298 Mr. W. E. Dixon, The Pharmacoloyical [Novy. 1, 
Fic. 7.—Cat. Uterine Movements. B.P. Shows increased tonus and automatic move- 
ments caused by intravenous injection of 3.c. of the alkaloidal solution (15 milli- 
grammes). ‘Time, seconds. 
Discussion.—This alkaloid clearly belongs to the curare group of drugs, a 
group which is characterised by its members possessing three properties in 
common: (1) They excite the spinal cord, increase reflexes, and sometimes 
cause strychnine-like convulsions. (2) They paralyse nerve-cells throughout 
the body. (3) They paralyse motor nerve-endings. 
In the case of curare the paralysis of the motor nerves overshadows its 
other properties, but with boxwood all the three effects are perfectly typical 
and are readily obtained, since they follow in the sequence given. Boxwood 
differs from nicotine and coniine in that there is no initial stimulant action 
on nerve-cells and that the motor nerve-endings are much more readily 
paralysed. Death from boxwood is brought about by respiratory failure, 
mainly central in origin, but at a time when the motor nerves are depressed 
and on the way to paralysis, and when the blood-pressure is low, not from 
cardiac depression, for the heart at this time is putting out more blood per 
minute than normally, but from great vaso-dilatation in the splanchnic area. 
The importance of this alkaloid lies in the fact that it is alleged to cause 
polsoning in a percentage of the workers in the wood. Now the symptoms 
observed in man and put down to the action of the wood are in some respects 
similar to those which are found after the absorption of the drug in animals. 
