ACTION OF DRUGS OX THE CIIICULATIOX. 7 



experiments, and cliiefly that of transfusing blood, which tlie 

 Society has presented in sundry instances, that will prijbabij 

 end in extraordinary success."* 



The method originated by Wren, of injecting drugs intc the 

 circulation, was skilfully utilised by Magendie for the purpose 

 of localising the particular part of the body upon which the 

 drugs exerted their action, and he thus conclusively proved 

 that the symptoms produced by strychnine were due to its 

 effect on the «pinal cord. His experiments showed that the 

 rate of absorption from various parts of the body varied 

 enormously, and, through the teaching of Christison, led to the 

 introduction into practice by Dr. Alexander Wood of that most 

 useful aid to modern therapeutics, the hypodermic syringe. 



The first quantitative experiments on the effect of drugs 

 upon tlie circulation were made, to the best of my knowledge, 

 by James Blake in 1844, in the laboratory of University 

 College, at the suggestion of the late Professor Sharpey, with the 

 h-aemadynamometer of Poiseuille, which had then been recently 

 introduced. 



In speaking about the work of Blake and Sharpey, who are 

 both dead, one requires to use the greatest care not to unduly 

 detract from the merit of one by ascribing more to the other; 

 but those who knew Prof. Sharpey's enormous range of know- 

 ledge, his readiness to put it all at the disposal of others, and 

 the influence he exerted over all who came in contact with 

 him, as well as his unselfishness in making no claim whatever 

 to what was justly his due, will at once recognise how greatly 

 Blake was indebted to Sharpey. More especially is this the 

 case when we consider that, although the credit for the observa- 

 tions themselves belongs to Blake, yet after the impetus which 

 Sharpey gave him had passed away, he did very little more 

 during the course of a long life. It seems all the more neces- 

 sary to commemorate Sharpey on this occasion, because he has 

 left comparatively few writings behind him, and anyone who 

 should judge by them alone of his influence upon physiological 

 progress in this country would grievously under-estimate it. 



* The Hixtory of the Roj/al Society of London for the Improving of Natural 

 Knowledge, bj T. ^'pratt, late Lord iJishop of Kocliester. 



