Sanguinaria Canadensis. (Blood Root.)

Preparation.—Prepare a tincture from the recent dried root, . ℥viij. to Alcohol 76° Oj. Dose from a fraction of a drop to five drops. Nitrate of Sanguinarina is a valuable preparation, and may be dispensed in syrup, in the proportion of grs. ij. to ℥j. Dose, gtts. x. to ʒj.

In full doses we employ the Sanguinaria as a stimulant to mucous membranes. This use is valuable in bronchitis with increased secretion, and in atonic conditions of stomach and bowels with increased secretion of mucus. In minute doses we employ it in cases of cough with dryness of the throat and air passages, feeling of constriction in the chest, difficult and asthmatic breathing, with sensation of pressure. In the same doses it is a stimulant to the vegetative system of nerves, and under its use there is an improvement in the circulation, in nutrition, and secretion.

As a remedy in diseases of the respiratory tract, I prefer the Nitrate of Sanguinarina to the tincture.

Specific Medication and Specific Medicines, 1870, was written by John M. Scudder, M.D.