Lectures on materia medica and therapeutics / delivered by C. Harrington to second year class Harvard Medical School.

  • Harrington, Charles, 1856-1908.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lectures on materia medica and therapeutics / delivered by C. Harrington to second year class Harvard Medical School. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    If the drugs are given in solution, absorption is still more rapid ; if after a meal, when the stomach is full of food, absorption is delayed. Drugs which are not irritating should therefore be given on an empty stomach; and the irritants, during digestion. Drugs which interfere with digestion should be given from 2 to 3 hours after a meal. The only disadvantages of this method of adminis- tration arise from the bad tastes of drugs, and these may be avoided by pills, capsules, confections, syrups, etc. Another dis- advantage is the danger of spoiling an appetite or of injuring digestion in the case of some drugs. The Rectum is inferior to the stomach, but is often used when there is inability to swallow, and when the mucous membrane of the stomach is diseased. If the rectum be in a state of irritation^ absorption will not take place. No bulky drugs can be introduced, therefore, since the bulkiness causes irritation and spasmodic con- traction. Since the rectum is alkaline, acids will not be absorbed. Solid substances are best given as suppositories weighing i 5 gr., or in solution, when they are termed enemata or clysters. If an enema is to be retained for any length of time, it should weigh 3 oz., but if it is to produce evacuation it may weigh 10 or 16 oz. The amounts for children are proportionately less. The sub- stances when administered should be of the same temperature as the rectum, and be preceded by ordinary enemata to remove any faecal matter. If the rectum is irritable or intolerant a few drops of laudanum may be added. If laudanum is to be given alone, the dose should be two or three times as large as when taken by the stomach ; but the salts of Morphine, Atropine and Strychnine are absorbed as rapidly by the rectum as by the stomach, and therefore the rectal doses of those drugs are the same as those by the mouth. The alkaloids themselves are not quickly absorbed unless in acid solution. Mineral salts enter the blqod only in small quantities when injected into the rectum. 4. Occasionally absorption of drugs takes place from Serous Membranes. Injections of irritating substances are often made into hernial sacs in hernia, Into the pleural cavity in pleurisy, and into the tunica vaginalis in hydrocele, to produce inflammations with subsequent adhesions. Absorption is rapid, and when car- bolic acid is used, it should be with some degree of caution. 5. Drugs are sometimes applied directly to cellular tissue in the case of ulcers, wounds and abscesses. These prove very good absorbing surfaces and care must be taken in the administration of toxic drugs. lodiform, carbolic acid and corrosive sublimate thus absorbed have caused several cases of poisoning. So much for the administration of drugs.