DRUGS ACTING ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS- 57 



The cerebral centres are mainly affected by visual, nasal 

 or oral impressions, and also reflexly by irritation of sensory 

 nerve-endings, more especially those situated in the sexual 

 organs. 



(1) Aphrodisiacs are drugs exciting sexual desire (and 

 increasing sexual power in the male). They include : 



DIRECT APHRODISIACS 



Strychnine, Phosphorus, Alcohol (act on centres) 

 Cantharides (local irritant) 



INDIRECT APHRODISIACS 



In debility : Iron, Strychnine, Arsenic, (full diet) 



(2) Anaphrodisiacs are drugs lessening sexual desire. 

 They are : 



Opium, Bromides, Purgatives, Nauseants, (bleeding), (spare diet) 



Uses. — Drugs directly exciting sexual appetite are of no 

 therapeutic value, and the local irritants, as cantharides, 

 are, moreover, likely to work harm by producing inflamma- 

 tion of the urinary tract. Loss of sexual desire and power 

 should usually be treated by improving the general nutrition 

 with tonics and good feeding and by regulating the use of 

 the sexual organs, unless the trouble is due to organic 

 disease. Drugs diminishing sexual appetite may be useful 

 in quieting the centres and rendering them less sensitive to 

 sources of local irritation. It is, however, more sensible to 

 remove 'the cause of irritation, as smegma preputii, acid 

 urine, urinary calculi, intestinal parasites, scybala, fissure of 

 the rectum, haemorrhoids, etc. Auaphrodisiacs may be 

 employed to subdue excessive sexual excitement and ner- 

 vousness (hysteria) sometimes accompanying "heat" in 

 the female. 



(B) Infiuencing the female sexual organs. 



(1) JEmmenagogues are drugs which favor the occurrence 

 of " heat " (ovulation) in the female when it is irregular or 

 abnormally absent. We are at present ignorant of their 

 exact mode of action. Some act directly, perhaps, by stim- 

 ulating the centres or uterus. 



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