MOTOR DEPKESSANTS. 155 



hellebore root (fifty per cent.)- Dose: H., fl. 3 ss.- 



ij.;D., mH. 



Ver^atrum Viride (Pulvis), powdered poke root. 



Dose: H., 3ss.-i.; D., gr. yVi- 



Veratrina, veratrine. An alkaloid or mixture of 

 alkaloids obtained from the seeds of Asagroea offici- 

 nalis, natural order Melanthacese. A white or gray- 

 ish-white, amorphous, rarely crystalline powder, per- 

 manent in the air, odorless, of a distinctive acrid 

 taste, leaving a sensation of tingling and numbness 

 upon the tongue, producing constriction of the fauces, 

 and highly irritant to the mucous membranes of the 

 upper air passages. It is very slightly soluble in cold 

 or hot water, imparting to it an acrid taste and a fee- 

 bly alkaline reaction. It is soluble in 3 parts of alco- 

 hol, in 6 parts of ether, in 2 of chloroform, in 96 of 

 glycerin, and in 56 parts of olive oil. Dose: H., gr. 

 i-ij. ; D., gr. 5V-T0 ; hypodermically, one-half of these 

 doses. 



Oleatum Veratrince, oleate of veratrine (two per 

 cent.); Unguentum Veratrince, ointment of vera- 

 trine (four per cent.). For local use only. 



Physiological Action. — Veratrum viride is a 

 powerful depressant to the heart and spinal functions, 

 a spinal paralyzant, and closely resembles aconite, 

 from which it differs in being a systemic emeto- 

 cathartic, in paralyzing the motor system centrally, 

 impairing the reflexes, but in having but slight ac- 

 tion upon sensation, and in being practically devoid 

 of diaphoretic and diuretic action. Small doses re- 

 duce the force of the pulse, and only affect the fre- 



