460 
Cimicifuga  Racemosa. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I       Sept.,  1884. 
exhibits  upon  a  transverse  section  a  large  central  pith  made  up  of 
about  twenty-one  rows  of  colorless,  thin-walled,  parenchymatous  cells. 
Surrounding  this  central  cell-structure  is  a  circle  of  wood-tissue,  about 
as  wide  as  the  pith,  consisting  of  flattened  prosenchymatous  cells  smaller 
than  the  cells  of  the  pith  and  circularly  arranged  in  more  or  less 
distinctly  wedge-shaped  masses,  and,  of  large  thicker  walled  cells, 
which  upon  examining  a  longitudinal  section  proved  to  be  pitted  ducts. 
The  woody-tissue  has  about  thirty  to  forty  medullary  rays  radiating 
through  it  from  the  pith  to  the  bark.  These  rays  are  made  up  of  ten 
to  twelve  rows  of  elongated  parenchymatous  cells  and  two  to  three 
rows  of  pitted  ducts.  The  pleurenchymatous  tissue  is  separated  from 
the  prosenchymatous  tissue  of  the  bark  by  a  cambium  layer  made  up 
of  a  single  row  of  rectangular-shaped  cells  about  one-fourth  the  size  of 
the  surrounding  cell-structure.  The  bark  is  made  up  of  two  layers. 
The  outer  bark  consists  of  three  to  five  rows  of  loose  thin  walled 
parenchyma,  containing  a  yellowish-brown  coloring  matter.  The 
inner  bark  consists  of  about  thirty  rows  of  horizontally  flattened  pro- 
senchymatous cells  larger  than  the  cells  of  the  woody  tissue  or  pith. 
The  rootlets  have  a  short,  smooth  fracture ;  and  upon  a  transverse 
section  show  an  outer  and  inner  bark,  a  cambium  layer,  and  a  medi- 
tullium.  The  outer  bark  consists  of  one  to  two  rows  of  parenchymatous 
cells  loosely  placed  together  containing  a  brownish  coloring  matter. 
The  inner  bark  consists  of  ten  to  twelve  circular  rows  of  flattened 
prosenchymatous  cells.  The  bark  is  separated  from  the  meditullium 
by  a  cambium  layer  of  a  single  line  of  rectangular  cells  smaller  than 
the  surrounding  tissues.  The  meditullium  is  made  up  of  complete 
parenchymatous  cells,  with  lighter  colored  rectangular  pleurenchyma 
tissue  radiating  through  it  in  a  triangular,  cross-like  or  stellate  man- 
ner according  to  the  number  of  wood-bundles.  Around  the  outer  sides 
of  the  meditullium  and  at  the  ends  of  the  wood-rays  the  parenchyma 
tissue  is  crowded  in  dense  masses  and  elongated,  as  if  pushed  out  of 
place  by  the  wood-bundles.  The  arrangement  of  the  woody  tissue  in 
the  rootlets,  representing  a  maltese  cross,  is  the  characteristic  distin- 
guishing mark  of  the  drug. 
Medical  History. — The  early  history  of  this  drug,  and  the  time 
when  it  was  first  used  as  a  remedial  agent  to  the  human  race  is  not 
known.  Considerable  variance  of  opinion  has  existed  with  regard  to 
the  influence  this  drug  is  capable  of  exciting  upon  the  animal  economy. 
Linnaeus,  in  his  Materia  Medicq  published  in  1771,  called  it  Aetata 
