Herbaceous plant, with a slender, round and pubescent stem; the leaves are opposite, lanceolate and very sharp; their upper surface is hairy and of a darker green than their lower surface, which is covered with long, silky hairs. This plant is quite common in the neighborhood of Rio-Janeiro. We employ the leaves.
1. Aching pain at the sternal articulation of the fourth ribs. Internal itching, with desire to scratch, in the pit of the stomach. Sensation in the region of the liver as if penknives were thrust in. Tenesmus. 5. The urine burns like boiling water. Restless dreams about murders, monstrous animals. Distress on seeing any one eat. Pain in the pit of the stomach in raising one’s-self. Pressure in the temples and vertex. 10. Bone-pains above the eyes. Constant yawning for two days. Pain in the abdomen, after dinner, apparently proceeding from the pit of the stomach, with slight colic. The teeth are sensitive and set on edge, especially the right upper incisores. Itching in the left ear, with a good deal of ear-wax. 15. Digging pain in the right lung. He raises a bloody mucus. Desquamation on the back of the hand, extending to the nails, where the skin becomes loose and forms hang-nails. Itching at the pubis. Pimples and itching on the back, chest and arms. 20. Colic in the evening, with incarcerated flatulence; relief is obtained by the emission of flatulence. Toothache after eating, with bleeding and sensitiveness of the gums. Pain in the bad teeth. Headache as if from water-bubbles enclosed here and there in the forehead. Sense of excoriation in the urethra. 25. Slight pain in urinating. Discharge from the urethra of a water mixed with little mucous flocks. Heat on the back of the hand as if scorched by the sun, followed by desquamation. The gums are extremely sensitive, and the incisor teeth set on edge. Ludicrous dreams; he is pursued by crocodiles and he drives them away by sneezing. 30. Coffee aggravates the symptoms; the incisor teeth are set on edge, with sense of coldness in these teeth which descends from time to time. Caries of an incisor tooth.
SPIGGURUS MARTINI. (Nobis.)
SPIG. SPIGGURUS SPINOSA (FR. CUV.) HISTRIX SUBSPINOSUS. THE PORCUPINE.
This little animal is common in Brazil where it lives on trees and secures itself by means of its hind-feet, it uses its tail, which is pretty long, as a means of descending. Its length, from the muzzle to the tip of the tail, is about a foot; the tail is almost as long as the trunk. The upper parts of the body are covered with sharp prickles about an inch and a half long, and attached to the skin by means of a very thin pedicle. The head-prickles are white at the base, black in the middle and of a yellowish-brown at the top, the dorsal prickles are of a sulphur-yellow at their base. The prickles on the rump and the first third of the tail, are black at their extremity. All the prickles are very close together, mingled with a few long and fine hairs. The lower limbs are covered with a grayish fur, interspersed with little prickles; the tail is furnished with prickles at its upper part, and is covered with stiff and black hairs; the extremity of the tail is bare.
We triturate the prickles taken from one of the sides.
Prover: Jo. Vincente Martins.
First day.—Took one dose of the third trituration at 8 in the morning. 1. Desire to vomit and nausea at the sight of food, immediately. At night, sense of dryness and fullness in the stomach. Very drowsy after dinner.
Second day.—5. Wakes early. Merry and quiet dreams. Sense of fullness in the abdomen, at 5 in the morning, when lying. Diarrhœa. Transitory pains in the toes, right temple and one of the right cuspidati. 10. Pains at the lower extremity of the right forearm. Pain at the right zygoma. Pain at the first incisor. Bleeding of the gums. Pain in one half of the head. 15. Buzzing in the ears. The knees give way, likewise the tarsal joints. The toothache becomes obstinate. After dinner all the pains cease. Shuddering with chattering of the teeth. 20. Cough with pains in the chest. Stitch in the region of the heart, left side, which stops his speech for two minutes. Pain at the right arm, from the hand to the elbow, as if extending the arm were prevented by a string. Improvement when turning the arm or lifting a weight, or moving it about; aggravation as soon as these movements cease. After breakfast, boring pain through the bones of the skull. 25. Aggravation when lying down, and improvement when walking in the open air. Pains in the stomach, as if strung together.