AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE USE OF APOMORPHINE 

 TO REMOVE FOREIGN BODIES FROM THE RESPIRATORY 

 PASSAGES^ 



By Daniex de la Paz and Faustino GAEcfA 



(From the Departments of Physiology and Phamacology of the College of 

 Medicine and Surgery, University of the Philippines) 



TWO PLATES AND 1 TEXT FIGURE 



The use of apomorphine to remove foreign bodies from the 

 respiratory passages is still mentioned in standard textbooks 

 of pharmacology.^ It is claimed that coincidentally with the 

 act of vomiting caused by apomorphine violent movements of 

 expiration are produced ^ which expel or at least facilitate the 

 expulsion of the foreign body from the respiratory passages. 

 We have not been able to find any reference in the literature 

 that this manner of action of apomorphine has been experimen- 

 tally established. The present investigation was carried out 

 in order to test whether or not apomorphine exerts such an 

 action. 



THE IRRITABILITY OF THE VOMITING CENTER IN ASPHYXIA 



As we are interested in the emetic action of apomorphine 

 when there is obstruction to the respiration, it becomes impor- 

 tant first to determine the irritability of the vomiting center in 

 varying degrees of asphyxia. Because of the ready response 

 of the vomiting center to intramuscular injections of apomor- 

 phine, dogs were used in all the experiments. Under light 

 ether anaesthesia the tracheal cannula was inserted into the 

 trachea through a short incision in the anterior median line of 

 the neck. The animal was allowed to recover from the influence 

 of anaesthesia. About two hours later different degrees of ob- 

 struction to the passage of air into the trachea were produced by 



' Received for publication January 28, 1916. 



' Cushny, Text-book of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 5th ed., Lea 

 & Febiger, Philadelphia & New York (1910), 242. SoUmann, Text-book 

 of Phamarcology. 2d ed., W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia & London 

 (1908), 313. Wood, Pharmacology and Therapeutics. J. B. Lippincott Co., 

 Philadelphia & London (1912), 244. 



* Cushny, loc. cit. 



51 



