1168
ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.
of
colic, but rarely purges: The carbonated alkalies, lime water, nitrasilver, the acetates of lead, sulphate of iron, &c. form precipitates "the infusion of senna. g j s
Physiological Effects, (a.) On animals .—In doses of five or :
1 Gift *: ll -
Courten (Wibmer, Wirk. Arzneim. u.e veins of a dog; it quickened theThe animal appeared weak, was dull;
iected half *
ounces it purges horses. _ v _,.. . .
67) threw an infusion into the veins of a dog; it quickened the ^respn -tion, and caused vomiting,had no inclination to eat.
(■ b .) On man .—Regnandot (Wibmer, op. supra cit.) injtspoonful of weak luke-warm infusion of senna into the left medianof a young man affected with an herpetic eruption. The only e aproduced was a slight temporary headache. Some days afterivarc -spoonful was injected : in half an hour violent shivering and voun »came on, which were followed by heat and purging. The febrile sj Btoms continued for several hours. Taken by the stomach senna actsa sure and safe purgative. Its ill effects are nausea, griping, flatufcand, at first, depression, afterwards excitement of the pulse. It apP 6 vto stimulate the abdominal and pelvic vessels, thereby having a tendcto promote the hemorrhoidal and menstrual discharges. It is one ofmildest of the drastic purgatives. Unlike scammony, gamboge, jaUJand most other drastics,it does not rank among poisons, even wheng 1 '.^
in large doses. It
is distinguished from
the saline purgatives
w ^ — a - *-> i •
stronger and more irritant operation, by the heat, gripings, and mo jtfrequency of pulse, which attend its purgative action. From rhubdiffers in being more powerful and irritant in its operation, in n jnearly or quite devoid of any tonic operation. It acts more speedi f^ eS .powerfully than aloes, and in a less marked manner on the largetines. In its operation it appears to rank between jalap and aloes. rThe petioles and stalks possess similar properties to the leaflets- ^merly the griping quality of senna was ascribed to the stalks, bu ^Bergius (Mat. Med. i. 354) and Schwilgue (Traite de Mat. Med. in ^have proved the error of this notion. The legumes are much mitheir operation than the leaflets. ^ e %-
Good East Indian Senna is almost, if not quite, as active as the v>andrian. Mr. Twining (Trans. Med. and Phys. Soc. of Calcutta ,p. 433), after extensively trying it, declared it equal to the best ve( bever seen. The obovate senna appears to be milder than the acute-The Senegal senna, before referred to, was found to possess less ^j e x-than ordinary senna. Part of the acrid and griping qualities °andrian senna are referrible to the Argel leaves, which, according p e jj]e)observations of Rouillure, Delile, Nectoux, and Pugnet (quoted b) ( ] ie ypossess greater activity than the true senna leaves. -Rouillure sa) ^ jepurge and gripe, and are used by the Arabs of Upper Egypt, vvlt ^ pro-addition of senna. These effects might be expected from the ^ n °"^j c ien*perties of Asclepiadacese (see p. 903.) “ American senna is an aCt ioii)
and safe cathartic, closely resembling the imported senna in 1 S j a ^ e r i sand capable of being substituted for it in all cases in which theemployed.” (United States Dispensatory.) becom eS
If infusion of senna be given to the nurse, the suckling infan _ pe-purged—a satisfactory proof that the cathartic principle of s < 0 rie?-comes absorbed, and is thrown out of the system by the. eX ^ gC i)H aFurthermore, as purging results from the injection of infusion