714 
Insects  Used  in  Medicine. 
Am.  Jour,  Pharm. 
October,  1920. 
the  same  degree  of  prominence  which  was  present  in  the  experiments 
in  which  digitalis  was  used. 
CONCLUSIONS. 
We  conclude  that  Adonis  Vernalis  stimulates  the  heart  in  a  manner 
very  similar  to  digitalis ;  that  it  produces  variations  in  blood  pressure 
characterized  by  a  rise,  if  large  doses  are  administered,  or  by  no  pres- 
sure effect  if  the  doses  are  relatively  small;  that  the  changes  in  pres- 
sure are  caused  mainly  by  the  action  of  the  drug  upon  the  blood  ves- 
sels ;  that  it  is  less  irritating  than  digitalis  and  possesses  less  tendency 
to  produce  a  gastric  disturbance ;  and  that  it  possesses  approximately 
the  same  strength  as  digitalis  preparations  made  according  to  the 
official  directions  for  a  tincture  or  a  fiuidextract. 
I  wish  to  express  my  indebtedness  to  Dr.  F.  W.  Heyl  for  many 
helpful  suggestions  during  the  preparation  of  this  paper. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
^Arch.  exp.  Path.  Pharm.,  15,  235. 
^Sitz.  Abhdlgn.  naturf,  Ges.  Rostock.,  191 1,  31;  Chem.  Zentr.,  i:  430,  1912. 
^Russki.  Vratch  II,  1-6;  Chem.  Ahs.,  7,  1921. 
^Btdl.  gen.  therap.,  165,  305;  Zent.  Biochem.  Biophys.,  15,  208;  Chem.  Abs. 
7,  3794- 
^Ref.  Jahrb.  Pharm.,  73:  54,  1913. 
^Les  nouv.  remedes,  31,  i;  Zent.  Biochem.  Biophys.,  16,  652;  Chem.  Abs.,  8, 
3079- 
'XVII  Int.  Congr.  Med.,  5,  2,  239,  1914;  Sollman,  Pharm.,  409,  1917. 
^Jour.  Am.  Chem.  Soc,  40,  436. 
^Jour.  Am.  Pharm.  Asso.,  2,  103. 
^^*Jour.  Pharm.  Exp.  Therap.,  11,  103. 
^Uonr.  Pharm.  Exp.  Therap.,  4,  113. 
^^Arch.  exp.  Path.  Pharm.,  73,  81. 
INSECTS  USED  IN  MEDICINE. 
By  John  T.  Lloyd,  Ph.D., 
cincinnati,  ohio. 
That  insects  and  their  by-products  play  an  important  part  in  the 
economy  of  man  is  known  to  every  layman.  All  appreciate  the 
uses  made  of  honey  by  civilized  peoples  and  many  know  the 
still  greater  importance  it  holds  in  the  diet  of  the  savage  who  is 
unable  to  concentrate  the  dilute  juices  of  plants  to  syrup  or  sugar. 
Many  savage  peoples  also  relish  the  fat  larvae  of  certain  insects, 
and  thus  the  insects  themselves  play  their  part  by  breaking  the 
