On the antagonism between medicines and between remedies and diseases : being the Cartwright Lectures for the year 1880 / by Roberts Bartholow.

  • Bartholow, Roberts, 1831-1904.
Date:
1881
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the antagonism between medicines and between remedies and diseases : being the Cartwright Lectures for the year 1880 / by Roberts Bartholow. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the cord and on the peripheral motor nerves. In all those actions involving the functions of the organic nervous system there is very complete antagonism, but in respect to the nervous system of animal life no antagonism is possible. The only examples of application of the antagonism to the treatment of poisoning, which I have been able to finfi, are two cases of poisoning by belladonna liniment, received into University College Hospital in charge of Dr. Sydney Ringer.* Pilocarpin was injected subcutaneously in both, without any obvious influence over either. The experience in the more important of the two cases demonstrated that one grain and a third of pilocarpin failed to ex- cite perspiration, when one third of a grain of the same sample caused in healthy persons most profuse sweating. It is obvious that belladonna is relatively more intense, as it is more prolonged, in its effects. The first experiments to determine the antagonism of atropia and pilocarpin were those of Yulpian,f and were confined to the salivary and sweat secretions. When the saliva and sweat are pouring out in a stream from the action of pilocarpin, the flow of secretion is almost instantly arrested by the administration of atro- pia. The mechanism of this antagonism has been thoroughly inves- tigated by Vulpian, ^ Langley, § Marine, || Petrina,^[ and numerous other investigators. Pilocarpin stimulates the nerve ends in the glands, and, as Heidenhain long ago proved, atropia paralyzes the end organs of these nerves. The chorda tympani and the sympa- thetic filaments distributed to the submaxillary gland being divided, pilocarpin still has power to cause increased secretion, as Langley has shown, thus proving that this agent also stimulates the gland cells. In this respect, also, it is probable that atropia has an antag- onistic action. The experiments of Langley on this point have been confirmed by Uawrocki,** Puchsinger,ff and the other observers just named. The increase of secretion caused by pilocarpin is not limited to the skin and salivary glands, but extends to the mucous membrane of the nose, bronchi, and intestinal canal, although to a less extent. The arrest of these secretions by atropia is not less prompt and de- * “ Lancet,” Mar. 4, 1876. f “ Gaz. Hebdom.,” 1875,6, p. 81. | Loc. cit. § “Jour, of Anat. and Physiol.,” xi, part 1, pp. 173, et scq. ! J Virchow u. Hirsch, “ Jahresbericht,” 1878, p. 173. Tf “Dcutseh. Arch. f. lclin. Med.,” xxi, p. 258. ** “ Centralbl. f. d. rned. Wiasensch.,” vi, p. 97. ff Pfliigcr’s “Archiv,” xv, p. 483.