176 



THE ACTION OF 



LOCAL ANESTHETICS GIVEN 

 HYPODERMICALLY. 



We have to compare in this group the value of 

 cocaine, novocain, eucain, and stovain. A luminous 

 report was published on these by a Committee of 

 the British Medical Association in 1909. The ideal 

 local anaesthetic should have the maximum power to 

 relieve pain, it should not be toxic, it should not 

 irritate the tissues, and it should be capable of sterili- 

 zation by boiling. 



The table below gives the comparison of these four 

 drugs at a glance. 



It will be seen that novocain is the most satis- 

 factory, and cocaine the least so. It is common 

 knowledge that cocaine, like chloral, is very variable 

 in its effects on different people, and a safe dose 

 for one is fatal for another. With some patients 

 the margin of safety between a dose that produces 

 no effect at all and a dose that causes alarming 

 symptoms is exceedingly narrow. The symptoms, 

 again, vary widely.^ Some get headache, others 



