(seq. 487)

480

Materia Medica

Emetics

operation by the number of articles exciting it which she has presented
to us, vomiting is not confined to man alone, but is natural to birds
and other animals, cats and dogs vomit verry freely. Birds are
unable to digest the hair and feathers which they sometimes swallow &
therefore vomit, fish also vomit and verry frequently, but there is
one animal that cannot be made to vomit I mean the horse, under
the largest dose of emetics we may give that animal we can only
produce a copious flow of saliva, his inability to vomit proceeds from
the great strength of the cardia which is stronger and more muscular
than the stomach itself. Physiologists have not been uniform in
their opinions respecting the state of the stomach while under the
operation of emetics, some suppose that the stomach itself is inert
this opinion is I think erroneous, but I do not agree with others who go
to an oposite extreme. Rosentine has published a verry excellent work
upon this subject, the truth however is that the stomach does
act and also the diaphragm and abdominal muscles with some
force, of the General Effects of Emetics, Some emminent
Physicians thought that vomiting might be usefull to a person in health.
Dr Cullen was of this opinion but did not think it should
be frequently repeated. I think however when a person is in perfect