Am-^1uyr;1|0h8arm-}     Notes  on  u Physiological  Testing."  325 
Dale  has  shown  that  ergotoxine  will  cause  a  marked  rise  in  blood 
pressure  in  decerebrized  cats.  Dixon3  claims  the  action  of  ergot  on 
the  blood  pressure  to  run  parallel  to  its  action  on  the  uterus.  I  have 
found  that  the  alkaline  ether  shaken  from  ergot  gives  a  persistent 
rise  in  blood  pressure  in  narcotized  dogs  with  cut  vagi,  and  believe 
the  trouble  experienced  by  other  experimenters  (Sollman  and 
Brown)4  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  inorganic  salts  and  per- 
haps cholin  were  not  removed  in  their  experiments.  It  seems  at 
first  sight  to  offer  a  possible  method  of  standardizing  these  prepara- 
tions to  use  Dale's  method  and  note  the  amount  of  ergot  solution 
necessary  to  cause  a  reversal  in  action  of  a  definite  amount  of 
adrenalin.  Dale,  however,  believes  that  there  is  more  than  one 
principle  involved  in  this  action.  If  this  is  true,  then  we  cannot  as 
yet  standardize  entirely  with  reference  to  ergotoxine. 
Up  to  the  present  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  all  we  can  do  is  to 
rely  on  the  bluing  of  the  cock's  comb  by  either  the  injection  or  the 
feeding  of  ergot  preparations.  My  own  method  has  been  to  inject 
subcutaneously  5  c.c.  of  the  fluidextract  into  a  rooster,  and  after 
about  an  hour's  interval  the  comb  and  wattles  will  become  mark- 
edly blue  and  cold,  provided  the  preparation  is  active.  This  bluing 
passes  off  during  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours.  Some  of  the 
large  firms  use  the  method  of  feeding  ergot  preparations  to  Leghorn 
roosters  which  have  been  starved  for  twenty-four  hours.  These 
animals  are  then  fed  15  to  30  c.c.  of  the  fluidextract,  after  evapor- 
ating off  the  alcohol.  Bluing  of  the  combs  and  wattles  occurs  in  a 
few  hours.  The  objection  I  see  to  this  test  is  the  fact  that  ergot 
preparations  are  often  irritating  and  may  not  be  absorbed,  and  thus 
1  Vahleri,  C.  Clavin,  em  neuer  Mutterkornbestandtheil.  Arch.  f.  exper. 
Path.,  Vol.  55,  p.  131.  1906. 
2  Cushny,  A.  R.  On  the  Movements  of  the  Uterus.  Jour.  Physiol.,  Vol.  35, 
p.  19  1906. 
3  Dixon,  W.  E.  Biochem.  Standardization.  Pharm.  Jour.,  Vol.  75,  p.  157. 
I905- 
1  Sollman,  T.,  and  Brown,  E.  D.  Intravenous  Injection  of  Ergot.  Jour, 
Amer.  Med.  Assoc  ,  Vol.  45,  p.  229.  1905. 
A  good  handling  of  the  question  of  the  action  of  ergot  on  the  circulation  can 
be  found  in  E.  Jolly.  Die  Einwirkung  des  Mutterkorns  auf  die  Circulation. 
Gottingen  1905. 
