DIGITALIS 125 



DIGITALIS (Foxglove) 



Including 1820, every edition of the U. S. P. mentions Digi- 

 talis leaves. The New York edition of 1830 names "leaves and 

 seeds." Beginning with 1860, the drug is limited to second year 

 growth, this restriction being removed in 1910. 



Digitalis purpurea occurs throughout the greater 

 part of Europe, being, however, generally absent from 

 limestone districts. It was used in domestic medicine 

 in early days, and by the Welsh as an external medi- 

 cine. (507). Fuchs (252) and Tragus (650), 1542, 

 pictured the plant, but remarked that it was a violent 

 medicine. Parkinson (492) commended it in 1640, and 

 it was investigated in 1776-9 by Withering (693), 

 through whose efforts it was introduced into licensed 

 medicine. Digitalis was originally employed as a rem- 

 edy in fevers, in which direction it is no longer used. 

 In 1799, J. Ferriar (233), of Manchester, England, con- 

 tributed a treatise concerning the medicinal uses of 

 digitalis, which was also described by Withering, Bosch 

 (89), Moore (450), and other authors of that period. 

 At present digitalis is by some standardized by its 

 physiological qualities when injected into the veins of 

 lower animals, the United States Government having 

 issued a bulletin on this subject. (332a). Discussions 

 of this phase of the problem are, however, out of place 

 in this history. 1 



Digitalis frequents silicious lands, but does not 

 thrive in limestone soil. It is widely cultivated, not 

 only for its medicinal properties, but also as a garden 

 flower, being well known under the common term Fox- 

 glove, a name ascribed to it both from its resemblance 

 to an ancient musical instrument known as Foxes-Glew, 



1 Necessity sometimes demands that a prominent phase of drug action be recorded. 

 Usually, however, eveji this can be avoided. 



