Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
July  1,1872.  j 
Varieties. 
323 
rently  superior  to  all  which  have  been  used  before.  Two  published  investiga- 
tions about  the  physiological  effects  of  this  remedy  are  before  us  :  one  by  Y. 
Siebert,  of  Dorpat  ("  Investigations  on  the  Physiological  Effect  of  Apomor- 
phine"— Archiv  fuer  Heilkunde,  xii,  6),  and  another  one  by  Riegel  and  Boehm 
("On  the  Emetic  Effect  of  Apomorphine,' — Deutches  Archiv  fuer  Klinisehc 
Medicin,  ix,  2). 
After  it  had  already  been  prepared,  in  1845,  by  Arppe  and  other  chemists, 
Matthiesen  and  Wright,  in  England,  have  lately  again,  by  treating  morphine 
with  hydrochloric  acid,  produced  it  as  a  hydrochloric  salt,  the  base  of  which 
(apomorphine)  has  simply  originated  out  of  morphine  by  the  escape  of  water, 
to-wit:  C17H19NO3  (morphine) — H2  0=  O17H17NO2  (apomorphine).  The'same 
chemists  have  given  notice  of  its  emetic  effect. 
Numerous  experiments  on  animals  and  human  beings  have  taught  that  apo- 
morphine is  a  reliable  and  speedy  emetic  (acting  within  from  four  to  sixteen 
minutes,  according  to  Riegel  and  Boehm),  which  has  no  very  disagreeable  con- 
comitant effects  of  any  kind,  but  the  great  advantage  of  being  well  suited  for 
subcutaneous  injections — a  quality  not  belonging  to  any  other  known  emetic, 
and  one  of  great  importance  in  the  treatment  of  children,  lunatics,  unconscious 
patients  and  other  cases.  Slight  vertigo,  heaviness  of  the  head,  inclination  to 
yawn,  and  precordial  uneasiness  of  very  short  duration,  are  the  only  symptoms 
which  so  far  have  been  observed  to  occur  when  administered,  but  they  disap- 
pear as  soon  as  emesis  sets  in.  After-effects  on  the  intestinal  canal,  like  those 
of  tartar  emetic,  or  inflammation  and  suppuration  at  the  point  of  injection,  have 
never  been  observed.  Its  physiological  effects  on  the  pulse,  temperature  of 
the  skin,  etc.,  are  of  no  practical  importance.  The  quantity  necessary  for  this 
effect  by  hypodermic  injection  is,  in  the  human  being,  according  to  Siebert, 
0*006  to  0"007  (about  1-10  grs.),  and  oscillates,  according  to  Riegel  and  Boehm, 
between  0  03  and  0*04  (about  i  to  f  of  a  grain).  The  latter  used  a  solution 
containing  one  per  cent,  for  their  preparations. 
This  preparation  has  principally  been  obtained  from  England  (under  the 
name  of  hydrochlorate  of  amorphia,  from  McFarlan  &  Co.,  Royal  Medical 
Warehouse,  17  North  Bridge,  Edinburgh),  as  a  pale,  greenish-gray  powder. — 
Atlanta  Med.  and  Surg.  Joum.,  May,  1872,  from  Berliner  Wochenschrift, 
Jan.,  1872,  No.  5. 
Spilanthes  Oleracea. — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Agri-Horticultural  Society 
of  Madras,  a  reference  was  made  to  the  medicinal  properties  of  Spilanthes 
oleracea,  especially  as  to  its  use  as  a  remedy  for  toothache. 
Colonel  Pears,  who  communicated  the  fact,  says  that  it  was  administered  on 
the  recommendation  of  a  native  'servant  to  a  friend  of  his  who  was  suffering 
from  very  severe  toothache,  and  that  it  effected  a  perfect  cure  in  a  very  short 
time.  Dr.  Hunter  pointed  out  that  the  Spilanthes  contains  some  acrid  principle, 
and,  when  chewed,  causes  a  copious  flow  of  saliva.  The  use  of  such  articles 
for  the  relief  of  toothache  is  of  very  ancient  date  in  European  medicine,  the 
pellitory  of  Spain  having  long  been  used  as  a  masticatory  in  cases  of  toothache, 
The  Spilanthes  is  probably  just  as  effective  as  the  pellitory,  and  is,  moreover, 
easily  obtained  in  India. 
