552 DR THOMAS R. FRASER ON THE ANTAGONISM BETWEEN 



the heart's impulse was 36, and that of the respirations 19, in ten seconds ; the 

 pupils measured J^ths x -|£ths of an inch, and distinct fibrillary twitchings 

 were still present ; with these exceptions, the animal was in a perfectly normal 

 state. 



On the following day — at twenty-six hours after the injection of physostigmia 

 — the rabbit was active and well ; and it was observed that, since the last note, 

 a considerable quantity of pultaceous faeces had been passed. The rate of the 

 heart's impulse was 32, and that of the respirations 15, in ten seconds ; and the 

 pupils measured i^ths x ^Jths of an inch. 



By the fourth day, a normal rate of the cardiac contractions and respiratory 

 movements, and a normal condition of the pupils, had been reassumed. 



On the tenth day, the rabbit was found to weigh three pounds and half an 

 ounce ; and it was then made the subject of the following experiment : — 



Experiment 43-b. — Having dissolved six twenty-fifths of a grain of sul- 

 phate of physostigmia in 25 minims of distilled water, I injected the solu- 

 tion under the skin at the right flank, and then washed the syringe with a few 

 drops of distilled water, and injected this water under the skin at the right hip. 

 Before this experiment was commenced, the rate of the cardiac impulse was 42, 

 and that of the respirations 19, in ten seconds ; and the pupils measured £§ths 

 x i^jths of an inch. 



In one minute and thirty seconds after the commencement of the admini- 

 stration, rare fibrillary twitches occurred near the regions of injection ; but no 

 marked general symptoms appeared until four minutes and forty seconds, when 

 the limbs, especially the two anterior, became extended. The animal then 

 went about unsteadily, and with considerable difficulty ; and the rate of the 

 cardiac impulses was 37 in ten seconds. In six minutes, some faecal pellets 

 were passed ; tremors occurred almost without intermission ; stumbling and 

 somewhat excited movements were made ; and the extended state of the limbs 

 disappeared, and the rabbit subsided on the abdomen and chest. These symp- 

 toms rapidly became more and more serious ; the pupils contracted to ^ths 

 x 5 6 oths of an inch ; general paralysis became well marked ; frequently-recurring 

 tremors, weaker now than before, impeded the respiratory movements, and 

 saliva escaped from the mouth. In eight minutes, the respirations consisted 

 of mere gasps, laboured in their character, and greatly obstructed by mucus, 

 while the rate of the cardiac impulses had become diminished to 13 in ten 

 seconds. Soon afterwards, only rarely-occurring gasps were observed, and it was 

 impossible to detect any cardiac impulse. The former ceased on the occur- 

 rence of death, nine minutes and fifty seconds after the commencement of the 

 injection. 



At the moment of death, the pupils measured /xyths x 5%ths of an inch, and 

 they slowly increased in size until, at forty-one minutes after death, they 



