IPECACUANHA. 13 



of New Granada. The roots are gathered at all seasons of the 

 year, but more frequently from January to March. 



Parts used in Medicine, and Mode of Preparation. 



The Roots. The dark roots should be chosen; the spongy, 

 and those which have no rings should be rejected. The medi- 

 cine is to be prepared either by trituration with sugar of milk, 



or else the tincture formed by digestion in twenty parts of 

 alcohol. 



Physiological Effects. — If the powder or dust of Ipe- 

 cacuanha be applied to the eyes or face, it acts as an irritant, 

 and causes redness and swelling of these parts. Inhaled, it 

 irritates the respiratory passages, and in some persons brings on 

 difficulty of breathing, similar to an attack of spasmodic asthma 

 (Scott, Phil. Trans., p. 1776). Mr. Roberts, surgeon, of 

 Dudley, is affected in this way, and I have received from him 

 the following account of his case : " If I remain in a room 

 where the preparation of Ipecacuanha is going on — for instance, 

 making the pulv. ipecac, comp. — I am sure to have a regular 

 attack of asthma. In a few seconds dyspnoea comes on in a 

 violent degree, attended with wheezing and great weight and 

 anxiety about the prsecordia. The attack generally remains 

 about an hour, but I obtain no relief until a copious expec- 

 toration takes place, which is invariably the case; after the 

 attack is over I suffer no further inconvenience. I have always 

 considered that the attack proceeds from the minute particles 

 of the Ipecacuanha floating in the atmosphere, acting as an 

 irritant on the mucous membrane lining the trachea and bron- 

 chial tubes. In some cases, the mere odour of the root seems 

 sufficient to excite difficulty of breathing, with a feeling of 



suffocation" (Pereira, op. cit.) 



Dr. Prieger {Bust, Mag., b. xxxli. h. 1, 3, 182) mentions a 

 case of poisoning produced by the incautious inhalation of 

 Ipecacuanha. A druggist's assistant, who was suffering from 

 catarrh, inhaled, whilst powdering the root, the dust for three 

 hours. Vomiting came on, which was followed by a sense of 



