16G PATH 
folution. . For this purpofe the patient thould take it two 
or three times a-day, in as large doles as the ffomach will 
bear; and continue the ufe of it till the worms are de- 
ftroyed. 
Dr. Girdleffone, of Yarmouth, Hates in the 15th vo¬ 
lume of the Medical and Phyfical Journal, that he has, 
for fome time, prefcribed the folutio mineralis in cafes of 
tape-worm. “ This medicine,” he fays, “with the ufe 
of purgatives, brings away larger portions than any pur¬ 
gative medicine without it. And I have found the fo¬ 
lutio mineralis a molt powerful deflroyer of the afcaris 
lumbricoides.” 
Dr. Pollock, of Bengal, has Hated that a number of 
cafes of taenia were cured by decoftion of pomegranate. 
“ In fome of thefe the taenia had acquired an enormous 
length ; and in fome of them it was received in tepid wa¬ 
ter, and lived for feveral hours after it was pafled.” 
A remedy, however, of fuperior power to all thefe, 
and one which feems to aft very generally on all kinds of 
worms, is the oil of turpentine in doles of from 3 vi to 
two ounces. It was firff recommended by Chauberf, and 
Hnce tried on an extended fcale in this country, where it 
has met with a very favourable reception. Many objec¬ 
tions are in force againH this medicine. The firft, an 
intolerable thirfl that follows its ufe, and which it is im¬ 
proper to indulge by drinking: the fecond is, that its 
efficacy is deflroyed by mixture, and hence it is next to 
impoffible to adminifler a large dofe of turpentine to chil¬ 
dren, who, in faft, form the majority of worm-patients. 
In conclufion, therefore, though we have thought pro¬ 
per to enumerate moH anthelmintics which have obtained 
great repute, we tnuH give a decided preference to the 
Dolichos pruriens, or cowhage, overall others. This plant 
was firH introduced into this country by Mr. Chamber- 
laine. The parts ufed are the fetae, or hairy contents of 
the pod, (fee Dolichos, vol. vi. p. 11) which are, ac¬ 
cording to the above-mentioned author, to be mixed 
with honey or treacle, and thus formed into an eleftuary ; 
or it may be compounded in the form of lozenges, in 
which Hate it becomes a very palatable remedy for re- 
fraftory children. Theaftion of this medicine is ffiown 
by Mr. Chamberlaine’s experiments to be entirely me¬ 
chanical, and exerted only on the body of the worms, 
the fliarp fpiculte Hicking into the animals in queftion 
and killing them, while the coats of the bowels are de¬ 
fended from the accident by their conHant fecretion, or 
firmer Hrufture. 
Of the eleftuary, made with cowhage and treacle, a 
tea-fpoonful is in general found to be a fufficient dofe for 
children, from infancy to the age of fix or eight: from 
thence to fourteen, a defert-fpoonful is found toanfw'er 
well : and, for all above that age, a table-fpoonful. For¬ 
merly Mr. C. thought it might be fufficient if taken once 
a-day, but experience has (hown that it anfvvers better 
when taken twice ; viz. at night going to bed, and in 
the morning an hour before breakfaH ; and, though little 
or no previous medicine is necelfary, yet it is generally 
found to operate more effeftually where a gentle emetic 
(provided nothing forbids it) has been premifed. The 
cowhage, after being begun upon, is to be continued 
for three or four days ; after which, fome brilk purga¬ 
tive, fuel) as jalap, or infulion of fenna, or in ffiort what¬ 
ever purging medicine is known to agree befi with the 
patient, is to be taken ; which will in general bring away 
the worms, if there be any. Afterwards the cowhage is 
to be continued as long as there may feem occafion ; re¬ 
peating the purgative at intervals of three or four days. 
This medicine, excellent as it is, feems of late to have 
fallen into difufe in this country, where indeed the diffi¬ 
culty of procuring it genuine muH have fubjefted its 
employers to frequent failures in its application. It is 
remarkable, however, that Mr. Chamberlaine, after thir¬ 
ty-five years very extenlive trial of it, never had one cafe 
of failure fent to him, though he publicly courted their 
rranfiuiffion, and though it was as extenfively ufed as 
O L O G Y. 
highly extolled by the firH phyficians of the day. For 
our own parts, when the ufe of gentle purgatives fails to 
expel the worms, we flrongly recommend the immediate 
exhibition of this medicine; a meafure we may adopt 
without fear, fince we are allured it afts mechanically, 
and cannot therefore do mifehief even if its employment 
be ill-timed. Dr. Coffin, the American tranfiator of 
Prof. Brera’s work on verminous difeafes, fpeaks highly 
in praile of this remedy. 
After all that has been faid refpefting the lafety of cow¬ 
hage, and however inoffenfive in general it may be, reafon 
will diftate to us, that where the mucus of the ffomach 
and intefiines is abraded, or leflened, from any caufe 
whatfoever; or where there is a tendency towards in¬ 
flammation in any part of the inteflinal canal ; the exhi¬ 
bition of this medicine cannot be unattended with danger. 
The firH edition of Mr. Chamberlaine’s “Praftical 
Treatife on Dolichos pruriens” was publiflied in 1784. 
A tenth edition appeared in 1S12, in which he obferves, 
“I ffiall not go fo far as to fay, in praife of this my fa¬ 
vourite medicine, that I never knew it to fail; but I will 
fay, that I have experienced more certain good eftefts, 
and fewer ill confequences, than from any other medicine 
given with the fame intention ; infomuch, that I have, 
fince I firH began t.o exhibit the cowhage, had no occa- 
lion to look for any other vermifuge. My primary ob- 
jeft continues to be, the introduftion into common prac¬ 
tice of an article which I have long experienced to be a 
fafe and efficacious anthelmintic; nor have my endea¬ 
vours been unattended with fuccefs, as the Dolichos 
pruriens is now for the firfl time introduced into the 
Materia Medica of the London Pharmacopoeia, at the 
lafl reform of that book by the college, in the year 1809. 
It has been alfo received into the Pharmacopoeia of the 
Dublin College of Phyficians. In that of Edinburgh, it 
has Hood as an officinal for feveral years.” 
When the worms have been expelled, the correftion of 
the tone which has given rife to or has been produced 
by them, will require the application of thofe remedies 
and rules which are explicitly detailed under Dyfpepfia, 
in this article. 
Genus XIII. ProSliea; [from nr^y.T^, the fundament.] 
Pain or derangement about the anus and reftum, with¬ 
out primary inflammation. There are five fpecies. 
1. Proftica fimplex, fiinple pain at the. anus. The 
pain which arifes occafionally in the anus is of a fevere 
and fpafmodic kind; is liable to remit, and is produced 
by the paflage of large and indurated faeces ; or is caufed 
by fympathy with diforder of other parts, generally of 
the fuperior parts of the alimentary canal, lefs frequently 
of the urethra. Mild purgatives, warm fomentations, 
and, in fevere cafes, anal leeching, are the moH appropri¬ 
ate remedies. 
2. Proftica callofa, pain produced by, or accompanied 
with, a callous contraftion of the reftum. The caufe is 
ufually, but not always, feirrhus, which is liable more¬ 
over to degenerate, as in other cafes, into carcinoma. 
Colica callofa is alfo, an occafional refult. When this 
complaint does not arile from feirrhus, it may be con- 
fidered of the fame nature as Colica callofa, under which 
title we have detailed the treatment. When it arifes from 
feirrhus, in which cafe it forms what is called the 
fcirrho-contrafted reftum, therapeutical endeavours are 
of little avail. The origin of this complaint, as indeed 
of feirrhus altogether, is quite obfeure. Mr. White con- 
fidered at firH that it was a confequence of Ample ffric- 
ture ; but fubfequent experience has induced him to alter 
his opinion. Mr. Copeland, in his excellent Treatife, 
thinks it may be caufed by whatever produces inflam¬ 
mation or irritation of the inner membrane of the intef- 
tine; but neither is that opinion by any means well fup- 
ported. The feat of this difeafe (different from what we 
ufually obferve in Colica callofa) is generally two or 
three inches above the outer fphinfter; and there is often 
3 a found 
