ANTIMONII ET POTASSII TARTARS—ANTIMONY AND POTASSIUM TARTRATE—TARTAR EMETIC
Derivation.—Make a white paste with cream of tartar, antimony trioxide and water. Set aside 24 hours, boil in water 15 minutes and crystallize.
Properties.—Colorless, transparent crystals of the rhombic system, becoming opaque and white on exposure to the air, or a white granular powder without odor and having a sweet, afterwards disagreeable, metallic taste. Soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol.
Dose.—Horses and cattle, 2 to 4 dr.; sheep, 2 to 5 gr.; pigs, 1⁄2 to 1 gr.; dogs, 1⁄10 to 1⁄2 gr. As an emetic for pigs, 4 to 10 gr.; dogs, 1 to 2 gr.
Actions.—Tartar emetic is a systemic and local emetic, a diaphoretic, cardiac and arterial sedative and a gastro-intestinal irritant. It is a powerful waste producer and stimulates the secretions of the stomach, intestines, salivary glands, liver and pancreas. Large doses cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, while toxic doses are followed by vomiting (in animals that can vomit), serious blood purging, great depression of the circulation and respiration weakness, collapse and death. Tartar emetic is also a vermifuge.
Uses.—Tartar emetic is too mild as an emetic in poison cases. In asthma of dogs it may be used in from 1⁄10 to 1⁄2 grain doses to relax spasm and promote secretion. For horses its most valuable use is to expel the common round worms from the intestines, for which it is very efficacious; given in two drachm doses once or twice daily in the feed for four to six days, or one-half ounce dissolved in water is given on an empty stomach followed by a full dose of linseed oil.