334 EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY 



Now inject one-half cubic centimeter of ergamine (cat) 

 and see what effect this has. Do you get a fall in blood- 

 pressure? Will the animal be likely to die! (If so, give it 

 a small dose of pituitrin.) Did the uterus contract? If so 

 en what tissues did the drug act and how were they affected? 

 Wait a while for the animal to recover and observe any later 

 actions of the drug. After a time more ergamine may be 

 injected to get another record. 



If the animal is still in suitable condition adrenaline solu- 

 tion may be substituted for one of the solutions in the bu- 

 rette and a dose of this drug injected. How does the action 

 of adrenaline on the uterus compare with that of the other 

 drugs given? What is the innervation of the uterus? (See 

 Fig. 318.) Kill the animal by giving a large dose of one of 

 the drugs you have. What can you say about changes in the 

 innervation of the gravid uterus in the cat ? Does this hold 

 also in the human uterus? Can you find this point in the 

 literature? 



This method of recording uterine contractions is some- 

 times used to standardize ergot preparations by comparing 

 the strength of the unknown solution with that of a standard 

 preparation. (For literature, see Edmunds and Hale: loc. 

 cit.; Dale, Dixon, Laidlaw, Barger: loc. eit., p. 363; Pitten- 

 ger, P. S. : Biochemic Drug Assay Methods, P. Blakiston's 

 Son & Co.; also Dale: Biochemical Journal, iv, p. 427.) 



EXPERIMENT CIX. 



Pituitrin, Ergamine, Levulose, Adrenaline. (Dog: Thoracic 



Duct, Blood-pressure, Bladder Contractions, 



Respiration.) 



(Give the dog one-half pint of cream to drink three hours 



before the experiment.) 



1. Arrange a dog for recording blood-pressure, respira- 

 tion and bladder contractions. Do not disturb the viscera 



