232 SPECIAL THERAPEUTICS. 



most marked in the treatment of kimbrici. Dyer, in 

 a paper in the London Medical Gazette for 1834, 

 states that it is largely employed in the Mauritius, 

 and that it is an excellent vermifuge, and exempt 

 from any risk to the patient, even when it is given in 

 full doses. It is unfortunately difficult to keep, and 

 consequently loses much of its valuable properties 

 when imported to Europe. 



Pomegranate. 



The bark of the root of this plant has long 

 been acknowledged to possess valuable anthelmintic 

 properties. Both the wild and the cultivated pome- 

 granate are used indiscriminately ; the vermifuge 

 action of the root is in a direct ratio to the freshness 

 of the specimen which is employed. 



When it is administered in the form of powder, 

 the dose is from half a drachm to two or three 

 drachms ; the decoction, which is considered by some 

 to be a better form of administering this drug, is 

 given in doses of half an ounce to two ounces. Its 

 administration is not followed by any bad complica- 

 tions ; the majority of the patients do not experience 

 any ill effects, but sometimes a portion of the medi- 

 cine is rejected, or there may be simple nausea, when 

 the stomach is more than ordinarily sensitive ; colic, 

 flatulency, purging, and vertigo have occasionally 

 been induced by the use of this remedy, but they 

 soon pass off. 



The taenia is generally expelled about six hours 

 after the administration of the pomegranate root, 

 which is equally efficacious in the destruction of the 

 bothriocephalus. 



