438 VEGETABLE DRUGS 



and supporting agent in asthenic fevers and adynamic con- 

 ditions of the human patient. 



The most wonderful recent advance in surgery consists 

 in the production of anaesthesia in the lower (posterior) half 

 of the body by injection of cocaine solution into the lumbar 

 region of the spinal canal.* This method has been success- 

 fully used in men and dogs in a large number of cases, 

 rendering parturition and operations on the abdominal and 

 pelvic organs and lower (posterior) extremities painless. 

 The anaesthesia lasts one to five hours, and, in man, from 

 gr.^ to gr.^ of cocaine hydrochloride in aqueous solution are 

 injected into the spinal canal between the fourth and fifth 

 lumbar vertebrae. The procedure is not devoid of danger, 

 and in man is frequently followed by headache, vomiting, 

 sweating, slight chills and rise of temperature. The injection 

 must be conducted with absolute aseptic precautions. 



EucAiNa; Hydeochloras. Eucain Hydrochlorate. 

 C, H„ N O, H CI. (Non-official.) 



This is a laboratory product, formerly known as eucain 

 Hydrochlorate " B." Eucain is used in 2 per cent, aqueous 

 solution in the eye, and in 10 per cent, on mucous mem- 

 branes, and is said to be harmless in any ordinary amount. 

 It is employed as a substitute for cocaine in the same 

 manner and for the same purposes, but with the following 

 advantages : Safer, 3 times less toxic ; cheaper ; does noc 

 decompose on keeping in solution ; can be sterilized by 

 boiling ; less irritating ; does not dilate the pupil ; is a 

 slight antiseptic. 



Ophthalmologists find that the drug does dilate the 

 pupil after several instillations, and that it does irritate the 

 already inflamed eye. It, moreover, does not contract vessels 

 when locally applied, and does sometimes produce poisoning 

 like cocaine, but much less frequently. 



* Rudolf Klapp (Deutsche Zeitsohr. f . Chir. 1904, Vol. Ixxi, p. 187) 

 has experimented upon animals with spinal injections for the production of 

 anaesthesia, and finds by combining gelatin, adrenalin and cocaine, the 

 toxic efEect of the latter is wholly averted and that this combination is a 

 safe and perfect anaesthetic for dogs. This method demands practical trial 

 in veterinary surgery, as it bids, fair to supersede general ansesthesia on 

 account of its simplicity and safety. The intradural injection is made 

 through a special fine trocar sold for the purpose by dealers in surgical 

 (human) instruments. The point of selection is between the first and second 

 lumbar spines, about a thumb's breadth from the middle line. The injec- 

 tion is made at an angle of 60 deg. downward and toward the median line. 

 When the needle enters the dura the resistance ceases and a few drops of 



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