Solution,-a pale-greenish liquid, of faint Chlorine odor, and alkaline taste and reaction; prepared by adding together watery solutions of Sodium Carbonate 100 parts and Calx Chlorata 80, then adding Water up to 1000. mx-3j in 20 parts of water. Physiological Action. Dose, Chlorine is actively irritant to the skin and mucous membranes. Locally applied it produces heat, burning and even vesication. Inhaled in any quantity it causes cough, sneezing and spasm of the glottis, also inflammation of the air-passages and of the lungs. It is the most powerful of all disinfectants and deodorants, also an antiseptic and antifermentive agent of the highest activity. Its power in all these respects is due to its affinity for hydrogen, decomposing all bodies in which hydrogen enters as a molecular constituent, forming chlorhydric acid and setting oxygen free in its nascent form (ozone). Used internally it has the same local action on the parts with which it comes in contact, and on reaching the stomach in dilute solution it is converted into hydrochloric acid and chlorides, losing all further action on the body in its own character. Antidotes. AMMONIACAL VAPORS inhaled after Chlorine form Ammonium Chloride. Ammonium Sulphide has a similar reaction, but should be inhaled in great moderation. ALBUMEN is the antidote if Chlorine preparations have been taken into the stomach, and a little Aqua Ammoniæ, sufficiently diluted, may also be administered with advantage. Therapeutics. The chlorinated preparations are used as disinfectants and deodorizers of rooms, drains and discharges from the body. They are rarely used about the person or clothing of patients by reason of the irritation produced by them when inhaled, and their power to destroy the color of fabrics. In dilute solution they are well employed as local applications in aphthæ, gangrene, scarlet fever and diphtheria, in which their principal action is tò destroy fetor. The same may be said of their use in sloughing ulcers and gangrenous wounds, foul discharges, etc., as they are rarely employed about the person in sufficient strength to have any destructive effect on disease-germs. A strong solution of Chlorinated Soda is a good application to bites of serpents and insects, to prevent infection by the syphilitic poison, and to wash the hands after contact with infectious material. These preparations have been administered internally in septic diseases, low fevers, etc., but without producing any marked beneficial results. To disinfect unoccupied rooms all means of exit should be CHONDRUS-CHRYSAROBINUM. 145 stopped up, then a pound of Chlorinated Lime sewed loosely in a strong canvas bag is immersed in a mixture of a pint and a half of common muriatic acid with 41⁄2 pints of water, and left 24 hours. CHONDRUS, Irish Moss,-consists of two sea-algæ, Chondrus crispus and Chondrus mammilosus, dried and bleached. Is horny, translucent, pale yellowish-white, swelling in water, of sea-weed odor and mucilaginous, saline taste. On boiling with 30 parts of water for ten minutes it yields a solution which gelatinizes on cooling. It contains 90 per cent. of mucilage with traces of Iodine and Bromine, also I per cent. of Nitrogen. There are no official preparations. A jelly or blanc mange may be prepared by boiling zij in 3xxxiv of water for an hour, straining and adding 3iij of sugar while hot. Dose, indefinite. Physiological Action and Therapeutics. Irish Moss is a demulcent and nutrient substance of some slight value in bronchial and catarrhal affections. Having no starch in its composition it is not so valuable as Iceland moss (Cetraria) as an article of food for the sick. CHRYSAROBINUM, Chrysarobin,-is a mixture of proximate principles extracted from Goa-powder, a substance found in cavities formed by decay in the wood of the trunk of Andira Araroba, a Brazilian tree of the nat. ord. Leguminosæ. It is commonly misnamed "Chrysophanic Acid" (which is one of the constituents of Rheum)-though easily converted into that substance. Occurs as an orange-yellow powder, odorless and tasteless, nearly insoluble in water and alcohol, but readily soluble in ether, solutions of alkalies and sulphuric acid. Dose, gr.-gr. xx. Preparation. UNGUENTUM CHRYSAROBINI,-Chrysarobin 10, Benzoinated Lard 90 parts. Should be diluted for average use from 3 to 5 times. Physiological Action and Therapeutics. In 30-grain doses Chrysarobin is a gastro-intestinal irritant, producing large, watery, bilious stools, with repeated vomiting but not much nausea. Locally it produces diffuse dermatitis often followed by follicular and furuncular inflammation. It stains the skin a dark yellowish-brown color, which may be removed by a weak solution of chlorinated lime. The use of this remedy is confined to superficial parasitic skin diseases of vegetable origin, and for psoriasis, in the latter affection it being the best remedy known. It may be used in weak ointment locally, and internally in %-grain doses. CIMICIFUGA, Black Snake-root, Black Cohosh,is the rhizome and rootlets of Cimicifuga racemosa, a plant of the nat. ord. Ranunculaceæ native in the United States. Rhizome horizontal, 2 inches long or more, about 1 inch thick, with numerous upright or curved branches. Rootlets numerous, containing a ligneous cord which branches into four or five rays. Contains a Volatile Oil when fresh, resin, tannic and gallic acids, also an acrid, crystallizable, neutral principle. Cimicifugin or Macrotin is an impure resin obtained by precipitation from a concentrated tincture by the addition of water. The active principle has not been isolated. Preparations of the Fresh Root. EXTRACTUM CIMICIFUGA FLUIDUM,-alcoholic. Dose, mx-3j. MACROTIN (Unofficial),-Dose, gr. 1⁄2-ij. Physiological Action. Cimicifuga is stomachic, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, diaphoretic, diuretic and expectorant. Its taste is bitter and nauseous, resembling that of Opium. It acts on the heart and circulation similarly to Digitalis, and on unstriped muscular fibre like Ergot, but is much feebler in activity than either of these agents. Small doses stimulate digestion and secretion, the generative function and the menstrual flow, and especially the secretions of the bronchial mucous membrane and the kidneys. Full doses slow the heart while increasing its force, raise arterial tension and stimulate uterine contraction. Large doses dilate the pupils and produce dimness of vision, vertigo, intense headache, nausea, vomiting, and in some persons soporific and anodyne effects. Therapeutics. Cimicifuga closely resembles Digitalis in action, but it is safer, and should be more frequently used when the latter drug is indicated. In cardiac diseases it is very efficient, especially in weak or fatty heart where Digitalis would be dangerous. It is a good stomachic tonic particularly in the irritable dyspepsia of alco holism. As an expectorant it is used in acute and chronic bronchitis. It is a good nerve-tonic in delirium tremens, and in functional impotence it is remarkably efficient. In rheumatism of the localized muscular variety, as lumbago, torticollis, pleurodynia, intercostal rheumatism, etc., it is one of the most efficacious remedies, having a strong affinity for the muscular system. Neuralgias of various kinds are benefited by it, particularly ovarian neuralgia. Chorea about the age of puberty is one of the affections in which it is most efficient, and the same may be said of the hysterical form of this disease. Many uterine disorders are remarkably benefited by Cimicifuga, such as amenorrhoea, neuralgic and congestive dysmenorrhea, subinvolution, spinal irritation due to some obscure sympathetic or neuralgic affection of the womb, sympathetic pains and neuralgiæ arising from the so-called irritable womb, passive menorrhagia, etc. In obstetrics it gives excellent results when used to initiate uterine contractions, check hemorrhage, allay afterpains and nervousness after delivery. In puerperal mania and peritonitis its good effects are frequently remarkable, and in puerperal hypochondriasis it is strongly recommended by very high authority. CINCHONA, Peruvian Bark. The Cinchona tree belongs to the nat. ord. Rubiacea and is a native of the eastern slope of the Andes, but has been largely planted in India, Ceylon, Java and Burmah, with the result of improving the quinine-yielding value of many species by cultivation. In late years the test of appearance has given way to that of assay in judging of the various barks of commerce, and only those are official which yield 3 per cent. of total alkaloids of which at least 2 per cent. must be Quinine. Yellow bark contains most Quinine (as high as 9 per cent. having been obtained from one specimen), pale bark contains most Cinchonine and least Quinine, while red bark contains these alkaloids in about equal proportions. The Columbian varieties afford the largest percentage of Cinchonidine. The principal varieties of the sub-order Cinchoneæ, the barks of which are found in commerce and used by manufacturers of the alkaloids, are— CINCHONA CALISAYA, Yellow Bark,-from Peru, Bolivia and India. Altogether there are some 31 species acknowleged by botanists, and the list is constantly increasing from the tendency of the different trees to hybridize. Several trees formerly acknowledged as Cinchonas are now placed in the genus Cascarilla, but their barks are to be found on the market. Cuprea bark is from trees of the genus Remijia, growing in Columbia; it contains Quinine and a peculiar alkaloid, Cinchonamine, but no Cinchonidine. Official Species. CINCHONA, is the bark of any species of Cinchona which contains at least 3 per cent. of its peculiar alkaloids, as determined by assay according to a prescribed rule. CINCHONA FLAVA, Yellow Cinchona, Calisaya Bark,-is the bark of Cinchona Calisaya, containing at least 2 per cent of quinine. Occurs in tawnyyellow flat pieces or quills, ridged exteriorly, finely striated on inner surface, breaking with a transverse fracture showing numerous rigid fibres in bundles or radial rows. CINCHONA RUBRA, Red Cinchona,-the bark of C. succiruba, containing at least 2 per cent. of quinine. Occurs in brown-red quills and flat pieces of various sizes, with ridges and warts on outer surface, coarsely striated on inner surface. Bark may be administered in doses of gr. x-3j, but it is never used now in substance, being too bulky and disagreeable. Composition of Cinchona. The bark contains 21 natural alkaloids (of which 4 are official), 8 artificial alkaloids, 2 simple acids, 2 tannic acids, a resinoid and coloring-matter, as follows:— QUININE, CH24 N2O2 —a strong base, fluorescent, the most valuable of all the alkaloids; heated with glycerin to 374° F., it is converted into the isomeric base Quinicine. 20 24 QUINIDINE, CH, NO,,-isomeric with Quinine, fluorescent, probably the most powerful as an antiperiodic, but existing in very small quantity. CINCHONINE, CHNO,-the least active of the official four, having about half the therapeutic power of Quinine. Not fluorescent. CINCHONIDINE, CHNO,-isomeric with Cinchonine, not fluorescent, one of the most powerful of the alkaloids. KINIC AND KINOVIC ACIDS,-are combined in the bark with the alkaloids. The former is used to make a Kinate of Quinine, and the latter occurs in nonofficial pharmacy as Kinovate of Lime, an ingredient in Deloudre's Extract, which is used in Europe and India for dysentery. KINO-TANNIC and KINOVO-TANNIC ACIDS,-give to bark its peculiar and powerful astringent qualities. They have not been fully studied. KINOVIN, is a bitter, amorphous resinoid, which is resolvable into Kinovic Acid and sugar. It is soluble in alcohol, but not in water. CINCHONA RED,—a reddish-brown, insipid, inodorous substance. [The other alkaloids are of no interest medicinally.] |