Am.  Jour,  Pfcarm. 
Aug.,  1892. 
Digit  aim. 
42  3 
arhythmia  was  produced,  and  after  a  short  time  sudden  stoppage  of 
the  heart. 
The  same  effects  were  produced  on  the  cat  by  I  and  2  milli- 
grammes, respectively. 
Rabbits  were  found  to  be  less  sensitive.  Subcutaneous  injections 
of  5  to  8  milligrammes,  respectively,  produced  no  effect.  By  intra- 
venal  injection  of  doses  up  to  8  milligrammes  neither  the  blood 
pressure  nor  the  pulse  frequency  was  sensibly  affected.  Gradual 
increase  of  dose  to  15  milligrammes  caused  after  some  time  sudden 
stoppage  of  the  heart  even  in  rabbits. 
The  first  trials  of  the  action  of  digitalin  on  the  human  subject 
were  made  by  Dr.  Mottes  in  Munich,  and  he  obtained  the  best 
results  with  doses  of  0-25  milligramme  at  intervals  of  from  2  to  3 
hours,  without  the  occurrence  of  any  disagreeable  or  dangerous 
symptoms.1 
The  use  of  pure  digitalin  in  medical  practice  appears  to  recom- 
mend itself,  not  only  in  regard  to  the  possibility  of  securing 
certainty  in  the  dose.  Hitherto  it  has  been  found  that  after  long 
administration  of  digitalis  preparations,  hurtful  and  so-called  cumu- 
lative effects  have  been  observed,  manifesting  themselves  especially 
in  derangement  of  the  stomach.  This  secondary  action  is  in  all 
probability  to  be  ascribed  not  to  digitalin  itself,  but  to  those  sub- 
stances which  are  associated  with  it  in  the  digitalis  preparations 
which  have  hitherto  been  used. 
In  any  case  this  inference  is  warranted  by  the  results  which  Pro- 
fessor Boehm  has  obtained  in  the  investigation  of  digitonin.  That 
substance,  unfortunately,  is  the  only  one  naturally  associated  with 
digitalin,  except  digitoxin,  which  has  been  up  to  the  present  time 
prepared  in  a  state  of  absolute  purity.  It  is  also  the  one  which 
occurs  in  the  largest  proportion.  In  regard  to  its  action  Professor 
Boehm  reports  as  follows  : 
Digitonin  exerts  a  very  energetic  action  in  the  production  of  local 
inflammatory  symptoms. 
Administered  internally  to  a  dog  in  doses  of  o  1  to  ro  gramme, 
it  produces  in  a  short  time  vomiting,  by  which,  of  course,  any 
further  action  upon  the  stomach  or  intestine  is  prevented.  When 
given  in  doses  of  less  than  o-i  gramme  for  ten  days,  it  did  not 
1  Professor  von  Ziemssen  has  also  tried  ^digitalin  in  the  Munich  hospital  and 
obtained  very  good  results. 
