34 0^ DIGITALIS, WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE URINE. 



delirium tremens ; and Peacock,* Carey ,t and EeidJ record suc- 

 cessful cases. It has long been recognised as an excellent 

 diuretic in dropsy depending on disease of the heart, but its 

 administration was sometimes thought dangerous when there 

 was much weakness of that organ. Drs. Handfield Jones,§ 

 Fuller, Germaine, and Wilks§ believe, however, that it 

 strengthens ratlier than enfeebles the heart, and is, therefore, 

 most useful when that organ is weak, and dangerous only in 

 hypertrophy. Mr. W. H. Dickinson has found it an excellent 

 remedy in menoirhagia, and a powerful oxytoxic. The general 

 poisonous action of digitalis has been examined by Ortila, 

 Bouley and Eeynal, Dupuy and Delafond, Bouchardat and 

 Sandras, Stannius, and others. Its action on the arterial ten- 

 sion and the heart has been studied by Blake, Traubo, Wiro- 

 gradoff. Briquet, Kolliker, Dybkowsky and I*elikan, EuU'nl)erg 

 and Ehrenhaus, Handfield Jones, Fagge and Stevenson. Its 

 influence on the temperature has been examined by Traube, 

 Dumeril, Demarquay, and Leconte, &c. ; on the metamorphosis 

 of tissue by AVinogradotf and Stadion. 



Chemical Histoky. 



Up to the year 1841, when Messrs. Homolle and Quevenne 

 succeeded in obtaining from digitalis a neutral principle in the 

 form of a yellowish powder, presenting the bitterness and 

 possessing the physiological action of the plant, the active 

 principle had been sought for in vain, though several chemists 

 believed they had obtained it in the shape of brownish or 

 yellowish extracts, to whicli they had accordingly given the 

 name of digitaline, a name afterwards applied to the sub- 

 stance obtained by Homolle and Quevenne. 



The results of the analyses given by these gentlemen of 

 digitalis, and their -description of the characters of its consti- 

 tuents, are as follows : — 



Bu/italine. — In scales or masses — pale yellow — easily 



* Peacock, Med. Times and Gaz., Aug 3, 1801. 

 t Curey, Med. Times and Gaz., Aug. 24, 18G1. 

 X Keid, Edin. Med. Journ., 18G4-65, p. 112. 

 § H. Jones, Assoc. Med. Journ., 18G2, 2, p. 181. 



