ON THE BITTER PRINCIPLE OF DIGITALIS. 105 
the medicine was withheld the quantity of urine was much in- 
creased. 
In a severe case of pleurisy and pericarditis complicated with 
anasarca, deficiency of urine, which was bloody, orthopnoea, tu- 
multuous action of the heart, with a pulse which could not be 
counted, digitaline in the dose of 2 milms. repeated three times, 
was followed by the evacuation of 3 pints of limpid urine, and 
the pulse was reduced to 120 and regular. Four pills of 4 
milligrms. were given during the next day, the urine continu- 
ed abundant, the pulse was 96, occasionally intermittent ; by 
the continuance of the medicine the pulse was finally reduced 
to 54, with occasional interruptions ; the patient was after- 
wards completely cured. In the case of simple pleuritic effu- 
sion, digitaline appeared to hasten the absorption of the fluid. 
Its diuretic action was also well-marked in a case of nervous 
palpitation. 
M. Solon not only has confirmed the experiments of the 
author, but even has found the digitaline more active than he 
did. He always observed that in a dose of 1 to 3 milligrms. 
in the day, its action on the circulation was marked, and re- 
duced the pulse from 72 to 55 in the minute ; the poisonous ef- 
fects were always observed when the dose of the substance 
amounted to 1 centigrm. per diem. The diuretic action ob- 
served in some of the above experiments has not been confirm- 
ed. M. Solon concludes from his observations, that the dose 
of the digitaline should be from 1 milligrm. to 1 centigrm.* 
Ibid. 
* As the therapeutic actions of medicinal substances do not come 
within our limits ; we have been obliged to curtail these experiments 
considerably. — Ed. Chem. Gaz. 
VOL. XI. NO. II. 10 
