ACTION ON TEMrERATUKE. 65 



With the exception that I experienced diuresis, and had the 

 virea increased instead of diminished, my experience agrees with 

 that of Stadion. From the large increase of urea with less 

 work, I believe that when it acts as a diuretic it increases 

 tissue change ; and the diminution of phosphates, I think, is in 

 a great measure due to the dislike to and inability for any kind 

 of mental work. 



On the Temperature of the Body. — Messrs. Bouley and Eeynal* 

 found that poisonous doses of digitalis produced first increase 

 and then decrease of the animal temperature, but that thera- 

 peutic doses caused a steady diminution, without previous 

 increase ; Messrs. Aug, Dumeril, Demarquay, and Lecointe,t in 

 experimenting on dogs with digitalis and digitahne, the latter 

 in the dose of 10, 20, and 25 milligrams, and the extract of 

 digitalis 1 to 4 grams in a period of 11 or 12 hours found 

 the temperature rise eight times from 1° to 2°, and in the 

 only case in which it was lowered they used 50 milligrams of 

 digitaline, and death ensued within the hour. Schwelgue says 

 the fall of the pulse is accompanied by a fall in the animal 

 temperature. In Exp. XIII I noticed a remarkable diminution, 

 the animal feeling as cold as if dead for some hours before death 

 actually occurred, and in several cases I have noticed the limbs 

 grow cold a little while before death. Dr. Mazel,J in his case 

 of poisoning, noticed that the temperature of the skin in those 

 parts exposed to the air was lower than usual. Hertz§ says 

 that there is first increase and then decrease of the tempera- 

 ture. Traubell found that when infusion of digitalis was given 

 in acute rheumatism the temperature fell either with or a short 

 time after the reduction of the pulse appeared. Schneider|| 

 says that the lowering of the temperature is independent of the 

 slowing of the pulse, and begins from 36 to 60 hours after 

 beginning to give the medicine ; while the former begins within 

 from 24 to 48 hours, and they both continue to fall after the 



* Op. cit. 



t Comptes Sendus, Mai, 1851, p. 801 (II. and Q.). 

 X Edin. Med. Journ., 1864, p. 168. 



§ Bull, de Therap., Feb. 28 and March 15, 1862. Tear BooJc Sydenham 

 Society, 1862, p. 110. 



11 Annuaire de Therapeutique, 1859, pp. 82-88. 



