Experiments on animals
1. Experiments were made with A. by R. D.Batten, M. D. and E. G.Bokenham, LSLAL The drug was dissolved in a saline solution and injected into the dorsal lymph sac., or peritoneal cavity, and also administered by the stomach. 1 a. In the frog, a stage of dulness and quiet was followed by inability to direct its movement – left evening, after hopping it frequently fell on its back. Later, when laid on its back, it remained quite still in that position, making no attempt to regain its normal sitting posture. It would respond to slight stimuli, not by effort to escape, but by an apparently purposeless extension of the legs. 1 b. In guinea – pigs and rats the onset was usually marked by an impairment of voluntary movement and increasing unsteadiness, the animal standing still and swaying from side to side, often at same time shaking violently. This condition would proceed till the animal was no longer able to maintain its balance and fell on its side. 1 c. The most marked early symptom, common to all classes of subjects, was rigidity of certain sets of muscles. In frogs this usually began in th fore limbs, and extended to the muscles of the back of abdomen; while in the guineas – pig the hind limbs would become suddenly extended and rigid, so that the animal, on attempting to walk, did so only with its fore limbs. the rigidity afterwards extended to the other limbs, the head being drawn back into extreme extension. this rigidity was followed in mammals by peculiar rhythmic movements, the limbs moving very rapidly backwards and forwards, as if the animal were running (although it was on its side.). If the use of the fore legs were regained, it performed circus movements by their means, always in same direction, round the hinder legs as a centre. The thymic movements alternated with rigidity. Still later the rigidity was less, and extreme irritability came on, a slight tap causing spasm. In severe cases a draught of air or vibration of walking in the room would produce a series of general convulsions. These symptoms appeared both before and behind a lesion dividing the spinal cord, whence it was concluded that the convulsions (in the frog) are of spinal origin. the rigidity and irritability were entirely abolished, protem., by administration of an anaesthetic. Respiration was slowed, shallow, irregular, and with frequent stoppages until death finally ensued. At times the rhythm was that of cheyne – Stokes breathing. 1 d. Summary. – Antipyrin appears to act chiefly on spinal cord, and to a less extent on brain and motor nerves. Analogy leads to the inference that the lateral columns are affected, shown by spastic rigidity on using limbs, excessive myotactic irritability, and in one experiment phenomena exactly resembling ankle – -clonus. Response to slight stimuli much more marked (viz., in excess) than that to painful stimuli (which was lessened). (Brit. Medorrhinum Journ. 889, i, 1222.)
APIS (see vol. i, p. 310, 748; vol 2, p.725)
I. 14. A medical man took for an irritation of the throat 13 minims of Apis 0 in water, supposing it to be lachesis 6. He was then galvanising a patient. In about 3 m. he felt a violent blow in the occipital region, and began to feel very strange; the sensation so increased that he had to stop what he was doing. He then sat down and noted his symptoms as they arose, as follows: – Swimming sensation; sense of constriction in throat; twitching of muscles and slight trembling; general sensation of fulness and weakness of co – ordinating power, especially in hands; oppression at bottom of sternum; pain down l. ulnar nerve; weight and tension at back of neck; dimness of sight; sense of weakness in upper limbs; slight numbness of l. hand, particularly of ulnar fingers. (This subsequently increased very much, and amounted to complete anaesthesia of l. ulnar fingers, also want of power, with incomplete anaesthesia of both hands.) The sensation for which he took the dose (“pain as though an oat – husk had stuck in the hyoid fossa”) suddenly disappeared soon after its ingestion, and an habitual irritability of the bladder was diminished. (Monthly Hom. Rev., xxxii, 451.)
II. 19. In 1877 I was stung by a wasp on the r. cheek. Next day, about 4 a. m., I was suddenly awoke by a burning and stinging sensation in my cheek, and a great soreness and smarting along the course of the lymphatics down into my neck. I found my cheek much swollen and red, and there was a patch of redness about the size of a florin that felt as though it were being pierced with red – hot needles. The temporo – maxillary joint was stiff and painful, and a feeling of soreness ran along the gums to the tonsil on that side of my face. After bathing the affected parts for awhile, I got into bed again, feeling somewhat relieved, and fell asleep; but about 2 hours afterwards I was again suddenly roused, this time by a sense of suffocation and difficulty of swallowing, and a renewal of the former distress with intensified severity. Feeling alarmed, I obtained some hot water, to which I added a few dr. of ledum 0, and fomented the whole of the affected region until the severity of the symptoms abated. During the remainder of that day, and for 4 d. afterwards, the attacks continued to recur in paroxysms of more or less severity. The submaxillary and cervical glands on that side of my face became increasingly swollen and tender until the 4th d., when these conditions began gradually to abate, but in the immediate locality of the wound the pains assumed a more constant character, throbbing, smarting, and burning, with periodical stinging and lancinating, and lasting thus for more than a month, though the wound suppurated and discharged freely. The constitutional disturbance consisted of slight rigors and febrile movements, felt mostly in evening (ROWBOTHAM, The Organon, ii, 79.) 20. Mrs. A., Aet. 40, not pregnant, for abdominal enlargement and cessation of menses took 15 dr. of tinct., and repeated dose every 3 h. The next m. her second r. finger began to swell (except the tip), the middle joint especially; it was red and hot; there were burning – stinging pains, with tingling extending up arm to body and down r. side and leg to foot; pains were worse from sundown (5 p. m.) to 6 – 8 a. m., preventing sleep; they were relieved by hot applications and gentle rubbing, or by pinching end of finger, but aggravated by cold applications Apis in high dilution aggravated; improvement under ledum. (TINKER, in Allen’s Encyclopaedia, x, 307.) 21. Mrs. H. was stung by a bee on l. forefinger. She immediately put her finger to her mouth to relieve pain by suction; but in a few moments felt a prickling sensation in lips and tongue. This sensation extended rapidly over face, temples, and head, and thence over entire body, – the sensation now resembling the pain in the finger from the sting. A few m. after the accident there was so much tumefaction of face that the eyes were nearly closed, and the lips and tongue were so much swollen as to interfere with speech. There was distressing sensation of fulness in head, patient declaring that her temples would hurt. She complained of oppression at chest, and inability to take a full inspiration. Skin was intensely red, and covered with an eruption over entire body except the feet, resembling urticaria, causing distressing itching and prickling. There had been severe rig. Pulse was 87 and full. The most prominent symptoms were promptly removed by an emetic, and convalescence ensued in a few day (SPALSBURY, Bost. Medorrhinum and Surg. Journ., liii, 285.)
22. Mr. Walker, a bee – keeper, sought to render himself proof against bee – stings, allowing himself to be well stung on the wrist. The whole forearm was affected with a cutaneous erysipelas, and there was disorder to the nerves, accompanied with heat, redness, swelling, and pain. The day after this attack was over he allowed himself to be stung 3 times more on same spot. The attack which followed was less severe, but, as before, he felt a stinging sensation as far up as the shoulder, and he noticed that a lymphatic gland behind his ear had increased considerably in size. By repeating experiment inflammation grew less and less each time, and at last he could undergo stinging with almost complete impunity. (Lancet, 1874, ii, 883.)
APOCYNUM CANNABINUM (see vol.1, p.
323).
Experiments on animals
1. some experiments on animals have recently been made to ascertain the physiological action of A. by Dr. J. Rose Bradford, who has most kindly allowed me to quote some of the results he has obtained therefrom. In two of these experiments he used a tincture of the root, one in ten of proof spirit. Dr. Bradford finds that the principal action of A. is on the heart. By it the heart of a dog is slowed down to a very remarkable degree, for, when it is well under the influence of the drug, it beats as slowly as two beats to each respiration, or even three beats to every two respirations. This is a much more powerful effect than can be produced experimentally with digitalis; for before this amount of slowing is reached by the latter drug the vagus becomes paralysed, and the heart beats more rapidly and irregularly. A. strengthens the heart’s beat and increases the tonus, so that it stops the frog’s heart in systole. It generally stops the mammalian heart in diastole, but a sudden massive dose may stop the mammalian heart in systole. From this it is evident that the action of apocynum on the heart is similar to that of digitalis, strophanthus, adonidin. caffeine and sparteine, only its power of slowing the heart seems to be greater than in the other members of this group. Its action on the arteries, as shown by changes in the blood – pressure, differs from that of digitalis, for Dr. Bradford finds that apocynum causes no definite rise of blood – pressure, indicating that it does not cause contraction of the arteries.
Hughes was a great writer and a scholar. He actively cooperated with Dr. T.F. Allen to compile his 'Encyclopedia' and rendered immeasurable aid to Dr. Dudgeon in translating Hahnemann's 'Materia Medica Pura' into English. In 1889 he was appointed an Editor of the 'British Homoeopathic Journal' and continued in that capacity until his demise. In 1876, Dr. Hughes was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Organization of the International Congress of Homoeopathy Physicians in Philadelphia. He also presided over the International Congress in London.