Several of the formulæ introduced under the class of diuretics are combinations supported by high authority, but it is doubtful whether their adoption can be sanctioned upon principle; they are however well calculated to illustrate the nature of diuretic compounds, and this is the only purpose for which they were selected. See Form: 103. The French have introduced in their new Codex, an ethereal tincture, Tinctura Ætherea Digitalis purpureæ, in which the sedative influence of the plant must be entirely overwhelmed by the stimulant properties of the menstruum. Under the head of Diuretics, I have so fully considered the value of diuretic combinations, and the modus operandi of Digitalis, that it is unnecessary to dwell upon the subject in this place. Digitalis has considerable influence over the action of the heart; and in certain diseases, attended with inordinate motions of that organ, it proves eminently serviceable; I have employed it with great satisfaction in cases of palpitation connected with a state of general irritability, so frequently occurring in female disorders; and according to my observations where it succeeds, opium generally does harm. Form: 32. Forms of Exhibition. In substance, tincture, or infusion; the latter form is most efficient as a diuretic. Dose of the powdered leaves gr. j, in a pill, twice a day; the augmentation of the dose should proceed at the rate of one-fourth of the original quantity, every second day, until its operation becomes apparent, either on the kidneys, or on the constitution generally. If it produce such a disturbance in the primæ viæ as to occasion vomiting or purging, its diuretic powers will be lost; in such a case the addition of a small portion of opium, or opiate confection, may be expedient. The distressing effects of an overdose are best counteracted by tincture of opium in brandy and water, and by the application of a blister to the pit of the stomach. A London Surgeon has lately stated that he has prescribed the tincture of Digitalis, in the dose of twenty-five drops, three times a day, in barley-water, with great success in Gonorrhæa. Officinal Preparations. Infus: Digitalis. L.E. Tinct: Digital: L.E.D. Decoct: Digitalis: D. It is very important that the leaves of this plant be properly collected, and accurately preserved; they should be gathered when the plant is beginning to flower, and, as it is biennial, in the second year of its growth; the largest and deepest coloured flowers should be also selected, for they are the most powerful; they should be also carefully dried until they become crisp, or they will lose much of their virtue; the too common method of tying them in bundles, and hanging them up to dry, should be avoided, for a fermentation is produced by such means, and the parts least exposed soon become rotten. The powdered leaves ought to be preserved in opaque bottles, and kept from the action of light as well as of air and moisture; a damp atmosphere has, upon a principle already explained, a very injurious operation, by carrying off those faint poisonous effluvia with which its efficacy seems to be ultimately connected.
DULCAMARÆ CAULES. L.D.
(Solanum Dulcamara.)
The Twigs of Woody Nightshade, or Bitter-sweet.
The virtues of this plant are extracted by boiling water, but long coction destroys them; the usual and best form in which it can be administered is that of decoction or infusion. This plant is much more appreciated on the continent than in this country; we rarely use it except in cutaneous affections; Professor Richter of Gottingen states that he has employed it in Phthisis Pituitosa with very extraordinary success; and Sir A. Crichton says that in the few cases of chronic tubercular Phthisis in which he has given it, it appeared to increase the powers of the Sarsaparilla with which it was usually combined. Officinal Prep: Decoct: Dulcam: L.
ELATERII PEPONES. L.E.D.
(Momordica Elaterium.)
Wild, or Squirting Cucumber.
This plant appears from the testimony of Dioscorides and other writers, to have been employed by the ancient physicians with much confidence and success. All the parts of the plants were considered as purgative, although not in an equal degree; thus Geoffroy, “radicum vis cathartica major est quam foliorum, minor vero quam fructuum.” This question has very lately been set at rest by the judicious experiments of Dr. Clutterbuck,[[493]] which prove that the active principle of this plant resides more particularly in the juice which is lodged in the centre of the fruit, and which spontaneously subsides from it; when this substance is freed from extraneous matter, it possesses very energetic powers, and appears to me to be entitled to consideration as a distinct proximate principle, which I shall venture to call Elatin. See Extractum Elaterii.
ELEMI. L.D. (Amyris Elemifera. Resina.) Elemi.