Leptandra Virginica. Veronica Virginica. Black Root. Culver’s Physic, Tall Speed well (U.S.A.). *N. O. Scrophulariaceae. Tincture of resinoid Leptandrin. Tincture of fresh root of second year. Trituration of dried root. (A fresh plant tincture should also be made and tested.).
Clinical
Ascites. *Bilious attack Bilious fever. Constipation. Diarrhoea. *Dysentery. Dyspepsia. Headache. Jaundice *livers. affections of. Remittent fever, infantile. Yellow fever.
Characteristics
*Leptandra in the form of the resinoid *Leptandrin has been the subject of an heroic proving by Burt. As one of the grand characteristics of it relative *Digitalis in *white stools, so the grand characteristic of *Lept. is *black stools. The following experience of Dr. Burt fairly epitomizes the drug’s action: “For the last two hours” (i.e., six hours after the second dose on the fourth day of proving) “have been in awful pain and distress in umbilical and hypogastric region, drinking cold water worse the pain very much, dull, aching, burning distress in region of gall bladder, with frequent chilliness along spine, great distress in hypogastrium with *great desire for stool. A very profuse black stool, about the consistence of cream, with undigested potatoes in it, gave better, but was followed by great distress in region of liver extending to spine, for the last four hours there has been constant distress, with pains in whole abdomen, but for the last half-hour the pains in umbilicus and hypogastrium have *been awful to endure, with rumbling and great desire for stool, *a very profuse black, fetid stool, that ran a stream from my bowels, and could not be retained for a moment, gave great better but did not stop the pain altogether.” There were great varieties of this stool, and in the later stages of the proving it became dysenteric and mixed with shreds. There was also constipation with hard black stool, followed by softer. And with the liver symptoms there was dull, heavy, frontal headache. These symptoms confirm the use of the drug by eclectics as a kind of “vegetable calomel.” But though black stools are the chief characteristic, they are not the only kind that *Lept. causes. Hale gives the following as the order in which the different kinds of stools occur in the time of the proving. (1) Black, thick, tar-like, fetid. (2) Thinner, brownish, often fetid. (3) Stool of mixed mucus, flocculent and watery matter, with yellow bile or blood. (4) Mucous bloody stool mixed with shred-like substances, often pure blood. Hale says it is only in cases of dysentery which have developed in this way that *Lept. is curative, not in cases primarily dysenteric. Cases due to sudden climatic changes have been cured by it. Farrington further characterizes the liver action of *Lept.: Dull aching in right hypochondrium, gall-bladder, and *back of liver, accompanied by soreness. Burning distress in and about liver after spreading to stomach and bowels. With this there is drowsiness and despondency. Bilious and typhoid fevers with the black, tarry stools. Neidhard observed a periodicity in cases cured by him: Periodical, occurring every two or three months, yellow-coated tongue, constant nausea with vomiting of bile, shooting or aching pains in region of liver, loss of appetite, urine brownish, or, at any rate, very dark, often pain in transverse colon, giddiness. But the most characteristic symptom is very dark, almost black stools. In cases of disease of any kind when these characteristic black stools are present *Lept. must be thought of. Like *Euphras., Lept. has a number of eye symptoms. *Lept. is a right-side medicine, has chilly sensation along spine and down right arm, pains in right shoulder and arm. The symptoms are worse by motion: rising causes nausea and faintness. Weakness is so great he is hardly able to stand. worse from exposure to wet weather. worse Drinking cold water. worse Drinking cold water. A peculiar sensation is, “Feeling as if something was passing our of rectum.” Like *Digitalis and *Tabac. it has sinking at the pit of the stomach.
Relations
Digitalis (liver, weakness, slow pulse, worse by drinking), Scrof., Euphras., Gratiola. (botan.) Mercurius (with Mercurius tenesmus continues after stool, with Lept. there is better after stool, and only colic continues, and that in moderate degree), nitricum acidum (hemorrhage in typhoid: nitricum acidum bright red, Lept. tarry), Baptisia (pain in gallbladder, typhoid and remittent fevers), Gelsemium (infantile remittent)Bryonia (, by motion, sitting up causes nausea), Bacil. (deep-in headache), Cantharis and Arsen. (membranous diarrhoea), Chi., Iris v., Podophyllum and Veron. off. (liver), _ Veron. off., following Aurum n-m., cured tarry stools alternating with ashy stools in Nash’s case.
Mind
Gloomy, desponding, drowsy. Gloomy and irritable all day.
Head
Very dizzy while walking. Very severe frontal headache, walking worse, making it almost intolerable. Dull frontal headache with sensation as if the hair were pulled out. Dull frontal headache very deep in brain. Constant dull frontal headache, worse in temples, with aching in umbilicus. Sick-headache with furred tongue. Bilious headache, constipation, bitter taste, indigestion.
Eyes
Smarting and aching in eyes, with dull pain in eyeballs. Profuse lachrymation. Lids agglutinated.
Mouth
Tongue yellow or black down center. Flat taste.
Stomach
Canine hunger. Awoke, 5 a.m., feeling very hungry, with great pain in epigastrium, better after breakfast. Food rises very sour 10 a.m. Nausea and deathly faintness on rising. Vomiting of bile, yellow tongue, shooting pains about liver, black stools. Weak, sinking sensation at pit of stomach. Great distress in stomach and small intestines, with immediate desire for stool. Burning aching in stomach and liver worse drinking water. Dyspepsia form disordered liver and stomach.
Abdomen
Dull aching in liver, worse near gall-bladder. Burning distress in back part of liver and spine. Periodical liver derangement, every two or three months. (Malignant disease of liver with black, tarry stools.) _ Deliriousness, complete prostration, heat and dryness of skin, cold extremities, fetid, tarry stools, tongue thickly coated with black streak down center. Jaundice with clay-colored stools. Constant dull aching distress in umbilical region. Sharp, distressing pains between navel and epigastrium. Rumbling and distress in whole bowels, especially in hypogastrium, with black stools. Bilious colic or tendency to it. Rumbling and distress in hypogastrium, profuse, black, fetid stools, pains in bowels.
Stool
Stools: black, tarry, bilious, undigested, followed by great distress in liver, mushy, with weak feeling in bowels, greenish, muddy, spouting out like water, profuse, black, fetid, running a stream, profuse black, consistence of cream, black, papescent, tar-like, fetid, in afternoon and evening, first hard, black, lumpy, afterwards soft and mushy, watery with large quantities of mucus, yellowish green, clay colored, worse morning as soon as he moves, worse from meat or vegetables. Profuse watery stools, followed by severe cutting pains in small intestines, after exposure to wet, damp weather. *Before stool: rumbling. *After stool: sharp cutting pains and distress in umbilical region, faint, weak, hungry, griping but no straining. Profuse dark brown, almost black, mushy and highly offensive stools, difficulty in retaining stool, must go immediately. Sharp pains preceding stool, better afterwards, but increasing weakness, usually went to sleep soon after stool. For nearly three months camp diarrhoea, hardly able to stand, emaciated, features haggard and jaundiced, stools previously mixed with undigested food, now muco-purulent and bloody, quite frequent, with tenesmus and cutting pains low down in bowels, sense of weight at stomach after cold water, cutting in bowels and dispositions to stool. The mucus discharge resembles false membrane. Dysentery or typhoid with black, tar-like passages. Constipation, hard, black stools followed by mushy portion, piles, from hepatic derangement. Frequently bleeding piles, constipation and distressing pain beneath sacrum.
Urinary Organs
Red or orange-colored urine with aching in lumbar region.
Female Sexual Organs.
Menses suppressed or retarded, liver affected, prickly heat. Leucorrhoea. with ulceration of os, sometimes foetid with mucous shreds, irritation of bladder and rectum, frequent pain at bottom of bowels, languor, skin hot and dry.
Heart
Soreness in cardiac region. Pulse slow and full.
Back and neck
Chilly sensation in shoulders and down back. Sore, lame feeling in small of back. Constant distress with very sharp pains by spells in lumbar region.
Upper Limbs
Pain in right shoulder and arm. Both wrists very lame and ache quite severely ( worse left) in morning, lasting till noon.
Generalities
Weary, can hardly walk.
Skin
Jaundice. Dry, hot skin.
Sleep
Sleep sound. Sleep restless after midnight, felt very ill next day.
Fever
Chilly along spine and down right arm. Shivering, or dry, hot skin, limbs cold and numb, tongue black down center. Bilious typhoid fever.
