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.

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.