Southern Medical and Surgical Journal - Georgia Regents University

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1849.] O'KeefTe, on the Properties of Dogwood Bark. 3founded speculation. The enthusiastic theorist may conjureup inviting schemes of doctrine, indulge in elaborate and ingenioushypotheses—reveling in the creations of his fancy ; butwith the profession at the present day, facts, not speculation,constitute the basis of investigation.The exhibition of the Dogwood bark, by infusion and powder,in the treatment of intermittent fever, presents no novelty;untutored Indian, as well as the educated physician, availedhimself of its virtues in this particular application. To thearticle under these forms our remarks shallthenot refer, save toanimadvert upon the sensible effects set forth by all authors asinvariably resulting from its administration.The Extract is the preparation to which we would emphaticallydirect the attention of the profession. Of this, nothing hasbeen said by systematic writers on the Materia Medica, nor dothe leading periodicals of medical literature add any thing toour information on the subject ;therefore, the conclusions reasonablydeduced are—^that it has never been used in any formof disease ;that its employment in the treatment of intermittentand remittent fever is decidedly unprecedented ; and that itssuccess in these affections is worthy of consideration only onthe strength of the cases hereinafter adduced, and the rigidminutenessobserved in recording the symptoms presented ineach particular case.On reviewing the opinions of the profession concerning thisarticle, itstrikes us that too many uncalled-for restrictions haveswayed the minds of practitioners in its adrtiinistration. It istrue, that the standard American works on the Materia Medicaabound with eulogies on its remedial properties, but these arenullified by allegations of its tendency to "irritate the stomachand bowels ;produce diarrhoea, griping pains, &c/* Now thisfact of itself, is sufficient to account for the utter oblivion towhich it has been consigned; and it affords a striking evidenceof the evils of that pathology which regards the gastro^intestinalcanal as i\\Q fonset origo of all febrile derangements.With such an incompatibility staring him in the face—anirritant to a diseaped gastro-intestinal surface—what practitionerwould venture the use of the Cornus Florida in a case ofintermittent or remittent fever? Of a tendencv to disorder
4 O'Keeffe, on the Properties of Dogwood Bark. [January,the stomach and bowels, we have not seen a solitary wellmarkedinstance, though we have exhibitedit in unusually largedoses, and under all circumstances which would centra-indicatethe use of a remedy possessing such properties.Let it suffice here, merely to have expressed these convictions,leaving the considerations by which they are substantiatedto be adduced, when commenting upon special cases hereinaftercited.It is curious to reflect, why an indigenous plant of such importantmedical properties should have fallen into disrepute inthe very infancy of its carrer. The reason of this, however, issufficiently obvious. It will be borne in mind, that the investigationsalluded to in the commencement of this article were allinstituted in a region, where, from the nature of the climate,malarial fevers received but little or no attention, and at a time,too, when an interpretation of its modus operandi was biassedby the prevailing doctrine as to the pathology of fever.Whyit is that minute practical observation has not subverted theseunfounded theoretical assertions—or why the master-spirits ofthe profession have been governed by the ipse dixits of others,in relation to the effects and mode of operation of this remedy,are problems which will devolve upon the Southern practitionerfor solution. Had the various forms of periodical fever composedso large a share of the Northern physician^s practice, thefar-off Quito alone yielding him the sheet-anchor of his hopes,as it is with Southern practitioners, the opinion is unhesitatinglyexpressed that the Dogwood bark, and its preparations, wouldhave been among our most popular remedies.In view, therefore, of these considerations, and the absoluteimpossibility of having the curative virtues of any anti-periodicsufficiently tested in the region alluded to, we naturally refer tothe records of M( dicine in the South, and even here, we findour anticipations disappointed.Bearing in mind that periodical fever is the endemic diseaseof the Southern climate, and the high amount of expenditureincurred by the unlimited use of Quinine—if the success of thetreatment here pursued has been truly represented, then theimportance of substituting an indigenous agent would 1 e fullyappreciated, and its universal adoption confer incalculablebenefits.
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§2 Monthly Periscope.— Medical I
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; 1164 Medical Intelligence. -Meteo
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Southern Medical and Surgical Journal - Georgia Regents University

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