344 PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF CONDURANGO. 



Uxperiment X — One gramme (15"4 grs.) of the extract was 

 dissolved in 20 cub. cent, of warm water and filtered. When 

 first thrown on the filter it passed rapidly through, but in the 

 course of a minute or two it began to pass through very slowly. 

 As soon as it began to do this the fluid was emptied out of the 

 first filter and thrown upon a fresh one. In this way the 

 filtrate was obtained quickly, but might contain very fine 

 particles which had passed through the filter and might have 

 been removed by it afterwards. 



A cannula was placed in the jugular vein of a rabbit weigh- 

 ing 680 grammes (IJ lb.), and 10 cub. cent, of the filtrate were 

 slowly injected into it. During the injection the respiration 

 became hurried, and occasionally a convulsive twitch of the 

 limbs occurred. A few minutes afterwards 5 cub. cent, more 

 were injected. The animal was then released. It tumbled 

 much and seemed WTak, but could move about perfectly well. 

 Its respiration was laboured. Twenty hours afterwards it 

 seemed weak and languid and its respiration somewhat hurried. 



In this experiment nearly | of a gramme were injected into 

 the jugular vein of a rabbit weighing 680 grammes with the 

 effect of producing hurried respiration and weakness. In 

 Experiment IX the injection of J of a gramme was followed by 

 the death of a rabbit weighing 1,030 grammes. 



The difference between these experiments consisted in the 

 solution of Condurango being filtered in Experiment X and not 

 in Experiment IX, and we must therefore conclude that the 

 fatal result in the latter case was due to the presence of large 

 particles in the fluid. 



The hurried breathing in Experiment X might be due to the 

 small particles which had passed through the filter but were 

 yet large enough to become impacted in the pulmonary capil- 

 laries. 



Results of Experiments on the General Action of the Extract of 

 Condurango. 



Condurango has no poisonous action. 



The extract produced no apparent effect on frogs when given 

 in doses of J of a gramme (5 grs.), or on a rabbit in a dose of 1 



