Astacus fluviatilis (Cancer astacus, Linn.)

Class , Crustacean; Sub Order , Macroura.

Common Name , crawfish.

Preparation , Tincture, prepared by pouring alcohol on the pounded living animal.

Authorities.

Buchner's provings, Hygea, 17, p. 1; 1 and 2 , Two men proved large doses of the tincture, repeated doses; 3 , case reported by Buchner, loc. cit., of a man who ate a soup made of crabs; 4 , Cloyd, Lond. Med. Gaz., 1833, quoted by Buchner, loc. cit., a man ate heartily of crabs; 5 , Seherin von Prevorst, 1, 124, from Buchner, l. c., a woman ate three spoonfuls of crab soup; 6 , Hagedorn, Ephem. Nat. Cur. Ann., 3, Obs., 35, p. 99, effects of eating crabs; 7 , Petrus Rommelius, Ephem. Nat. Cur. Ann., 4, Obs., 25, p. 61, effects of eating crabs; 8 , Bonetus, from Buchner, l. c., effects of eating warm crabs; 9 , Plenk, Bromatolagie, p. 157, from Buchner, l. c., statement of effects; 10 , Menage, Gaz. Méd. de Paris, 1840, from Roth. Mat. Med.

MIND

Slight delirium, 10.
Great apprehensiveness, and anxiety in the chest, 2.

HEAD

Confusion.
Confusion of the head, 10.
Great confusion of the head, 2.
Confusion of the forehead, 2.
Some confusion of the forehead, 1.
General Head.
Inflammation of the head, neck, and chest, with efflorescence of red serous blotches ("maculis rubicundis serosisque"), relieved after a time by sweating, 6.
Excessive pain in the head, caused by the violent sneezing, 7.
Headache extends towards the occiput, but is especially felt in the right temple and about the ear, 2. [10.]
Headache, with pressure to the eyes, 3.
Forehead.
Pressure on the forehead, 2.
Pressure, confusion of the forehead, about noon, 1.
Constant pressure in the forehead, with frequent yawning, 2.
Temples.
Pressure in the temples and forehead, after 10 A.M., 1.

EYE

Pressure in the upper part of the right eye, 1.
Eyelids swollen, 10.
Conjunctiva somewhat injected, and decidedly yellow, 1.
Lachrymation, 3.
Pupils dilated, 3. [20.]
Dimness of vision, 1.

EAR

Sensation in the right ear as if a foreign body were lodged in the meatus, and caused some deafness, 2.
Dragging in the ears from within outward, about 4 P.M., lasting five minutes, 1.
Sticking in the right internal ear, lasting six hours, which changed to a dull pain (after two hours), 1.

NOSE

Frequent spasmodic sneezing, 7.
Slight and sudden discharge from the nose, as in a slight catarrh, 2.
Nose-bleed, repeated daily for a week, 3.
Bleeding of nose toward morning, with relief, 3.

FACE

Puffy face, 3.
Face red, puffy, 10. [30.]
Redness and increased warmth of the face, the whole afternoon, with burning in the left cheek, heat and redness of the ears, 1.
Burning of the face, 1.

MOUTH

Violent dull toothache in a carious tooth, in the afternoon, 2.
Drawing pains in the teeth, soon followed by sticking in the right ear, 1.
Pressive pain in the tongue, in the pharynx, and in the region of the stomach, 2.
Sweetish taste in the mouth, after coughing, 1.
Continually dumb until the crabs had been vomited, 8.

THROAT

Scraping sensation in the throat, with constant irritation to cough, and tickling in the larynx, the whole day, 1.
Rawness of the throat caused frequent hawking, 1.

STOMACH

Appetite diminished, 2. [40.]
Eructations and increased warmth in the pit of the stomach; nausea, 2.
Nausea, 6.
Vomiting of the contents of the stomach, almost without exertion, without nausea, with good appetite, followed immediately by great longing for food; this vomiting took place at the time when he was passing the fatty substance from the bowels, and it persisted during the last ten months of his life, 4 . [The post mortem showed a great constriction of the duodenum, so that the cavity was almost obliterated; the opening of the gall-duct into the duodenum was completely closed.]
Sour vomiting after smoking at 5 P.M., 1.
Stomach empty and sensitive, 2.
Great heaviness in the stomach, 5.
Violent pains in the epigastric region, especially in the duodenum, 4.
Burning in the pit of the stomach, followed by urging in the anus, 2.
Great oppression deep in the epigastric region, which extended to the lower portion of the chest, 1.

ABDOMEN

Hypochondria.
Region of the liver was painful to severe pressure (after two hours), 1. [50.]
Uncomfortable feeling in the region of the spleen, 1.
Pressure in the region of the spleen, followed toward evening by a tension, as though the bowels were contracted, 1.
Umbilical.
Colicky pains around umbilicus, 3.
Colic-like pains about the umbilicus, quarter of an hour after dinner, so that he was obliged to bend double, followed by a soft, at last, pasty, dark-brown stool, 1.
Colic pains about the navel, 2.
General Abdomen.
Distension of abdomen, 3.
Abdomen distended and painful, 2.
Flatulence, with urging to stool, 2.
Painful sensation in the abdomen, the whole afternoon, 1.
Pressure in the region of the duodenum caused constant pain, 4. [60.]
Griping in the abdomen, followed by an unsatisfactory stool, after 7 A.M., 1.
Gripings in the bowels, with urging to stool, and weariness about 1 P.M., 2.
Griping and urging to stool, on every motion; relieved when sitting still, 2.
Colicky pains before and during the stool (second day), 1.
Feeling in the bowels as though he would have a painful colic, followed by griping in the left side of the lower abdomen, 1.
Prickling in the left pelvic bone, 1.
Hypogastrium.
Griping in the left side of the lower abdomen (after two hours), 1.
Short-continuing twingings in the left side of the lower abdomen, with great weariness, after 8 P.M., 1.

STOOL

Diarrhœa.
A second stool at 10 P.M. (the one in the morning had not afforded him relief), 1.
A pasty stool at 5 A.M., 1. [70.]
Soft, somewhat slimy stool, after eating, followed by scraping in the rectum, 1.
Stool yellowish, consistent, afterwards pasty and offensive, with relief of the colic, 2.
Stool darker than usual, 1.
After some months, passage of a fatty substance from the bowels, looking like melted fat, and after being cold, of the consistence of butter; this substance floated on water, melted in a moderate warmth, and was extremely inflammable, generally was separated from the fæces, sometimes mixed with them, usually of a dark color, sometimes light, but always yellow; at the time this substance was passed the stool had a dark color, but never the color of healthy bile; after the fatty substance ceased to pass the stool became again as white as before, 4.
Constipation.
No stool the whole day (fourth day), 1.
Stool unsatisfactory, with much urging, 1.
Stool scanty, crumbly, passed with much urging, 1.

URINARY ORGANS

Pressure in the region of the bladder, with sensation of heaviness in it, 1.
Twitching below the right kidney, 1.
Drawings along the right ureter, 1. [80.]
Urine bright yellow, slightly acid, 2.
Urine golden yellow, at first not acid, but afterwards slightly acid; with light flakes floating in it (when boiled it frothed a great deal, and when somewhat evaporated, showed much albumen), 2 . [Translated literally! -A.]
Urine dark yellow, with sediment, 2.

RESPIRATORY APPARATUS

Larynx and Bronchi.
Much hawking of mucus, 2.
Irritation to cough in the larynx, 1.
Tickling in the larynx, low down, which caused coughing, 1.
Accumulation of mucus in the bronchi and larynx, which seemed to be adherent, 2.
Oppression and difficult breathing in the bronchial tubes, 2.
Cough and Expectoration.
Much coughing, without expectoration, in the forenoon, especially about 11, 1.
Cough followed by hawking, in order to loosen mucus, which was light yellow, 1. [90.]
Cough in the morning, with expectoration of bronchial mucus, which was light yellow, through the day, with rawness of the chest, 1.
Cough worse after 3 P.M., so that the chest became painful, with expectoration like saliva, or like white mucus, 1.
The cough did not trouble him while walking, but as soon as he sat down it returned, 1.
Expectoration had a sweetish flat taste, late in the evening, 1.
Hæmoptysis and consumption, 9.
Respiration.
Respiration more difficult than usual, 1.

CHEST

Rush of blood to the chest, with difficult breathing and spitting of blood, 2.
Oppression of the chest, 1.
Pressive pain in the whole sternum, on waking in the morning, 2.
Slight sticking in the left side of the breast, beneath the nipple, 2.

HEART AND PULSE. [100.]

Pulse 80 (first day), pulse 50 (second morning), pulse 80 (second day, about 2 P.M.), 2.

NECK AND BACK

Sudden tearing from the right lumbar region to the kidney, while sitting, 1.

EXTREMITIES IN GENERAL

Obliged to move the limbs back and forth involuntarily, for it seemed as though she could only digest while doing so; continued half an hour, till digestion was better, 5.

SUPERIOR EXTREMITIES

Jerking in the upper extremities, at 6 P.M., 1.
Weariness of the arms, 1.
Sensation of trembling in the arm upon which he was resting, 1.
Crawling in the arms, with trembling of the hands, 1.
Pressure and tension in the shoulder-joints and deltoid muscles, 2.
Pressure and heaviness in the bends of the elbows, 2.
Jerklike drawings in the left forearm, 1. [110.]
Trembling of the left hand, while holding a book, 1.
Tearing and sticking in the middle of the thumb, for a short time, early in the morning, immediately after waking, 1.

INFERIOR EXTREMITIES

Burning on the anterior surface of the left leg, while walking, as from an acid, so that he was frightened, and examined it with his hand, 1.

GENERAL SYMPTOMS

Languor, 3.
Weariness, prostration (after two hours), 2.
Prostration (in two provers), 3.
Great prostration, 10, 7.
Pains in various parts of the body, like rheumatic pains, now in the right clavicle, now in the left arm, 1.
Slight tension, extending from the nose downward to the forepart of the feet, 2.
Sticking pains continued till next evening, 3.

SKIN. [120.]

Skin red from severe itching, 3.
Jaundice for several months; the urine, saliva, tears, mucus in the nose, and serum of the blood contained a large quantity of bile, but not the slightest amount passed through the intestines; the stools were constantly as white as pipe-clay, 4.
Violent attack of urticaria, with hepatitis, followed by jaundice, 4.
Red, itching urticaria all over, 10.
Urticaria developed on chest, back, arms, inner surface of thighs, under the knees; the large spots were elevated, with red areolæ; was obliged to scratch, so that, after four hours, these places seemed puffed up, 3.
Itching on the neck, about 6 P.M., with continued heat and redness of the face, 1.
Violent itching on neck, 3.

SLEEP AND DREAMS

Condition of sopor, in the evening, 2.
At night, restless sleep, frequently interrupted, full of lascivious dreams, with increased temperature of the skin, 1.
Waking in the morning, earlier than usual, 1. [130.]
Waking at night, with sweat, especially on the abdomen, 2.

FEVER

Chilliness.
Shivering, 1, 10.
Chilliness over the whole body, in the evening, especially sensitive below the axillæ, 2.
Creeping coldness of the body twice (after two hours), 1.
Shivering in the upper extremities about 6 1/2 P.M., 1.
Heat.
Feverishness, 3.
Increased warmth of the body (after two hours), 1.
Increased warmth over the whole body, in the evening, 2.
Severe orgasm of blood, 5.
Heat and redness of face, 3.
Sweat. [140.]
Sweating easily, 3.
Sweat breaks out easily, at night, 3.

CONDITIONS

Aggravation.
( Morning ), Cough; on waking, pain in sternum; early, immediately after waking, tearing, etc., in thumb.
( Forenoon ), About 11 o'clock, cough.
( About noon ), Pressure, etc., on forehead.
( Afternoon ), Redness, etc., of face; toothache; painful sensation in abdomen; after 3 o'clock, cough; about 6 o'clock, itching on neck, etc.; about 6.30 o'clock, shivering in upper extremities.
( Evening ), Sweetish-flat taste of expectoration; sopor; chilliness; warmth.
( Night ), Sweat breaks out easily.
( After coughing ), Sweetish taste in mouth.
( After eating ), Soft stool.
( On motion ), Griping, etc.
( While sitting ), Tearing from loins to kidneys.
( On sitting down ), Cough returned.
( After smoking ), Sour vomiting.
( While walking ), Burning on leg.
Amelioration.
( Sitting still ), Griping, etc.
( Sweating ), Inflammation of head, etc.

CANCER FLUVIATILIS.