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Show S70 MEZEREON: MEZEREON. was greatly reduced, being totally unable to swallowsolids, and HISTORY. It is a native of England, andis cultivated in our gardens on account of the beauty andearliness of its flowers, which appear in February and March. MEDICAL VIRTUES. The berries are extremely inviting, and as their acrimony is not immediately perceived, the ignorant and unwary may be tempted to eat them. 1 had once sister who died an infant from eating these berries. Withering relates, that twelve of them being given to a child, it vomited blood, and died almost immediately. In this country the mezereon is principally employedfor the cure of some siphylitic complaints, and in this way Dr. Donald Monro was the first who gave testimonyof its efficacy in the successful use of the Lisbon diet drink. A few months after this, several cases were published by Dr. Russel, then physician to St. Thomas’s hospital, fully establishing the utility of the for cortex mezerei in venereal nodes. He says, ‘‘ The disease root, mezereon of n decoctio the nd recomme ly whichI principal as a cure, is the node, that proceeds from a thickening of the the membrane of the bones, which appears to be the cause of a In greatest part of those tumours, at least when recent. thickening of the periosteum from other causes I have seen very good effects fromit.” But in the nocturnal pains, accompanying it necessiphylis, unless occasioned bythe node itself, he found We may n. decoctio the sary to join a solution of sublimate to also remark, that Dr. Russel never found the decoction to increase any of the natural evacuations. 371 Dr. Cullen observes, cure that “« Dr. Home has not only found this decoction to andafter venerea, lues the after remain which tumours, scirrhous some scirrhous tuthe use of mercury, but that it healed also it im semours from other causes; and that he has employed veral cutaneous affections, and sometimes with success.” The considerable and long continued heat and irritation that Dr. is produced in the throat when mezereon is chewed, induced swallowof difliculty of case a in it Withering to think of giving ing, seemingly occasioned by paralytic affection. The patient as often as she could wasdirected to chewa thin slice of the root power of swallowbear it, and in about a month recovered her and ing. This woman had suffered the complaint three years, liquids but very imperfectly. It has also been usedinstead of a perpetual blister, occasioning infinitely less pain and inconvenience. For this purpose a square piece of the recent bark, about an inch long, and three quarters of an inch broad, macerated little in vinegar, is applied to the skin, over which is bound a leaf of ivy or plan- tain. This application is at first renewed night and morning, till it cauterizes the part and brings on a serous discharge, when a renewalof the bark once in 24 hoursis foundsufficient to continue the issue for any length of time. By means of suitable plasters we conceive that it might be applied behind the ears to relieve the eyes, and on a larger scale prove an useful practice in sundry diseases. It must be observed, however, that it sometimes produces cutaneous eruptions, which Bergius attributes to the absorption of the acrid particles of the bark.—I. c. vide Essai sur ?Usageet les Effets de l’Ecorce du Garou. PRESCRIPTIONS. R.. 1. Take of sarsaparilla, two ounces; liquorice root, ; mezereon root, of each half an ounce ——— shavings of guaiacum, ounce: shavingsof sassafras wood, of each one boiling water for Infuse these ingredients in eight pints of half of the water one until twenty-four hours, then boil them Use this as a tion. decoc the n be consumed; afterwards strai quart during one to half a and pint a diet drink, taking from a mercurial course the day. This is employedas an assistant to been used for some of alteratives, especially after mercury has n diet drink, and may time. It is an improvement on the Lisbo ders proceeding from be given in rheumatism, and cutaneous disor foulness of the blood andjuices. ms ; R.. 2. Take of mezereon root, two drach . : —__——. boiling water, two pounds ng add liquorice root, Boil toa pound. At the end of the boili sliced, one ounce: strain. threeor four times a day. Two to four ounces are to be taken l cured nodes, &c,, a9 With this prescription alone Dr. Russe before mentioned. |