ERGOT. 
is completed, to prevent too profuse a flow and secure proper 
contraction. 
Should post-partum hemorrhage occur, ergot is always 
the first remedy resorted to—in almost every case the fluid 
extract per os, rarely by hypodermic injection—and much 
valuable time is lost in awaiting the effect which this magic 
drug is thought in duty bound to produce. 
In abortion, it is given at all times in the beginning, 
when hemorrhage is profuse ; or, should this not be the case, 
whatever the dilatation of the os may be, to expel the con¬ 
tents of the womb, whatever they may be. Ergot is at all 
times used, apparently without strict indications, and, unfor¬ 
tunately in this class of cases, when the physician is rarely 
called, by nurse or midwife. 
That we may thoroughly appreciate the consequences to 
which this abuse must lead, I will briefly outline the action 
of ergot upon the uterus and its contents. The evil effects 
which I shall point out to you as resulting are not the de¬ 
ductions of scientific reasoning; unfortunately, not mere 
theoretical suppositions, but sad realities—facts—cause and 
effect. 
In the first place, let us consider the physiological action 
of the drug upon the uterus and its contents. 
In the main, it is a powerful stimulant to uterine contrac¬ 
tion, and acts, during the continuance of the effect, persist¬ 
ently and uninterruptedly upon the involuntary non-striated 
muscular fiber of the womb; its effect upon the organ in 
labor—the continuous tonic contraction due to the drug plus 
the intermittent contractions of labor-pains — is to perma¬ 
nently increase the tension of the muscular fiber, to con¬ 
tinuously augment the intra-uterine pressure; as the dose is 
repeated or increased, the contrast between labor-pains and 
the intervening period of relaxation is lessened more and 
more, the intervals are shortened, and, though the pains are 
more frequent, they are less marked; the powerfully acting 
muscle is artificially stimulated, until the intermittent con¬ 
tractions of natural labor become blended with the continu- 
Botanic. 
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