40 - THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE ADRENALS. 



ing the last fifty years, and in which the semeiological and 

 pathological effects of the various venoms, ranging from those 

 of insects to those of reptiles, are studied. For the study of 

 the toxic manifestations of drugs the excellent work on "Thera- 

 peutics," by Horatio C. Wood, 88 of Philadelphia, will be util- 

 ized. The agents to be analyzed in this connection will not be 

 selected, however, among any special class cardiac depressants, 

 depresso-motors, antipyretics, and 'the like to facilitate our 

 task; they will be taken in the promiscuous order afforded 

 by the index, in which the first letter of the name given each 

 drug is the only feature involving sequence. Obviously only 

 those subjects in which the cardinal symptoms referred to 

 muscular weakness, variations of vascular pressure and tem- 

 perature, etc. have been sufficiently studied by the author 

 will be considered. This includes a large proportion of the 

 best-known drugs, and may with all fairness be accepted as 

 representatives of all those capable of giving rise to toxic 

 symptoms. 



Muscular Weakness. The great muscular weakness attend- 

 ing insufficiency of the adrenals, as shown in Addison's disease 

 and so marked after removal of both organs, finds its counter- 

 part in the symptomatology of intoxication as well with venoms 

 as with vegetable and mineral poisons. Vulpian in 1869 called 

 attention to the progressive asthenia, followed by somnolence 

 with motor phenomena recalling those of curare poisoning, 

 caused by cobra-venom. Paul Bert noted that muscular activ- 

 ity disappeared after scorpion toxaemia, and that the muscles 

 failed to respond to strong induction currents. He also ob- 

 served that even bee-venom caused loss of motor activity, and 

 therefore concluded that this toxic acted on the muscular sys- 

 tem. Salamandrine was likewise found to cause progressive 

 weakness, the voluntary and spasmodic movements, particularly 

 those of the hind-quarters, being abolished. Phisalix and Ber- 

 trand also observed that the main effect of toad-venom was 

 paralysis of the lower extremities. Norris Wolfenden ascer- 

 tained that cobra-venom caused ascending paralysis, but that 

 this varied according to the species in which it occurred; in 



Wood: "Therapeutics," eleventh edition, 1900. 



