Physiology. — “Researches on scopolamin-morphin narcosis”. By 
Dr. W. Storm van Lesuwen and Miss M. v. p. Maps. (Com- 
municated by Prof. Magnus). 
(Communicated in the meeting of September 27, 1919). 
Much work has been done on scopolamin-morphin narcosis 
ever since SCHNEIDERLIN ') introduced it into medical practice (1900). 
One of the principal questions that occupied the workers in this 
field was, whether the administration of a mixture of these two 
poisons brings about a “potentiated synergism’’, which Bürar defines 
as being a stronger effect of a mixture of poisons than the action 
the component parts alone could lead us to expect. In order to 
ascertain whether in the scopolamin-morpbin mixture “potentiation” 
occurs, HavuckoLp’) has performed many experiments with rabbits, 
KocHMANN *) with dogs and ScHNEIDERLIN with men. 
Havekorp administered subcutaneously to rabbits respectively mor- 
phin, scopolamin, and morphin-scopolamin and detected “potentiation”. 
He recorded that 5 mgr. of morphin + 0,5 mgr. of scopolamin per 
kg. can produce narcosis in a rabbit, while 10 mgr. of morphin 
and 200 mgr. of scopolamin injected separately did not produce a 
narcotic effect. From this HavcKorp concluded that, though scopo- 
lamin per se does not bring about narcosis in a rabbit, it is never- 
theless capable of activating a non-narcotic morphin-dosis. This 
assertion, however, appeared to be based on erroneous observation, 
first because we have demonstrated by a method to be discussed 
lower down, that 0,5 mgr. of scopolamin as well as 5 mgr. of 
morphin produce decidedly a narcotic effect and secondly, because 
also with HavcKorp’s method, we found no potentiation, but merely 
simple addition of effects. 
Havekorp administered the scopolamin, the morphin, and the 
mixture scopolamin-morphin to rabbits subcutaneously and then 
1) SCHNEIDERLIN. Eine neue Narkose. Arztl. Mitt. aus u. für Baden. Mai 1900, 
quoted from HAUCKOLD SCHNEIDERLIN. Die Skopolamin-Morphin-Narkose. Münch. 
Med. Wochenschr. 1903. NO. 9, pag. 371. 
*) E. Havekorp. Ueber die Beeinflussung von Narkolicis durch Skopolamin. 
Zeitschr. f. exp. Path. u. Ther. Bd. 7, pag. 743, 1910. 
3) M. Kocumann. Ueber die therapeutischen Indikationen des Skopolaminum 
hydrobromicum. Die Therapie der Gegenwart. 1903, pag. 202. 
