, opium, the warn 1 ^and fomentations to the abdomen; stimulants (such as ami® 0 to rybrandy) if the circulation fail; bloodletting to subdue the infl®® 1 j t .symptoms, should the state of the general system not contra-in<h c
Other Cucurbitacece, Dietetical, Medicinal, or Poisonous .The fruits of several cucurbitaceous plants are employed as articles
of f° n fb
employed as articles >*■ iQu'Cto"
Cucumber ( Cu'cumis sati'vus), the Melon ( Cu'cumis Me'lo), the Water Melon t . ((>-
Citrul'lus), the Vegetable Marrow ( CucuPbita ovif'era), the Pumpkin or P uB1 'thosecur'bita Pe'po), and the Melon-Pumpkin or Squash (Cucur'bita Melo'pepo), ar ^icb > smost frequent use. They contain a watery, sweet or acidulous cooling pulp*slightly nutritious when taken raw, and in some habits proves laxative. ., g frioi*!/The fresh root of Bryonia dioica is sold by herbalists under the name of to j bat 6and mandrake root.* Fashioned into a rude representation of the human «g u . ’ jjitte*seen it exhibited at an herb-shop as a sign. Bryony root contains a p e ? u j h aV ®matter called bryoxin. The root operates as a violent emetic and purgativ e - aCC iile Bseen one case of poisoning by it. The symptoms were those of cholera. tn ll . ll s cd.
occurred at the time when this disease was raging here, the practitioner who bi"*
in, concluded it was a case of cholera, and mistook a piece of briony root s at j eI )t (*as being part of what the patient had eaten, for a piece of turnip. The P^ ^yise*woman) recovered. Bryony root is employed as a topical applicationparts.
f 15l» cK
* At p. 880, I stated, on the authority of an herb-dealer, that the r00 ^ s ” 0 toBriony {Tamus communis) is occasionally sold as Mandrake ; but I have relieve the information to be erroneous.