NATRUM NITRICUM.
Sodium nitrate, NaNO3.
Cubic nitre, Chile saltpetre.
Preparation
, Solutions in water.
Authorities.
1,
Dr. “E.,” took 1/2 drachm in the morning fasting, Gross’s
provings, Archiv. f. Hom., 13, 2, p. 179; 2,
Dr “H.,” took 1 1/2 drachm, ibid. (Nos. 3 to 8,
Loeffler’s provings, B. and L. Zeit. 1848, Frank’s Mag., 4, 244); 3, Weidner, took 2 ounces and 6 drachms,
during a period of a week; 4, Löhr,
took same as last; 5, Gillmeister,
took 5 ounces and 3 drachms in twelve days; 6,
Deetz, took 3 ounces and 2 drachms in eight days; 7, Lambert, took 4 ounces and 2 drachms in
ten days; 8, general results of all
the provers; 9, Boecker, All. Zeit.
f. Hom., 2d suppl., p. 44, proving on a healthy man, who took every
hours a spoonful of a solution of 2 1/2 ounces in 8 ounces of water.
MIND.
►
Great ill-humor (mental indolence), [5].
HEAD.
►
Head dull, [4], [5]; as after mental exertion, [1].
EAR.
►
Pain in the right ear, as if in the drum; a kind of earache; with a
feeling of warmth within the ear, in the evening, [2].
FACE.
►
Face pale; features relaxed, [5]. ► The face became paler and more emaciated
towards the end of the proving, [4].
► Face seemed thinner and paler
during the last days of the proving, [3].
► Pressing-inward pain in the malar
bone (second day), [1].
MOUTH.
►
Tongue. ► Tongue whitish, [4]. ►
General Mouth. ► A
distressing burning dryness in the mouth and throat, [6]. ► Taste.
[10.] ►
Taste altered, almost sour, [1]. ► Sour taste and sour eructations, for a
short time, almost like heartburn (second day), [1]. ►
Peculiar, almost coppery taste on the lips and tongue, all the forenoon,
[2].
THROAT.
►
Some dull stitches posteriorly in the throat, always on drawing air
through the nose, in the evening while lying in bed, [2].
STOMACH.
►
Appetite slight, [5]. ► He has less appetite for his usual food,
especially for his morning coffee, of which he is usually very fond
(after two hours), [1]. ► Aversion to coffee, for two days, [1].
ABDOMEN.
►
*Distension and feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen, with emission
of much flatus (after a quarter of an hour); afterwards eructations, [2]. ►
Painless rumbling in the bowels, [4].
► *Flatulent troubles, which cause
pressive pains in the pit of the stomach, and higher up under the
sternum, [And left side. [°]
-Lippe.] as if in the chest, worse after physical exertion; relieved by
emission of flatus or eructations (after nine hours), [2]. [20.] ► Some pain in the intestines during the
last days of the proving, [5]. ► Slight pains in the abdomen, followed by
three successive attacks of diarrhœa, with relief of the pain; the next
morning he had a perfectly normal stool, [9].
► *The abdominal muscles become
painfully contracted towards the spine, [1].
STOOL.
►
The stool always consisted of isolated fecal masses, evacuated with
great exertion; and during the last days of the proving he had a
constant desire to go to stool, [7].
► Stool very indolent, only after
effort, large, followed by a sensation as if there was still more to be
evacuated, at 2 P.M. (after forty-eight hours), [2]. ► Stool
retarded one day, [4].
URINARY ORGANS.
►
Micturition. ► Frequently
at times, very distressing desire to urinate, with increased secretion
from the mucous membrane of the urinary passages, as evinced by the
turbidity of the urine and the copious deposit of slimy sediment, [6]. ►
Profuse emission of urine which in spite of the heat of the summer
amounted one day to 61 ounces, next day to 82 ounces, and the third day
to 84 ounces, [3]. ► Urine. ►
Urine became remarkably light-colored, and of a high specific gravity;
at times turbid, and depositing a somewhat slimy sediment, [5]. ►
An increased secretion of urine, in spite of profuse perspiration,
during very hot weather; the amount of urine exceeded that of the liquid
taken; while previously and subsequently this relation was reversed, the
specific gravity increased; when a drop of urine was allowed to fall
upon paper, there remained iridescent crystalline scales, [6]. [30.] ► Specific gravity of the urine rose from
1005 (before taking) to 1010, 1015, 1020, and at last 1025; the urine
was previously reddish-yellow, now constantly became lighter-colored;
and soon after stopping the drug it resumed its dark color as before, [4].
CHEST.
►
Pressive pains below the outer portion of the right pectoral muscle, as
if between and on the ribs, on deep breathing and on every inspiration,
while sitting bent over, [2].
PULSE.
►
Pulse normally 75, became slower, once 63, [6]. ► Pulse
usually between 75 and 80, during the proving almost always less than
75, at times as low as 66; the normal tension of the pulse seemed to
completely disappear during the last days of the proving, [7]. ► The
pulse previous to the proving averaged 65, on the second day fell to 62,
on the seventh day to 52, and during the whole proving remained below
60, after stopping the drug, it became more frequent, and returned to
its normal after five days, [15]. ► Pulse before taking never above 60, after
taking never above 50, and once only 40; six days after discontinuing
the drug, it was 54, and after ten days, 58; previous to taking, the
difference of the pulse between sitting and standing was from 10 to 15
beats; while taking, it was only from 4 to 8 beats, [4]. ► The
pulse, that was formerly large and full, became daily smaller and
softer, [5].
EXTREMITIES IN GENERAL.
► A peculiar painful sensation in the
joints and in the adductors of the thighs; which, however, showed no
visible change, [6]. ► Pressive aching, like a bruised pain, in
the joints of the feet, toes, shoulders, fingers (after three-quarters
of an hour), [2].
SUPERIOR EXTREMITIES.
► Pressing-asunder pain in the first joints
of the right index and middle fingers, [2].
GENERAL SYMPTOMS.
[40.]
► Before taking the drug, the blood
was dark-red, thickish, containing only a few colorless corpuscles, many
elementary corpuscles; coagulated in eight minutes; the separation was
very rapid, so that after an hour the clot did not seem much larger than
after fifteen hours; clot very firm; after taking saltpetre, the blood
was of the color and consistence of cherry-juice; numerous colorless
corpuscles; coagulated in three minutes and thirty-three seconds; the
separation of serum was somewhat slow, the clot not firm, [3]. ► Before
the proving, the blood was dark-red and thick, with rather numerous
colorless corpuscles; coagulated in nine minutes; the clot firm and
elastic; after taking the drug, the blood looked like cherry-juice,
contained numerous and very large colorless corpuscles; coagulated in
four minutes and fifty-nine seconds, [4].
► Before taking, the blood was
dark-red, contained numerous colorless corpuscles, coagulated in seven
minutes and four seconds; clot firm and elastic; after taking, the blood
looked like cherry-juice, contained fewer and very much larger colorless
corpuscles; coagulated in six minutes and twenty-three seconds; the clot
very soft and friable, [5]. ► Before taking the drug, blood
dark-colored, containing rather numerous colorless corpuscles, mostly
larger than the colored ones; coagulating in thirteen minutes and five
seconds; clot firm; after taking the drug, blood lighter-colored,
containing very numerous large colored corpuscles; coagulating in seven
minutes and fifteen seconds; clot soft and very friable, [6]. ► Before
the proving, the blood was bright-red coagulated in twelve minutes and
thirty-six seconds; clot firm, elastic; afterwards, the blood looked
like cherry-juice; the red corpuscles paler than normal; numerous
colorless corpuscles; coagulated in six minutes and fifty seconds; clot
soft, very friable, [7]. ► The color and consistence of the blood
was changed, so that it became similar to cherry-juice; the number and
size of the colorless corpuscles increased; the color of the red
corpuscles became paler; the blood coagulated more rapidly; there was an
increase of the water of the blood, and a corresponding diminution of
the solids; decrease of the fatty elements; increase of the inorganic
salts of the serum (incinerated residue); diminished firmness and
cohesion of the coagulum, diminution of its solid constituents, and
increase of the inorganic salts, [8].
► The result of one examination each
time, before and after taking the drug, showed an increase of the water
in the defibrinated blood, and also of the serum; a diminution of the
solid constituents of the defibrinated blood, as of the sternum; a
general diminution of the blood-corpuscles; diminution of albumen, and
slight increase of the fibrin; increase of the soluble salts; less
coagulum, and more serum, [9]. ► Weakness, with disinclination for mental
and physical exertion, [7]. ► So great weakness that he could not walk
far without resting repeatedly; increasing during the succeeding days,
so that on the seventh day he could scarcely keep about, [6]. ►
Weakness and exhaustion, especially in the knees, during a walk (after a
small venesection); previous bloodletting had not affected him at all, [4]. [50.]
► An unusual sensation of exhaustion
lasting some time; it increased daily; aggravated by every motion, and
going upstairs was especially very difficult, [5]. ► The
weakness became so great that he was faint after slight exertion, in the
evening (four days after the proving), [6].
SLEEP.
►
Constant inclination for sleep, which did not refresh, [7]. ►
Over-powering inclination to sleep has been noticed in provings on other
persons, [8].
FEVER.
►
Chilliness. ► A fine cold
sensation streams through the body, especially the upper part and the
arms; followed by increased warmth, after a quarter of an hour in bed, [2]. ►
Shivering chill over the whole body, at times (first day), [1]. ►
Diminished warmth, subjective and objective, of the feet, as far up as
the calves (first day), [1]. ► Icy coldness of the left foot, extending
half up the leg; noticed both in the warm room and while walking, [2]. ►
Heat. ► The whole left
concha became burning hot (without any other cause), while the right
remained cold; this sensation of heat soon extended over the left
temple, and after awhile changed to a pressing inward pain; after a
time, this sensation of heat extended to the right side of the head,
especially to the outer ear, and from this point there extended a
general heat over the face, with pressive pain in the left frontal
eminence, in the afternoon, [2].® 2000
Article