— 126 — 



aniline derivatives and in hydrated bases, the physiological importance 

 of the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, and their etherincation or 

 esterification ; the influence on the actions of compounds with an 

 imido-group by the introduction of atomic complexes ; the importance 

 of the introduction of alkyl groups (attachment to 0-, C-, N- and 

 metallic atoms); the influence of pentavalent nitrogen, of nitriles, and 

 of metal-organic and halogen-substituted compounds. Of special 

 interest is the chapter on compounds of the camphor series, 

 which forms part of our own particular domain, and which we quote 

 here with the kind permission of the author and the publisher. 



In discussing the three simple ring-ketones pentanone, hexanone 

 and suberone, attention was called to the fact that the action stands 

 in a definite relation to the size of the ring. It finds expression in 

 a central paralysis and a paralysing action on the motoric nerve termin- 

 ations 1 ), increasing with the size of the ring. Closely allied to hexanone 

 are the compounds of the camphor series known as ketones: 

 CH CH, CH CH 



H 2 C 



H,C 



CH, 



CO 



CH 2 



Hexanone 



C Ho • C • C H„ 



CH, C- 



I 

 CH 3 



Camphor 



CO 



CH, -CH 



'CO- 



CHL-C 



- C H 2 a C H 2 



^CH-C 



^ 



CH — CH, 

 Carvone 



XH a 



To camphor belong two remarkable actions, a spasm - exciting 

 action and an action on the heart, which exerts such an irritation 

 on the latter that the muscarin - suspension of the frog's heart is 

 counteracted 2 ), and in warm-blooded animals the blood-pressure is 

 considerably increased 3 ), even when the vascular nerve centre has 

 been paralysed by chloral hydrate. The same action is shown by 

 monobromo camphor, camphorol, the oxidation product formed in the 

 organism, and thujone 4 ), the active principle from the oils of the branches 



7 CHOH 

 of Thuja occidentalis L., whilst the hydroxycamphor C 8 H 14 <^ | 



x ) Jacobj, Hayashi, Szubinski, Arch. f. exp. Pharmakol. 50 (1903). 



2 ) Harnack and Wittkowski, Arch. f. exp. Pharmakol. 5 (1876). 



3 ) Wiedemann, Arch. f. exp. Pharmakol. 6 (1877). 



4 ) H. Hildebrandt, Arch. f. exp. Pharmakol. 48 (1902). 



