EFFECTS OF DIGITALIS. 
609 
party; but as I avoid, as far as I am able, following any course 
of practice, without due consideration of its advantages and dis¬ 
advantages, and a conviction, in my own mind at least, of its 
propriety, I will state, as briefly as may be, the substance of my 
opinions upon the use and action of digitalis, and the reasons 
why I do not conceive any harm can result from its administra¬ 
tion at the onset of inflammatory affections of the thorax, &c.; 
assuring those from whom I have the misfortune to differ, that 
my mind is thoroughly open to conviction, and that I shall be 
most happy and grateful to receive such information as may in¬ 
duce me to alter my opinion.—The 'object of The Veterina¬ 
rian is the mutual communication of knowledge; let each 
contribute his mite, and all will be benefitted in a greater or less 
degree. 
Digitalis is a sedative and diuretic. It appears to have a pe¬ 
culiar and direct influence over the action of the heart, not 
affecting that organ in common with all other parts of the body, 
through the medium of a primary and principal effect upon the 
brain, as is the case with hellebore, but exercising an immediate 
power over the supply of nervous energy to the heart itself, 
causing a diminution in the number of its pulsations, and a sin¬ 
gular irregularity or intermission of one or two strokes at certain 
intervals. When this drug is administered to such an extent as 
to destroy life, a gradual extinction of the vital principle takes 
place ; there are no violent symptoms, no manifestation of pain 
in any particular part; nothing to lead us to suppose that any 
great local derangement is the cause of death. In France, ex¬ 
periments have been conducted which bear upon this point:— 
“ A grain of digitaline, dissolved in three drachms of distilled 
water, was injected into the abdomen of a middle sized rabbit. 
At the expiration of a few minutes the respiration became slower; 
the pulse fell to sixty, and was very irregular; all the symptoms 
of life were gradually extinguished; and the animal died without 
agitation or pain, and as though it had fallen asleep.” A cat 
and ,dog were afterwards the subjects of similar experiments, 
and exactly similar phenomena were noticed in both animals. 
[Jpon an examination of these animals, the only account we have 
of the result is, that the cerebral substance did not appear to 
have undergone any alteration; that the sinuses of the brain 
were filled with dark-coloured blood ; that the arterial blood pre¬ 
sented a decided venous tint, and had very little tendency to 
coagulate ; and that, when examined by a microscope, the red 
globules seemed, in the cat especially, a little changed in form, 
but not decomposed. In these experiments every thing tends to 
strengthen the opinion that the main influence of this medicinal 
VOL. V. 4 N 
