Am.  Jour.  Pbarm. ) 
Feb.,  1882.  J 
Resorcin  and  its  Allies. 
79 
infusion  of  pancreas^  and  other  substances  winch  ordinarily  quickly 
undergo  decomposition,  can  be  kept  for  an  almost  unlimited  time  by 
the  addition  of  a  few  grains  of  this  new  antiseptic.  Even  when 
decomposition  has  already  set  in,  resorcin  speedily  arrests  it.  Wounds 
of  the  cornea,  conjunctiva,  and  the  mucous  membranes,  when  irritated 
and  inoculated  with  decomposing  organic  matter,  speedily  heal  without 
the  production  of  constitutional  symptoms,  if  cauterized  with  resorcin. 
Its  application  has  been  found  equally  efficacious  in  the  treatment  of 
erysipelas  and  subcutaneous  abscess.  Dr.  Constantine  Paul  finds  that 
even  weak  solutions  speedily  and  effectually  disinfect  typhoid  stools. 
It  is  a  true  process  of  disinfection,  he  says ;  for  resorcin  itself,  being 
odorless,  does  not  act  as  so  many  so-called  disinfectants  do,  by  substi- 
tuting one  smell  for  another.  Of  such  great  value  does  Dr.  Paul  con- 
sider resorcin  as  a  deodorizer,  that,  in  diarrhoea,  he  often  uses  it  as  an 
enema,  so  as  to  disinfect  the  stools  before  they  are  passed. 
The  action  of  resorcin  on  the  lower  animals  has  as  yet  been  but  little 
investigated  ;  but  it  would  appear  from  the  experiments  of  Dujardin 
^eaumetz  and  Callais,  that,  in  dogs  and  rabbits,  it  exerts  a  powerful 
action  on  the  nervous  centres,  producing  epileptiform  convulsions. 
The  respiratory  movements  become  rapid  and  superficial,  and  usually 
the  heart  continues  beating  for  some  time  after  breathing  has  ceased. 
Professor  Lichtheim  of  Berne,  found  that  in  a  man  it  produced  giddi- 
ness and  buzzing  in  the  ears,  the  face  became  flushed,  the  eyes  bright, 
and  the  pulse  and  respiration  were  quickened.  In  from  ten  to  fifteen 
minutes  the  skin  became  moist,  and  soon  the  whole  body  was  bathed 
in  perspiration.  It  has  been  said  that  one  of  the  great  advantages  of 
resorcin  is  that  it  is  destitute  of  toxic  properties  ;  but,  from  some  obser- 
vations recently  recorded  by  Dr.  Murrell,  it  would  appear  that,  in  large 
doses,  it  is  capable  of  producing  very  decided  symptoms.  The  patient 
was  a  young  woman  who  suffered  severely  from  asthma.  After  a  few 
preliminary  trials  with  smaller  doses,  she  was  given,  during  a  severe 
paroxysm,  half  a  drachm  in  a  little  milk.  She  experienced  no  diffi- 
culty in  taking  it,  her  breathing  became  easier  almost  at  once,  and  in 
half  an  hour  she  fell  asleep,  sleeping  comfortably  for  three  hours,  when 
she  awoke  free  from  shortness  of  breath.  The  urine  passed  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  was  of  an  olive-green  color,  as  if  carbolic  acid  had  been 
taken.  The  same  dose  was  given  on  two  other  occasions  during  a 
paroxysm,  but  failed  to  afford  relief.  The  dose  was  then  increased  to 
a  drachm.    Immediately  on  taking  the  powder,  she  experienced  a 
