634: VEGETABLE DBUGS 



cases it is naturally impossible to estimate the quantity of 

 the plant ingested. Two and one-half drachms of the wine 

 of the root, and one-half grain of the alkaloid, have proved 

 fatal to man. Two drachms of the coim have killed a dog, 

 and one-tenth of a grain of colchicine has destroyed a cat. 

 The symptoms of poisoning comprise ; anorexia, nausea, 

 dulness, salivation, violent vomiting (in earnivora), purging, 

 at first watery, then mucous and often bloody, and accom- 

 panied by great tenesmus, tympanites, and colic. There are 

 often such nervous symptoms as tremors, stupor, coma, and 

 paralysis. The animal becomes very weak, the respiration 

 is slow and feeble, the pulse rapid and imperceptible, the 

 skin is cold and covered with a clammy sweat, and death 

 occurs in collapse following severe gastro-enteritis. After 

 the injection of large doses of colchicine, increasing the 

 amount does not aggravate the symptoms. 



.Post-ilortem Appearances. — The mucous membrane of 

 the stomach and intestines is swollen, congested, and eroded. 

 Sometimes free blood is found within their lumen. There 

 is also acute hypersemia of the kidneys. 



Treatment. — This consists in the use of the stomach 

 pump, emetics, and cathartics, unless there has been free 

 purging and vomiting. Tannic acid is the best chemical 

 antidote, but is not wholly satisfactory. It should be used, 

 however. Demulcents (oil and egg albumin) and opium 

 relieve the local irritation, pain and purging. Stimulants, 

 as atropine, strychnine, and alcohol, together with external 

 heat, combat collapse. 



Administration. — The crude drug is not suitable for use. 

 The wine of the root is the best preparation. 



Uses. — It is difficult to estimate the therapeutic value of 

 colcbicum. It is called an alterative by many authorities, 

 for want of a better term to describe a drug whose physiolog- 

 ical actions do not explain its medicinal virtues. Colchicum 

 is the most successful single remedy for gout in human 

 medicine, but does not possess so great a value in veterinary 

 practice. It is sometimes used with considerable advantage 



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