The
Online Reefer Madness Teaching Museum
The
British Medical Journal
- Nov. 11, 1899 - Page 1354
SECTION OF PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS.
John BUCKLEY
BRADBURY, M.D., President.
THE
PHARMACOLOGY OF CANNABIS INDICA.
By
WALTER ERNEST Dixon, M.D., B.S., B.Se.Lond.,
D.P.H.Camb.,
Salters'
Research Fellow in Pharmacology.
(From
the Physiological Laboratory at SL Thomas's Hospital.)
AT Professor
Dunstan's suggestion I have examined the physiological activity of various
samples of crude Indian hemp, and also of some derivatives of this substance.
Most of these latter were prepared at the Scientific Laboratories of the
Imperial Institute under Professor Dunstan's direction, to whom I would express
my indebtedness.
The
history of hemp has been so many times and so fully discussed that any
considerable account would be out of place; much, however,
of that which has been written is misleading or incorrect.
The
plant, cannabis sativa, is at present very widely distributed over both
temperate and tropical countries, but there is very strong evidence for
supposing that this was not always so, and that it was originally confined to
only a very small portion of the earth's surface somewhere in Southern Siberia.
The plant was probably carried from here to India first as a fibre
plant," and from there subsequently westwards into Europe by some of the
later waves of migration. The connection between the vital functions of the plant and
its narcotic property are ill understood. When
grown in Siberia it is not toxic, but in India, probably as a result of altered
conditions of climate, etc., it develops a power of elaborating a resinous
substance which is utilised in the growth of its seeds, and which is found to be
toxic.
If the
plant is transported to adjacent, more temperate climates it loses its narcotic
properties, although the resinous substance is still elaborated, but now,
possibly being no longer functionally necessary, it is exuded.
A similar exudation is brought about in India by taking means to prevent
the formation of seeds.
The
plant is monoecious, and although both the male and the female inflorescence
contain the specific principle in India, yet it is found necessary to extirpate
the males in order crop of narcotic material, because (a) the proportions
c
material in males is very small, and (b) tter which contains the active
substance in eeds.
n three forms: er sex; charas,
t e resinous
, the dried
flowering tops coated with resin.
Although without
doubt an exceedingly useful drug, its employment at the present is rare, chiefly
on account of the great variation of activity as exhibited by the various
corninercial samples. With the
object of getting over this difficulty by the discovery of its supposed active
principle, a very large number of original papers have been published.' Smith in
i846 isolated a resin he called cannabin.1 Ten years later Personne prepared an
amber-coloured volatile oil' to which he attributed the therapeutical activity
of the dru
Pr
g@braschensky stated he had found nicotine,' and various other chemists have
placed on record numerous alkaloid& and oily substances, each of which has
been considered by its discoverer as the chief narcotic principle.
Wood,
Spivey, and Easterfield3 separated by distillation a toxic red oil which was
examined by Dr. Marshall, and regarded as the active principle.
More recently' the same experimenters found that this substance (cannabinol)
regenerated from its crystalline acetyl derivative was no longer active.
The
object of the present research was, if possible, to discover the cause of the
irregularity in action of the drug, and to determine its exact physiological
effects, and the therapeutic uses towhich it might be put.
Method.-The
animals used in these experiments were ncipally cats and dogs, but all the
results were verified as farri as practicable on man. The method of administration is of great importance, the
substance being either given (a) by the mouth or subcutaneous injection; (b)by
the inhalation of the fumes of burning ganja.
Further details of method are described later.
Variability
o4Action.-One of the most striking facts to anyone working with Indian hemp is
the extreme-Variability of results obtained.
Eq ' ual q ' uantities of the same preparation administered to two
similar animals of the same weight and unler, as far as possible, identical
conditions, produced narcosis in one case, and a negative result in the other;
and farther, three times the original dose had to be administered to the latter
animal before the toxic effect was shown. In
its other effects upon the heart, etc., this idiosyncrasy is also pronounced
even to the extent of causing death in some cases by cardiac inhibition, and in
others by respiratory failure. But although perhaps idiosyncrasy is better marked in Indian
hemp than in axiy other drug. Yet
there are other factors to be taken into consideration wli@n explaining its
irregularity of action. It is now
recognised that patients used to a certain dose of hemp may suddenly develop
" the intoxicaticm " after taking the same dose, but from a different
supply. This important fact is
exemplified by the following experiments:
Two
examples of crude gania were obtained (I) of the ordinary commercial Bombay
variety and (2) a spe'cial Calcutta sample (kindly provided @ e by Messrs.
Wright, Layman and Co.). Thesetwosamplesweretreatedinpreciselythesameway,
and it was demonstrated that the Calcutta sample, besides Containing
considerably more resin than the Bombay, also Produced a much more toxic resin.
By a series of such exPeriments I am convinced that hemp of different
seasons and Places and prepared in different ways not only contains different
amounts of resin but that this resin variee; very widely in its activity.
It
is asserted that hemp however grown or prepared loses its Power when kept,"
and Indian dealers regard 'it as unfit for
use at the end of the second Year. Some which I had an POrtunity of examinin had been kept for
twentyyears aonpd -
appeared little if an cently. In a further;e!
than that obtained more re-
, however, where I purposely
expo@ fresh oania to
the action of air and sunlight during six months, the activity had markedly
depreciated, whereas the control ganja kept sealed and in the dark was little if
at all affected.
Nervou-s
Effects.-The value of hemp as a drug depends largely on its effects on the
central nervous system, and these maybe divided into two stages, a ' ary stage
of stimula-
Pr'-
tion
and excitement, followed when administered in sufficient, quantity by one of
intoxication associated with anoesthesia and paralysis.
Animals after the administration of cannabis by the mouth show symptoms
in from three-quarters of a hour to a hour and a-half.- In the preliminary stage
cats appear uneasy, they exhibit a liking for the dark, and occasionally utter
high pitched cries. Dogs are less easily influenced and the preliminary condition
here is one of excitement, the animal rushing wildly about and barking
vigorously. This stage passes
insidiously into the second, that of intoxication, in which the symptoms may be
divided into two groups, the mental and the physical.
ilfental.-In
cats the disposition is generally changed showing itself by the animals no
longer demonstrating their antipathy to dogs as in the normal condition, but by
rubbing up against them whilst constantly purring; similarly a dog, which was
inclined to be evil-te@pered and savage in its normal condition, when under the
influence of hemp became docile and affectionate. On man the effect of the inhalation of the fames from
powdered ganja produces an exhilaration and refreshed feeling which is
particularly noticeable after fatigue, mental or physical; these effects are
more pronounced than those produced by either tea or alcohol, and give rise to,
no noticeable subsequent reaction. Further,
the feelings of the patient are sufficient to regulate the dose, and there is
little danger of taking an excess. Should
the inhalation be continued after the de-sired effect has been produced he loses
some self-control, manifests a desire to laugh at everything, and becomes very
talkative. In the space of some
twenty minutes to half an hour the normal condition recurs, and all feelings of
exhaustion, headache, etc., have disappeared.
-Plty@i
@ff@cts.-These are well shown in animals. When
standing they hold their legs widely apart and show a. peculiar to and fro
swaying movement quite characteristic of the Condition.
The gait is exceedingly . awkward, the animal rolling from side to side,
lifting its legs unnecessarily high in its attempts to walk, and occasionally
falling. A loss of power later
becomes apparent especially in the hind limbs which seem incapable of being
extended. Sudden and almost
convulsive starts may occur as a result of cutaneous stimulation, or loud
noises. The sensory symptoms are
not so well defined, but there is a general indifference to position.
Dogs placed on their feet will stay thus till forced to move by their
ataxia, whilat if placed on their side they continue to lie witbk)ut attempting
a movement. Partial anesthesia is
present over ihe whole body. There
is sluggishness in response to all kinds of stimuli, and a general indifference
t(> mild stimuli, such as pricking with pins.
Anvesthesia is most clearly defined in the posterior half of the body and
thcanimal evidently appreciates this condition as from time to
time it turns
and bites its hind limbs.
Animals
me more and more listless and
drowsy, loE
so characteristic in the
earlier s@
IQ
ree or four hours, alter
which they
I
condition. Knee-jerkg
and reflexe
ncreased in the earlier stages, but
are
absent
deep narcosis. The pupils
always
comp ei e narcosis
barely reaci t6 light.
dilate,
and
Effect
on
and Muscle.-There is great difficulty in
inv@st
these effects on account of the
esent impossi-
Uty
g a harmless substance for d
bi
of
d,
the active
resin. The fumes of ignited gani'a were
a,
Eiimple frog's nerve muiicle preparation iiui
n a
moist chamber. A long cla - pi-
he bow' ed
y Pe t
with a etirk and
glass tube colected to bellow s, was half filled with powdered gania, so that on
working the bellows air and hemp fumes were -bl'own out of the stem. - These
fumes were twice passed through water, and then into the moist chamber.
Sin
le induction shocks of fixed strength were passed througgh the nerve every five
minutes., but for the firiit baUhour no effect was prod-uced, then the height of
contraction
1356
TM @
SECTION OF
PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS.
LNov.
11, 18".
gradually diminished,
and in one hour and a-half's time no strength of current affected a contraction,
although direct stimulation of the muscle still produced a normal result.
Similarly a general paralysis of the vagus was also obtained, as was
shown by the absence of inhibitory effects on the heart after fumigation.
if
the fumes are directly passed into the moist chamber without previously being
passed through water, paralysis is produced much more rapidly-that is, from ten
to fifteen minutes. The action of
some irritant substance removed by water is further shown iia that these
unwashed fumes when inhaled by man caused great irritation at the back of the
pharynx, whilst those which had been washed, although somewhat less toxic,
produced no such inconvenience.
Control
experiments were performed with other dried herbs, -and it was ascertained that
in most similar results were produced, but in no case was the paralysis obtained
so rapidly as with the untreated fumes of hemp, and, moreover, it was further
shown that washing in water in each case served to remove the paralysing efl'ect
to a much greater degree than was the case with hemp.
All
this points in favour of the assumption that the active principle of hemp has a
paralysing effect on nerve terminals, 4L supposition which has been definitely
roved with reference to the vagus nerve terminals in mammafia.
Gastro-Intestinal.-No
effect has been noticed tending either towards constipation or diarrhoea.
After moderate inhalation the general stimulating effect extends to the
stomach, and an -increased appetite is noticeable, so much so that it may even
be regarded as a useful food accessory.
@ffects
on the Heart and Circulation.-After perfusion of the frok's heart with a diluted
emulsion of Indian hemp made up with Ringer's fluid, for three hours, no
alteration in the beECt is observed , and the vagi produce normal inhibitory
results on stimulation. On mammalia,
and especially the carnivore, its ,effects are well marked and highly
characteristic, but its -action is somewhat different according a" to
whether the fumes of ignited hemp are inhaled or the drug administered by the
mouth. When inhaled in moderation
there is always ,a quickened beat. In
man, for example, four or five inhalations from a gan,)a cigarette are
sufficient to increase the pulse rate to too or more; this increased rate
becomes normal again in about half an hour, but no slowing occurs.
When administered to man by the mouth in xnedicinal doses, the quickenin-
if any is insignificant, and after an intoxicating dose there is a stage during
the intoxication of marked cardiac slowing-
The
exact mode of action was studied by injecting various -active substances, made
up with gum acacia in the form of an emulsion, into the circulation of cats and
dogs. A small dose will produce an
almost immediate slight slowing of the heart, together with a corresponding
passive fall of blood pressures followed almost immediately by a permanent rise.
This is probably due to a direct action on the cardiac centre, because
-no such slowing and fall of blood pressure occur when both vagi are severed,
and it may be shown that the effect is not vasomotor because the volume of the
intestines, kidney, and spleeia accurately shrinks or swells with the fall or
rise of blood pressure respectively, showing that the vessels are affected
purely passively. The first-effect
on the heart is therefore a central one, the impulses passing down the vagi.
If
now both vagi be severed, and a large injection ot-the -emulsion given, for
about one minute no alteration of the tracing will be noticed, then the heart
begins to slow, beats are dropped, and the dropped beats become more and more
frequent, until suddenly the heart stops beating entirely, and the blood
pressure falls to zero. The heart
may cease to beat for thirty seconds, or even more, and then suddenly commence
again, the blood pressure simultaneously bounding up. This complete temporary s@oppage
of the h art may be repeated two or three times before recovery.
The nerve terminals of the vagus are now found to be paralysed, no amount
of stimulation serving to produce cardiac inhibition.
If the heart is previously poisoned with atropine the same result is
still obtained.
It
is not always, however, that this sequence holds. Idiosyncrasy appears to be present here as in the other
actions of hemp. The following are
some effects which have been observed:
(a)
The heart may get gradually slower, but still beat with such vigour that
the blood pressure remains at its norraal level, until suddenly it stops
permanently, and the blood pressure simultaneously drops to zero.
(b)
The blood pressure may after a small injection exhibit a series of small
curves purely cardiac in oriiin, and not con. inected with respiration, the
pressure undergoing a regular series of rises aifd falls.
Hence
cannabis indica has a very powerful effect upon the heart ; it first acts on the
cardiac centre, and causes slowin@ with a consequential fall of blood pressure,
followed
by a impulses
passing down the vali -
secon action upon the heart
itself; @r@
ducin lie dropping of
beats, and complete
inhib may
not be permanent.
Res doses
there is generally some ten-
denc@
ing of respiration; this quickening
may the
" stimulation stages " after much
larger doses. deeply
under the influence of hemp
invariably 8 ow some
a owing in respiration, which also tends to become deeper.
D(atli from Indian hemp, as has already been shown, almost invariably
occurs as tile result of cardiac failure, and respiration continues in spasmodic
gasps for some minutes after the heart has ceased to beat.
In a few cases the heartand respiration appear to ceasesimultaneously,
and very exceptionally respiratory failure may precede cardiac.
@alElTects.-A
healthy man was fed for five days on a diet, the @olids and liquids being kept
constant, both as regards quantity and kind . Tile following results were
obtained as to the quantity of urine in the twenty-four hours and its specific
gravity: First day, 45i Oz., specific gravity iois ; second day, 49i'F Oz.,
specific gravity 1017.5 ; third day, 49 oz., specific gravity 101 7; fourt day
h
,t,,,oz ,,,, specific gravity
ioi8 (20nl tinct. can. ind., B.P.);
52 oz., _specific
gravity 1019.5 (20VI tinct. can. ind.
, 'U.P.).
The effect on the
renal blood vessels is entirely passive, that is, any constriction or dilatation
of the vessels occurs as the result of cardiac innervation, and is in no case
vasomotor. Hence small doses
produce slight vascular dilatation. Dr.
Russell in his evidence before the Royal Commission states that " diuresis
occurred alter drinking an infusion of fresh leaves and stems," this
difference in action probably beink due to the escape of a volatile principle,
possibly a volatile oil, many of which are known to possess diuretic properties.
@ffect
on -Reproductiz,,e Organ8.-In no case was any aphrodisiac eff4i6t observ@d.
Experiments were performed by observing on dogs the changes of volume
undergone by the testes after aninjectionofthedrug.
Itwasfound-thatinmoderatedoses slight vascular dilatation was obtained,
and as an increased blood supply must be associated with an increased glandular
activity, it is probable that in this sense hemp should be regarded as a true
aphrodisiac.
Conclust'on.-Hemp
therefore exerts its effects differently according to the preparation used,
fresh hemp, for example, being diuretic, whilst the dried possesses little such
action. Its effects vary according
to the manner in which it is taken into the system, when smoked exhilaration is
most manifest, whilst when taken by the mouth in small quantities exhilaration
is generally not observed.
In
cases Where an immediate effect is desired the drug should be smoked, the fumes
being drawn through water. In fits
of depression, mental fatigue, nervous headache, and exhaustion a few
inhalations produce an almost immediate effect, the sense of depression,
headache, feeling of fatigue disappear and the subject is enabled to continue
his work, feeling refreshed and soothed. I
am further convinced that its results are marvellous in giving staying power and
altering the feelings of muscular fatigue which followhard physical labour.
By
the mouth one hour to two hours are necessary before absorption occurs, the
effects produced being more lasting than when it is inhaled.
Hemp taken as an inhalation May be placed in the same category as coffee,
tea, and kola. It is not dangerous
and its effects are never alarming, and I have come to regard it it this form as
a useful and refreshing stimulant and food accessory, and one whose use does not
'read to a habit whicli grows upon I its votary.
By
the mouth or the contrary hemp should rather be classi-
NOV. 25, l@-I CORRESPONDENCE.
517
n rallied. February 24th 22 ounces
Ilots to such cases, and such attendance would
of urine passe@ ; February 26th
45 Ounces of urine passed. Urea
in@enrgency. ands of specialists more or less difficult of
o
Bland-Sutton's, inasmuch as he the
present generation of general practitioners,
who>
there was an external w?und. By following this wound
have that training aKd competency to deal with most
through a free lumbar incision it wai an easy matter to
locate culties and abnormalities, has died out or been divested of its the
source of the bleeding. Where there
is no external acquired and maintained competency, who is to deal witbk wound I
agree with Mr. Bland-Sutton that it is best to open the su6h difficulties and
abnormalities ? What medical man. abdouaen in the semilunar line corresponding
to the kidney without such " familiarity," will be competent to dilate
th@
supposed to be injured.
os, turn, and deliver in placenta preevia, or to remove aR
Within the past year, that is, four years after the
operation, I adherent placenta, or to overcome hour-glass contraction by I have
come across my patient, apparently none the worse manipulation ? for accident or
operation. He is a cabdriver, and
from the Wliilst this generation of doctors is dying ont, or being top of his
hansom he greeted me one day, reminding me of divested of its faculties by want
of training-and " familiarity"
his identity by saying, 11 Why, Sir, Ilse tfi'e chap what's
only got one kidDey."-I am etc.,
Harley Street, W.,
NOV. 22nd.
F. SWINFORD EDWARDS.
THE PHARLMACOLOGY OF
CANNABIS IINDICA.
SIR,-In a criticism
appearing in the BRITISH @NIEDICAL JOURNAL Of -November i8th upon my report on
the above subject, Professor Marshall in the tiist place accuses me of being
ignorant of recent work which ha-s been done in this country; and secondly
states that no trustworthy deductions can be drawn from many of my experiments.
In support of the first of these statements Professor Marshall refe-rs to
a paper by himself published in America. I
was perfectly well acquainted with this paper, but in the short report of my
work published in thpfOUttNAL it called for no comment.
In
support of his second assertion he points out that the effects I obtained on
animals by the injection of hemp emulsion were " almost certainly "
due to embolism. The results I
obtained were in no case due to embolism. Every
experiment was carefully controlled by the previous injection of emulsions, and
in many cases these were of even a coarser nature than those of the hemp used.
It was not to be expected that I should enter into detailed accounts of
my experiments in the brief and preliminary record of my work published by the
JOURNAL as a summary of a paper read before the Section of Pharmacology at the
annual meeting- It would, however, be interesting to know if Professor Marshall
has based his very positive criticism upon any experiments in which he has
recorded effects produced by embolism similar to the cardiac effects of Indian
hem@, and if so whether they produced paralysis of the cardiac nerve terminals
of the vagus.-I am, etc.,
W. E. Di.KoN.
Research Laboratories
of the Royal Colleges'of Physiclai3s
and Surgeons, London,
NOV. 218t.
MEDICAL REFORM AND
THE MIDWIVES BILL.
I rSiR,-Dr. Barker
has done me the honour of quoting my definition of 11 natural labour."
I iwill you allow in(-, to point out that he has omitted
one important clause: " When the child is living and is of not more than
norraal size."-l am, etc.,
Harley Street, W., Nov. 2.st. Cx. E.-.HERMAN.
SIR,-Whilst I welcome
the justice Dr. Maellwaine does to the motives of the Corporate and Medical
Reform Association and Mr. Anderson, and would desire to do equal justice to
1118 Own motives, I cannot enter into his view-8 nor understand how far he goes.
He
appears by his reference to Germany and Sweden to desire that midwifery in
normal cases (to avoid begging the ing "practised" let me
say)shouldeeaseto by medical men. Yet
in the earlier part of mits that abnormal labour is " diseas@," and
the domain of medicine. He also
admits ust be familiar with the anatomy and pbysilabour, in order that.they may
deal with bnormalities that may bring some parturient medicine."
be attained and maintained labour? The tactu8 eruditus reading, or by lectures.
The abnormalities and difficulties ed or maintained by the proI
proportion in numbers Dr.
1
with normal labour, the midwife will not, without full medical education,
be able to develop those faculties and be what wer are now, and there will be
none to take our place for the publie safety.
It is @ of the
platform of the Corporate and M@cE& Reform Association that all midwifery is
required for medical tuition and practice, and that it is imperatively necessary
toreturn to a modified system of apprenticeship in order to utilise fullv this
and all other available means of practical training.
To
imply that medical men are properly " spectators ' inI cases of normal
labour is to seriously misrepresent our duties I and position, since medicine
and midwifery alike include the discernment of health from disease or
abnormality, which iscalled " diagnosis," and is surely part of "
medicine properly so called."
We
know that contempt for midwifery was always a heresy of the London College 6f
Physicians; but we hoped the condescension of that College to include the real
" practitioner," the Licentiate, would have cured it of that h6resy,
which, but for respect for Dr. MacIlwaine, I would define by a less
complimentaryterm. Alas,itseemstheheresybassurvived,and
is extending, but the profession will not, on any such grounds, give up the
victory it gained for science and for public safety, when a knowledge of
midwifery was includedby the State as a condition precedent for the recognition
by law of his eminency the physician.-I am, etc.,
Tysoe Street, W.C.,
NOV. 2ISt. T. G@VILLE HOCKRIDGE, M.D-
THE
CO@NTROL OF EPIDEMIC DISEASE IN EGYPT.
SiR,-Permit me
to correct a slight error in the leading article in the BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL
of November 4th on the subject of plague in Egypt. The International Quarantine Board has nothing to say to the
control of plague or any other disease in the country.
Its task is liuaited to the prevention of the introduction of disease.
into Egypt, and its propagation to other countries.
Once a disease such as plague or cholera be introduced, it devolves on
the sanitary department of the Ministry of the Interior alone to prescri6e and
Carry out the measures to stamp it out. As
a matter of fact Dr. Ruffer, the resident of the Quarantine Board, has been
engaged on other dp 'ties in England from the middle of July to November.-I
am, etc.,
J. G. Ro(iERs,
Ctiro,
-\'or. )tll. Late Directoc-General,
Sanitary Department, Egypt
PHARMACEUTICAL
CliEiIIISTS A@ND CO@'vIPANIES.
SiR,-As one who
has for some time taken a great interest . n the diieculties that chemists hav(@
to contend with, I was lpleased to read the article in the BRITISH MEDICAL
JOURNAL of November iith on pharmaceutical chemists and companies.
Since the discussion on pharmacy and company law started great changes of
opinion have occ-urred, not the least important of which has bee-I the clearing
away of the impre@ sion that chemists beld-namely, that it was no good lookinl,
to the medical profession for any active assistance. @@r article must banish
that idea for ever, for, as you so ably putit, " It is clear on all sides
that the protection afforded to thepublic by preserving a proper significance to
titles must not. be weakened." Th@ fight for protection of title is as
much. medical as pharmaceutical. -If gained at the expense of chemists it is but
a lever with whicfi to attack, first, veterinary surgeons and dentists; then our
own titles would become theobject of capitalistic combinations.
The
only ground of dispute is, how should such titles be
TM
@
Nov 11, ]8gg
PA.TF:IOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.
L@ l@ 1357
tied with the narcotics, and when given in this way the
nervous effects produced may be such as to cause serious alarm, yet no danger is
to be apprehended whilst the heart remains regular and strong.
It is- to be feared, however, that cannabis indica can never become
popular until its active principle has been isolated, that is-, the isolation of
a cornpoundoffixedstrength. Likeanyotherstimulantors@tive
narcotic, bemp may be abused as when taken to produce an intoxicant or deliriant
ettect, but this abuse is rare and there is reason to believe has been grossly
exaggerated."
Finally, from a frequent observation of hemp, both
subjective and objective, I can aflarm that it is soothing and stimulating,
being when inhaled a specially valuable cerebral stimulant.
I believe it to be an exceedingly useful therapeutic agent, one not
likely to lead to ' abuse, and producing in proper dosage no untoward
after-effects.,
Rr,FERE.';CES.
een in To?tr. q,,
r,itp. Iltst-, vOl.
11,
Abstracts of these
papers maybe
No. @7, x896. and Zitr Kent?ii.,s
de, Ca?inabi.4
Indica. Jurjew, @6
2 Pha@aceut@cal Journal. 1847, p. 6, 675. 3 lbi(t., 1857,
P- 31, 4 PhariiLaccut. 7eituitq fiir Russiand, 1876, p. ).5. --, Journ. (,heni.
Soc. x8;@, p. 6<), 339. 1 Ibid., .80g, p. @, 7 Report @)n C'itltivation ctjtd
L7se of (,anja, Calcutta, r893. - Ibid., Chap. 6. 9 lbirf., P. 7@.
Dr. R. B. WILD remarked that cannabis indica in the
ordinary preparations was clinically a most uncertain drug, used as a substitute
for opium in advanced cases of cancer; it,was of value in breaking the opium
habit for a short time so that the dose of the latter drug need not be
increased. It
wasalsoofvalueincertaineasesoffunctionalheadache. The increased blood nressure demonstrated by Dr. Dixon was
possibly of importance with regard to the aphrodisiac and mental effects, as the
combination of increased cerebral circulation with partial paralysis of certain
cerebral centres would allow of considerable variation in the mental condition,
the -exact effect produced being probably determined by the mental constitution
of the individual.
REPORTS OF
SOCIETIES,
PATHOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF LONDON.
W.
WATSON CHimy@,ij&, F.R.S., President, in the Chair.
Tue,@day.
tVovember 7th, 1899.
(Meeti@(I held
at the Jen;ier Institute.)
A DIPHTHERIA-LIKE
ORG@IiISIf 17OU@D IN PIGEONS.
DR. A. MACFADYEN and -)fr.
R. T. HEWLETT who made this communication said: A swabbing was sent up in
the usual way to the Jenner Institute by Dr. Sharman, of Rickmanswortli, to be
examined for the presences[ the diphtheria bacillus.
The report sent to him stated that tli6 Klebs-Loeffier bacillus had been
found. Dr.Silarmantheiainformedusthattheswabbingliad
been taken from the throat of 'a pigeon, suffering from a disease known as
" pigeon canker. ' This
interesting fact led us to follow the matter up.
For this purpose we obtained a number of diseased birds.
The disease appears in two forms, either attacking the scalp or the
throat and fauces. It may attack
the eye, tile appearance being that of a warty growth about the size of a pea,
which may increase in size and close the eye.
There is no evidence of the eye itself being affected.
The growth may drop off, leaving the subjacent tissues quite healthy.
It is strictly localised. In
the throat the disease usually attacks the maxilla, and may become as large as a
small nut, presenting in appearance a yellowish, dryish, and Cmeous mass.
On the @ate a membrane may appear, and is very firmly adherent.
In all these. phases of the disease we found the diphtlieria-like
organism in numbers, and usually mixed with cocci.
The bacilli presented the KlebsLoeffler appearance as regards size,
parallel arrangement, and polar staining. The
bacilli were non-motile, and, stained by Gram's -method, we have obtained
apparently two strains : No. I giving a dry and adherent growth on serum like
the merosis bacillus, and also a pellicle on broth like the
gave a good indol reaction.
Both strains produced acid like the diphtheria bacillus.
We show cultures and microscopic specimens in illustration of the
similarities between these organisms and the Klebs-Loefiler bacillus. The
organisms further stain by Neisser's method.
The disease can be inocu lated directly from pigeon to pigeon, but we
have hitherto failedinreproducin@thediseaseinpigeonswithpurecaltures
oftheabovebacillus-. Inguinea-pigsandmicesolidandfluid
cultures have given negative results as regards infection or intoxication.
It occurred to us to examine the throats of healthy pigeons, and in every
case examined we have found the "throat" strain of the organism just
described-that is, the one most closely resembling the Klebs-Loeffier bacillus.
We will reserve any discussion 6f the etiology and pathology of. the
disease for a f ntiire communication. The
point we wish to bring before the Society this evening is the interesting fact
that in the throats of pigeons, whether diseased or healthy, there is to be
found an organism which might be, and acillus, and has been, mistaken by us for
the Klebs-Loeffier b
which resembles it in morphological, cultural, and staining
peculiarities-in everything, in short, save its pathogenic and toxic properties.
THE BACILLUS OF
PSEUDO-TUBIERCULOSIS.
Dr. KLEIN under this term referred to an organism isolated
by A. Pfeiffer from rodents affected with a disease closely resembling
tuberculosis. He had discovered the
presence of the micro-organism in Thames and Lee water, by injecting the
residue, after the filtration of large quantities, into the subcutaneoustissueof
guinea-pigs. Alocaluicerformedat
the site of injection, and the neighbouring lymphatic glands
became
caseous. The micro-organism
occurred, also, in
sewage.
It was easily cnltivated, and morphologically
was
a short thick
bacillus. Feeding experiments were
also productive of positive results.
The lesions in the liver, lung, and lymphatic glands, as well as in
Peyer's patches, presented themselves asnecrosing are" containinglarge
numhers of the bacilli. The disease
could be reproduced in the monkey from pure cultures; animals could- again be
infected from material derived from the human subject.
The author had found that some samples of milk were similarly pathogenic.
By the treatment of animals with dead cultures resistance c-ould be
brought about.
HF.NIOLYTIC ACTION
OF ToxINS.
Drs. DEAN and SALTER gave an exhibition showing the
solution of the red corpuscles which occurred when certain toxins wereadmixed
with blood. Ehrlich had shown this
phenomenon in the case of tetanus toxin; and had shown, moreover, that tetanus
antitoxin inhibited the result if added first to the toxin.
Tile authors showed that diphtheria antitoxin also acted as a
netitralising agent. Goat's blood,
for some anexplained reason, did not show the h@molysis.
Other observers had shown that emulsified brain mixed with tetanus toxin
also destroyed the hfemolytic action of the latter.
ST.ANDARDISATION oi@
ANTIPNI&UBIOCOCCUS SHITUSI.
Drs. EYRE and WASHBOURN explained the method they adopted
for thispurpose,wilichtheyha(talreadyfullydescribed elsewhere.
CHROMOCYTE CLUMPING.
Mr. S. G. SHATTOCK observed that the part played by
rouleaux formation in hastening the snbs-'@dtince of the red corpuscles and
clearing of the upper part of shed blood had at letely ignored. He bad, on liorse's blood by icing, been did subsidence of
the red mass ee, but that the in the horse no longer occurred.
If retardation was inhibited with sodium citrate, the rate of subsidence,
he found, in horse's blood greatly exceeded that in cat's ; this must be
ascribed to the fact that rouleaux formation was much more marked in the
first-i3amed animal-a very old observation.
Lord Lister had noticed that in ,, whipped" blood the same
difference occurred - The author was, therefore, led to try if normal horse
serum increased rduleaux for4nation in normal human blood.
This was notably the case, as studied by the hanging drop method; and the
result
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