Individual Drugs. ABIES (Tsuga canadensis). - Southwest School of ...

in gastric irritation and in that of the urinary organs, in both of which
'there is an excess of mucous secretion. As a remedy for passive
hemorrhages it has little to commend it, though it is not wholly without
effect, acting much like but with less power than the oil of erigeron and
similar preparations. Both the specific medicine and the oil may be
incorporated into cough medicines, to be used where there is excessive
secretion of mucus and the cough is largely precipitated by a feeble
and relaxed state of the uvula and fauces.
ABSINTHIUM (Artemisia absinthium).
The flowering tops and leaves of Artemisia Absinthium, Linné (Nat. Ord.
Compositae); Europe, Siberia, Barbary, Newfoundland, and the United States;
naturalized in New England; cultivated. Dose, 10 to 20 grains.
Common Name: Wormwood.
Principal Constituents.—A volatile oil (Oleum Absinthii), containing principally
absinthol (CIO H16 0) and a crystalline bitter absinthin (C15 H20 04).
Preparations.—1. Infusum Absinthii, Infusion of Absinthium (3j to Oj). Dose, 1 to 2
fluidrachms.
2. Oleum Absinthii, Oil of Wormwood. Dose, 1 to 5 drops.,
Action.—Both oil of wormwood and extract of absinth act as nerve
depressants upon man. Small doses at first stimulate, larger ones
produce headache, and still larger doses induce cerebral disturbances
and clonic hysteroidal convulsions. Victims of absinthism, a vicious
form of drunkenness, are subject to disturbed rest, with disagreeable
dreams, and morning sickness and vomiting. A chronic intoxication
ensues that is more fearful in its effects than that resulting from the
abuse of alcoholics. Epileptoid attacks are common, physical and
mental force is seriously impaired, and virile power is lost in the male,
while a premature menopause is a common result in the female. It is
also said to produce a peculiar hyperesthesia, most marked in the
integument of the hypogastrium. The French liquer Absinthe, which is
a viscous alcoholic cordial, and Wermuth, a German beer, both depend
upon wormwood for their activity.
Therapy.—External. Absinthium, steeped in vinegar and water, makes
an admirable hot fomentation for sprains, bruises and local
inflammations. It should not be applied to abraded surfaces.
Felter’s Materia Medica - (A) - Page 2