SPANISH FLIES. 



97 



to aid in the expulsion of the placenta, and of clots, hydatids, and 

 polypi ;— also in uterine hemorrhage. ^ ^ . ■, 



Dose of powder, 9j,— to be repeated if necessary. Infusion, made 

 with 3 j of ergot to f 3iv boiling water; dose, one-third. Vinum 

 Ergots, U. S.,— dose, f 3j to f 3iij. Ergot should not be kept in the 

 powdered state. 



CLASS XV.— EPISPASTICS. 



" Medicines which, when applied to the skin, produce a blister." 

 Called also vesicatories. The rubefacients will also blister if applied 

 for a sufficient length of time. 



Effects,— They act as general stimulants to the system ; and are 

 useful in typhoid cases ; they will sometimes set aside a paroxysm 

 of intermittent or remittent fever, by virtue of the powerful impres- 

 sion produced. They are powerfully revulsive, and are used in 

 diseases of the internal organs. It is advisable not to employ them 

 in the very height of inflammatory diseases, lest the excitement 

 should be increased. They produce local depletion by the serous 

 discharge which they occasion. They also do good in certain cases, 

 by substituting their own action, which spontaneously subsides, for 

 some morbid action in the part, as in obstinate herpes, &c. They 

 are also employed for their local stimulant action; for the pain 

 which they cause, in hypochondriasis ; and to procure a denuded 

 surface for the endermic application of medicines. 



Spanish Flies. — (Cantharis, U. S.) 

 The Cantharis vesicatoria is an insect from six to ten lines in 

 length, by two or three in breadth, of a shining green colour. They 

 abound in the South of Europe, and are collected in the summer 

 by shaking them from the trees in which they lodge, and letting 

 them fall into large cloths, which are plunged into hot vinegar and 

 water, for the purpose of destroying the insects : they are then per- 

 fectly dried in the sun, and put into cannisters. Odour, strong and 

 peculiar; taste, acrid and burning; colour of powder, grayish- 

 brown, with fragments of shining green. Should not be kept in the 

 powdered state, as it is very apt to attract moisture and decompose. 

 Apt to be attacked by insects ; virtues to water and alcohol. Con- 

 tain a peculiar crystalline principle called cantharidm. 



Effects.— IniexuciWy, a diuretic and emmenagogue ; externally, it 

 forms the best epispastic. The following are its preparations : 



Ceratum Cantharidis, (O. ^.)— Blister i7ig plaster. Made by 

 mixing together yellow wax, rosin, lard, and powdered flies. This 

 is the°preparation used for spreading blisters. Soft leather, muslin, 

 or paper may be employed, and the cerate applied with a spatula, 

 without heat. The shape and size of the blister must be determined 



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