Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 115-116. (Budapest, 19869

KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK — ELŐADÁSOK - Ringelhann, Béla: A digitalis 200 éve az orvostörténetben (angol nyelven)

the long list of the worthy. On the occasion of visiting Birmingham, the famous biographer, Boswell, was told by Boulton: "I sell here, Sir, what all the world desires to have — Power". [2] Fowler, discoverer of arsenic (liquor potassii arsenatis). succeeded Withering in Shorpshire. Following the scarlet fever epidemic in Birmingham, Wales and some other parts of England in 1778, Withering wrote Account of Scarlet Fever and Sore Throat, or Scarlatina Anglicosa; Particularly As It Appeared at Birmingham in 1780. He made the treatment very simple, he suggested the physicians to avoid taking blood and giving purgatives, instead the patients should receive emetics to clean their throat by vomiting. The foxglove grows in sandy and woody areas of Ireland, England, Germany, France, Switzerland and Hungary. Peter Méliusz Juhász described the foxglove and its use in ointments for several ailments. [3] It was recommended by H. Bock in 1546 and L. Fuchs in 1542 as an infusum and decoction. In England Parkinson praised its positive effects in the treatment of epilepsy and goiter. [4] Withering was the first to discover the diuretic effects of the foxglove. He found it among 20 other plants used by a woman from Shorpshire to cure dropsy. He also mentioned that citizens of that area often drank foxglove tea as a diuretic. To point out the possible danger of overdosing, Withering tells about the case of a merchant from Yorkshire whom he examined and who was "incessantly vomiting, his vision indistinct, his pulse 40 in a minute". His wife soaked a handfull of foxglove in a half pint of boiling water (prepared an infusion), and the patient suffering from asthma drank the whole amount. Luckily the man did not die, but he drank much more than enough. [1] Withering recommends the use of the plant's sun-dried leaves only, one spoonfull twice a day (1 grain = 0,065 g)

. The medication should not be given for such a long duration that it starts harming the "kidneys, the stomach and pulse", and its use should be discontinued if these organs are damaged. Foxglove was applied with good results by several of Wintering's colleagues which made him worry about the chance of overdosing the medication. According to Stannius, foxglove never occurs in China, India, Egypt or South America, it was not used by the "great old men" of Europe, nor by the Greeks. [5] Peter Méliusz Juhász sais that the plant flowers around Saint Jacob's Day, it has yellow and red blossoms. "The first blossom is on the stem and after that appear five or six similar ones. ' '[3] Withering conrtacted tuberculosis in 1793 and remained ill until the end of his life. In the book on foxglove which he published in 1785 he suggests the patient to be given only a very small amount, or else vomiting, diarrhea and confused vision would be caused. The pulse has to be always closely controlled and the dose should not be repeated if it slows down any further. If the patient suffers from ascites or anasarca and the fluid disappears very rapidly, taking of the medication should be discontinued and be only repeated a few days later. The dose also depends on the general state of the patient's health. If he has a greater physical strength and when touched, his skin feels warm, his face looks healthy and his puls-rate is strong and even, there is no hope for diuresis with the help of the foxglove. ' 'On the contrary, with feeble pulse, the countenance pale, the lips livid, the skin cold, the swollen belly soft and fluctuating or the anasarcous limbs readily pitting under the pressure of the finger, we may expect the diuretic effects to follow in a kindly manner. ' ' [1] Withering adds a few more comments in his book. Digitalis does not act as a diuretic, however, it should be tried to be used if other remedies prove to be uneffective. If this fails, nothing else