CHAP. VI.] CHOLAGOGUES. 373 



Calomel, according to Rutherford, stimulates the intestinal glands 

 but not the liver, whilst mercuric chloride is a powerful hepatic 

 stimulant exerting but little action on the intestine. The latter 

 statement must be held to apply to medicinal doses, as in poisonous 

 doses corrosive sublimate, as is well known to the toxicologist, is one 

 of the most powerful of intestinal irritant poisons. 



"Purgation produced by purely intestinal stimulants, such as 

 magnesium sulphate, gamboge and castor oil, diminishes the secretion 

 of bile." "When a substance e.g. podophyllin which powerfully 

 stimulates the intestine as well as the liver, is given in too large a 

 dose, the bile-secretion may never be increased, and though it should 

 be increased in the first instance, it is soon diminished as the 

 excitement of the intestinal mucous membrane extends downwards 

 and implicates a larger and larger number of glands 1 ." Amongst the 

 results which Rutherford obtained is to be mentioned that he found 

 that bile, in sufficient doses, exerted a cholagogue action. 

 Researches Since the publication of Prof. Rutherford's researches, 



sequent to ^ e ac i O n of cholagogues has been investigated anew 



Rutherford. w ^h tne a ^ ^ animals and human beings with per- 

 manent biliary fistulas. For the most part, these results 

 have led to the denial that any true cholagogues exist. Amongst 

 those, however, who have obtained positive cholagogue results is 

 Rosenberg 2 , who experimenting on two dogs with permanent biliary 

 fistulse found that olive oil, bile, and sodium salicylate exert a truly 

 cholagogue action. 



From the observations of Battistini 3 on two dogs with permanent 

 biliary fistulae, it results that santonin is a cholagogue of very 

 decided activity, and his results have been confirmed by Marfori 4 . 



With the exception of the observations just referred to nearly all 

 others performed since the publication of Rutherford's researches have 

 led to negative results. Thus Baldi 5 in the case of two dogs with 

 biliary fistulae found that, with the exception of bile itself, no agent 

 introduced into the stomach or intestine affected the secretion of 

 bile. Mayo Robson 6 performed a series of experiments in his case of 

 biliary fistula (p. 275) in the human subject which seemed to shew 

 that none of the reputed cholagogues exerted any action whatever, 



1 Kutherford, op. cit. p. 256. 



2 J. Eosenberg, ' Ueber die cholagoge Wirkung des Olivenols in Vergleich zu der 

 Wirkung einiger anderen cbolagogen Mittel.' Pfliiger's Archiv, Vol. XLVI. (1889), 

 pp. 334366. 



3 Battistini, ' Einfluss des Santonins auf die Gallenausscheidung.' Untersuch. zur 

 Xaturlehre von Moleschott, Vol. xm. pp. 414 431. Abstracted in Maly's Jahresbericht, 

 Vol. xv. (1886), p. 316. 



4 Marfori, ' Sulla pretesa azione colagoga della Santonina.' Annali di Chimica e di 

 farmacologia. Ser. 4, Vol. x. p. 153. Abstracted in Maly's Jahresbericht, Vol. xrx. 

 (1890), p. 289. 



5 Dario Baldi, 'Kecherches experimentales sur la marche de la secretion biliaire.' 

 Archives italiennes de Biologie, 1883, p. 389. 



e Mayo Robson, op. cit. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Vol. XLVII. (1890), 



