ERGOTA — ERGOT 315 



fowls, and is quite common in cattle fed upon smutted grain. It is 

 difficult to produce in dogs and cats. 



Respiratory System. Ergotoxine depresses the respiratory cen- 

 ter and renders the breathing slow and shallow. 



Nervous System. Unless long continued, moderate doses have 

 no appreciable effect upon this system. But if long continued there 

 may be anesthesia, paresthesia, convulsions, tonic contractions of the 

 limbs and ataxia. 



Uterus. Ergot produces contraction of the uterus in pregnant 

 animals. In the early stages of pregnancy this increase may be 

 seen in the strengthening of the normal intermittent contractions 

 which take place at this time; and there is a popular belief among 

 the laity and in the professions that ergot is abortifacient in the 

 early period of pregnancy. Experiments with animals have not 

 shown it to possess this power to any marked degree. 



During labor moderate doses tend to increase the normal con- 

 tractions and lead to a normal expulsion of the fetus with little if 

 any danger to it or the mother. For this reason ergot is often used 

 in labor when the contractions are weak and irregular and the fetus 

 in normal position. Large doses cause a continuous or tetanic con- 

 traction of the uterus, which makes the drug useful after labor to 

 hasten postpartum uterine contraction. These large doses should 

 not be administered until the uterus is empty because the continu- 

 ous contractions might simply contr-act the uterus- upon its contents 

 without expelling them. Furthermore the uterus might be rup- 

 tured or the offspring asphyxiated by continuous pressure on the 

 cord. 



The action of ergot upon the uterus is partly from central origin 

 but is largely due to stimulation of the nerve endings in the uterine 

 m.uscle. 



Ergot has some action in checking hemorrhage from the uterus 

 but this is due to its power to contract the uterus and to little if any 

 action upon the uterine arteries. 



Toxicology. Acute fatal ergot poisoning is not common in 

 man or animals. Large doses have been given without producing 

 fatal effects and without producing abortion. The more common 

 poisoning is of the chronic type (Ergotism) and runs a protracted 

 course. It is caused by taking large amounts of the drug at one 

 dose or most frequently by taking repeated doses of ergot mixed in 

 the food, or by eating smutty corn. 



Chronic poisoning by ergot used to appear quite frequently en- 

 demically in man on account of the presence of ergot in flour, espe- 

 cially where large amounts of rye were consumed. The ergot grows 

 upon the rye and unless destroyed before harvest it becomes mixed 

 with the grain when threshing, and is finally ground up in flour. 

 The populace in wide areas have been poisoned in this manner 



