JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA.
Juniperus Virginiana, Linn.
Natural order
, Coniferæ.
Common names
, Red Cedar, Savin.
Preparation
, Tincture from the twigs.
Authorities.
1,
Dr. Charles A. Lee, Am. J. Med. Sc., 21, p. 345, a woman took an ounce
of the oil to procure abortion; 2,
Dr. Samuel C. Wait, Bost. M. and S. Journ., 1849, p. 469, a woman, aged
26, took a large teaspoonful of the oil; 3,
same, Mrs. A. E. B., aged 32, took some (dose not mentioned); 4, same, Miss L. K., aged 17, subject to fits
of mental derangement, but otherwise healthy, took an ounce of the oil; 5, same, Miss A. G., aged 17 (about two
teaspoonfuls found in stomach); 6,
C. H. Cleveland, Bost. Med. and Surg. J., 44, p. 336, Miss —, took
half an ounce of the oil; 7, Dr.
Ingalls, Bost. M. and S. Journ., 57, 384, a girl took half an ounce of
oil for an emmenagogue; 8, Dr.
Hodgdon, same reference, effects on a woman; 9,
Dr. C. Holly, Detroit Rev. of Med. and Pharm., July, 1876, p. 478, Mrs.
W. took half an ounce.
MIND.
►
Emotional. ► During the
paroxysm (of fever) raved incoherently, [1].
► Delirious (after six hours), [2]; (after several hours), [4]. ►
Moaned most piteously, [3]. ► Fright, [7].
► Intellectual. ► During the morning of her death she lay
in a stupid state; answered no questions, and did not appear to be
sensible, [1]. ► As the convulsions continued the stupor
became more and more profound, [3].
► At the end of an hour and a half
from the time at which she was found the convulsions ceased altogether,
leaving her in a state of profound coma, breathing heavily but
regularly, [2]. ► She lay apparently in a deep comatose
sleep until about 9 o’clock next day, when she awoke to perfect
consciousness, with no recollection of what had occurred since
swallowing the oil, [9].
HEAD.
►
Dizzy (after fourteen hours), [2];
(after several hours, and second day), [4].
[10.] ►
Head felt bad, [4]. ► Head felt as if enclosed with an iron
band (after a few minutes), [9].
EYE.
►
Eyes somewhat bloodshot, but as the patient had been weeping I did not
know but the sclerotic congestion might in part have been caused by
that, [6]. ►
Eyes began to glare and twitch, [4].
► Eyes felt as if bursting from their
sockets (after a few minutes), [9].
► Pupil. ►
Pupils dilated, [6]. ► Pupil dilated to one-half of the width of
the iris, [4]. ► Pupils completely dilated, [3].
FACE.
►
Very red in the face, [5]. ► Countenance assumed a venous aspect, [3], [4].
[20.] ►
Face swollen and livid, [6]. ► Veins of the face, head, and neck fully
distended, [6]. ► One-half of the lower lip and part of the
chin, and down upon the side of the neck, were much swollen, and of a
dark hue, almost like ecchymoses from a bruise; the tongue and gums,
too, were involved in a similar swelling and lividity, [6]. ► Jaws
firmly fixed, [6].
MOUTH.
►
Thought it would take the skin from her mouth and throat, [1]. ► She
could not speak so as to understood; she articulated like a person
laboring under hemiplegia, [3].
THROAT.
►
Fauces in spots denuded of their mucous covering, [6].
STOMACH.
►
Thirst. ► Thirst (after
several hours and on second day), [4].
► Great thirst, [1]. ► Nausea and
Vomiting. ► Nausea, [7]. [30.]
► Sick and distressed at her stomach
(second day), [4]. ► Vomited, [3].
► A slight attempt at emesis, and a
very little of the oil was vomited, [9].
► Vomited between the fits; the
matter vomited emitted the odor of cedar oil, [2]. ► Vomited
freely, [4]. ►
Vomiting of a black matter and afterwards of a green matter; the
vomiting continued all day, [1]. ► Stomach. ►
Considerable distension and tenderness at pit of stomach, [6]. ►
Distress at her stomach (after several hours and on second day), [4]. ►
Pain in her stomach, [5]. ► On being requested to put her hand on the
seat of suffering she put it upon her stomach, [3]. [40.] ► Stomach burned, [4].
ABDOMEN.
►
Abdomen swollen and hot, [6]. ► Pain in the bowels, [1]. ►
Complained of intensity of pain in abdomen, [6].
STOOL.
►
Violent purging, which continued till death, [1]. ► Bowels
loose the first day, but for the last twenty-four hours nothing had
passed them, [6].
URINARY ORGANS.
►
Great difficulty in passing urine, [1].
SEXUAL ORGANS.
►
Uterine hæmorrhage, [1].
RESPIRATORY ORGANS.
►
The soft parts about the neck were sucked down at every effort at
inspiration, and the lower jaw descended, [3],
[4], [5]. ► Stertor
continued for a few minutes; it was succeeded by breathing of a very
different kind; and the chief character of this was an unsuccessful
heaving of the chest in inspiration for breath, and a limpsy dropping
together of the chest in expiration, [3],
[4], [5]. [50.] ► Expiration slow and without assistance
from the expiratory muscles; the chest appeared to fall together from
its own weight, [6].
HEART AND PULSE.
►
Pulse less than 60, afterwards sank to 45, then intermitted, [3]. ►
Pulse 55 (one hour and a half after she was found); after an hour it
began to rise in frequency, became more regular, narrow, normal, and
firm; over 100 (after six hours), [2].
► Pulse 50; afterwards began to
intermit, [4]. ► Pulse 45, wide, and soft; afterwards 40
and 45; after bleeding to the amount of twelve to sixteen ounces, 35,
yet regular, [5]. ► Pulse fluttering, feeble, and slow, not
more than 55 in a minute, and very irregular, [6].
SUPERIOR EXTREMITIES.
► Hands at times clenched, [6].
INFERIOR EXTREMITIES.
► Staggering, [4].
GENERALITIES.
►
Objective. ► Twitching of
the muscles, [9]. ► Convulsions for three or four hours, [8]. [60.]
► A most violent convulsion came on,
and all further consciousness was lost for twelve hours. ► Convulsions rapidly succeeded each other,
until within two hours she had eleven, [9].
► Whole body, neck, trunk, and
extremities perfectly stiff, all the voluntary muscles being in that
state of violent contraction called by Cullen “spastic rigidity,” and by some others
“tonic spasm,” and the
whole body at the same time jerking; her eyes glaring and still; jaws
set; hands clenched; breathing struggling; choking and strangling;
countenance bloated and livid, and her pulse as low as 60 per minute,
very wide, and soft; soon her breathing became more free, uniform, and
active, and at each expiration puffed out blubbers from her mouth, and
at each inspiration hauled them in; coincident with the improvement in
her breathing the jerking abated, and the spasm of the muscles gave way,
till her arms fell limpsy by her side; the whole system then became
relaxed, and the breathing quite easy and quiet, yet the eye remained
glaring and fixed, the pulse slow, wide, and soft, yet the stupor so
profound that no sign of consciousness could be elicited; this paroxysm
was soon followed by another, which began by jerking of the eyes,
followed by jerking of the head, contraction of the muscles of one side
of the face and neck, then those of the other side, those of the back of
the neck, those of the arms, trunk, and lower limbs, in rapid
succession; when the muscles of the arms and of the body generally
contracted, the arms were reached out imploringly, which with the
accompanying groan, if groan that noise
could be called, anxious and strained eye, and distorted countenance,
was the natural language to the bystanders of the extremest terror and
amazement, although the patient was entirely unconscious; then followed
violent jerking of the whole body, the breathing being nearly
suppressed; after a little time the jerking gradually abated, and the
breathing became more free, and the symptoms given of the latter part of
former paroxysm succeeded and in the same order; followed by other
convulsions; pulse 55, intermitting, wide, and soft, [2]. ► The
whole system of voluntary muscles tightened with the most rigid spasm,
the whole body jerking, the eyes glaring, pupils dilated a little, pulse
60 per minute, and respiration struggling, catching, and strangling;
followed by another paroxysm which, as in other cases, began by a
jerking of the eyes, followed by jerking of the head, contraction of the
muscles of one side of the face and neck, those of the other side, those
of the back of the neck, those of the arm, trunk, and extremities,
accompanied by the same imploring reaching of the arms, groan, if groan
that noise can be called, glaring eye, and natural language of the most
extreme terror and amazement, and this succeeded by jerking of the whole
body; so heart-sickening, and indeed frightful, was her appearance that
but few of the bystanders could bear the sight; some fainted, and others
covered their faces with their handkerchiefs and turned away; so
imperfectly did the spasm pass off between the paroxysms that the
patient was in constant motion; two or three men tried to hold her
still, but they could not do it so as to prevent the medicine being
spilt. ► I had constantly to keep
some hard substance between her teeth to prevent their shutting, [5]. ►
The patient passed into an apparently apoplectic state, accompanied with
stertorous breathing, as the convulsions ceased, [3]. ► At the
end of forty minutes from the commencement of the convulsions they
ceased altogether, leaving the patient in an apparently apoplectic
state, accompanied with stertorous breathing, and a pulse numbering
about 50 per minute, [4]. ► After the convulsions ceased, an
apparently apoplectic state, accompanied with stertorous breathing,
twitching of the voluntary muscles, venous countenance, and pulse
between 40 and 45, [5]. ► When the fever was off, appeared much
exhausted, [1]. ► Much exhausted, or in a state of
prostration, when she made an effort to inspire; when the air passed out
of the chest all strength seemed wanting, [6].
► Found on the floor, and supposed to
be dying, [2]. ► Subjective. ►
Felt very strangely (after a few minutes), [9]. [70.] ► Sore all over (after fourteen hours), [2]; (second day), [4].
SLEEP.
►
Could be aroused a very little, but would immediately doze away again
(after four hours), [2].
FEVER.
►
Chilliness. ► Rigors
followed by fever, [1]. ► Heat. ►
Feverish (after fourteen hours), [2].
► Considerable fever and pain,
similar to labor pains, [1]. ► High fever (second day), [4]. ► Sweat.
► Skin dry and parched, [6].
SUPPLEMENT: JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA.
Authorities.
10,
Wm. A. Hammond, Ranking’s Abstract, vol. xxix, 1859, p. 355, a healthy
man, æt. thirty-five years, took within twenty-four hours 16 ounces
officinal infusion of the berries; 11,
W. P. Bolles, M.D., Boston City Hosp. Report, 1870, p. 270, fatal
poisoning of Mary H., æt. nineteen years, by 1 ounce of the oil.►
The average condition of his urine for
the three days immediately preceding the investigations was as follows:
Quantity 1237.5 cubic centimeters; sp. gr. 1022.50; total solids 61.23
grams, of which 23.12 were inorganic, and 38.11 organic matter. It was
of ordinary color and odor, and of strong acid reaction. The first day
after taking drug the quantity of urine amounted to 1732 cubic
centimeters; sp. gr. 1016.38; the total solids 62.75 grams; of this
amount 25.43 grams were inorganic, and 37.32 organic constituents. The
urine was of a pale-straw color, and gave off the characteristic odor
produced by Juniper. The reaction was feebly acid. The quantity of urine
passed on the second day was 1885.2 cubic centimeters; sp. gr. 1014.15;
and the total solids 58.49 grams, of which 22.17 were inorganic, and
36.22 organic matter. The physical characteristics were similar to those
of the first day. The reaction was barely acid. On the third day the
quantity of urine was 1672.5 cubic centimeters; sp. gr. 1018.41. The
total solids 63.27, of which 27.50 were inorganic, and 35.73 organic
matter. The physical characteristics and reaction were the same as on
the previous day, [10]. ► Insensible and almost pulseless, groaning
with every breath, rigid and somewhat convulsed, with twitching of the
eyeballs, and a strong odor of “oil of cedar” in the breath, [11].® 2000
Article