754 
PROF. H, D. HANSON. 
tion to regulate and tone the digestion by every means possible 
been lewarded with the retention of teeth which would other¬ 
wise have been lost. 
That this condition of pyorrhoea alveolaris is contagions I 
have no good reasons to doubt, but the difficulty with which it 
can be artificially induced by inoculating healthy alveoli in 
healthy dogs, and the ease with which it can be produced in 
reduced and unhealthy subjects is pretty strong proof of the as¬ 
set tion I make that it primarily depends much upon conditions 
inducing inanition of the alveolus and its contents, with the 
overfeeding of any or all kinds of food of a constantly soft state 
of preparation, and want of general exercise as the two greatest 
items in its production. 
DIGITALIS^ 
By Prof. H. D. Hanson, D. V. S., New York City. 
A Paper read before the Veterinary Medical Associationof New York County, Jan. 4, 1899. 
We learii by j^epetition. With this end in view, I have 
selected “Digitalis” as my subject, in order to refresh your 
memories upon the actions and indications for use of the drug, 
and also to emphasize certain misuses. 
Before speaking of digitalis, it may be well to call 'your at¬ 
tention to the classification of remedies in order to know under 
which head this drug belongs. 
o o 
Remedies may be classified as medicinal, non-medicinal or 
disinfectant. 
Medicines have to enter the circulation in a state of solution 
before their action is obtained 5 non-medicinal agents act locally 
without absorption into the blood. Disinfectants destroy or 
check agents producing disease. 
Medicines are either functional medicines or organic medi¬ 
cines. 
Functional medicines, also called symptom medicines, affect 
the function of an organ, but do not produce any alteration in 
structure that can be recognized after death. Kxamples are: 
belladonna, opium, digitalis, aconite, aloes, tannin, etc. 
