56 
ON  PENGHAWAR  DJAMBI. 
firm  adhesion  of  the  coagalam  to  the  surface  of  the  wound  and 
the  permanent  occlusion  of  the  orifices  of  the  vessels,  consists  in  the 
elasticity  and  delicacy  of  the  filaments  ;  on  moderate  pressure  the 
latter  penetrate  into  the  finest  interstices  and  apertures  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  wound,  and  thus  cause  coagulation  of  the  blood  not  only 
on  the  surface  of  the  wound,  but  also  in  the  interstices  of  the 
tissues  next  to  it.  But  it  is  particularly  by  the  following  quali- 
ties that  penghawar  excels  other  hemostatics  : — ■ 
(1.)  It  arrests,  quicker  than  any  other  pharmaceutical  means 
(agaric,  sponge,  bovista,  &c.),  parenchymatous,  venous,  oc  arte- 
rial hemorrhage,  provided  the  diameter  of  the  artery  does  not 
exceed  one  line  and  a  half.  [The  Indians  stop  bleeding,  also, 
from  greater  arteries  with  penghawar.]  (2.)  It  produces  a  co- 
agulum  even  in  cases  where  the  blood  has  changed  so  much  that 
it  has  lost  nearly  the  property  of  coagulating,  or  where  the  walls 
of  the  vessels  are  so  diseased  that  they  are  incapable  of  a  plastic 
process,  as,  for  instance,  in  carcinomatous  and  scorbutic  ulcers. 
(3.)  Penghawar  does  not  change  the  vitality  of  the  wound  or 
ulcer,  and  therefore  does  not  exert  an  injurious  influence  upon 
the  healing  process. 
Penghawar  acts  better  when  crumbled  than  if  applied  entire. 
It  is  to  be  kept  in  a  dry  place.  Five  grains  are  sufficient  to 
arrest  considerable  hemorrhage ;  more  than  one  scruple  was 
never  required.  It  is  pressed  for  two  or  three  minutes  directly 
on  the  bleeding  surface,  after  which,  if  possible,  a  compressive 
bandage  or  strips  of  adhesive  plaster  are  applied  over  it,  taking- 
care  not  to  draw  the  wound  too  much  together.  If  the  bleeding 
does  not  proceed  from  the  whole  surface  of  the  wound,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  fill  out  the  entire  cavity  of  the  wound  or  ulcer 
with  penghawar.  The  hemorrhage  ceased  more  rapidly,  if  the 
author  pressed  the  penghawar  (in  the  form  of  a  pencil)  so  upon 
the  bleeding  surface  that  the  filaments  were  directed  perpendic- 
ularly against  it.  The  internal  administration  of  penghawar, 
as  recommended  by  Gaupp  and  others,  is  quite  useless. — London 
Pharm.  Journ.  Oct.  I860,  from  Med.  Zeitung  Musslands,  1859, 
and  /Schmidt's  Jahr.  April,  1860. 
