Abstract
Tartar emetic (antimony and potassium tartrate) induces vomiting reflexly through local irritation after its introduction into the stomach or duodenum. The portion of the duodenum lying immediately below the pylorus is more sensitive than the stomach. Concentrated solutions are more active than dilute solutions in inducing this reflex.
Tartar emetic does not cause emesis in the cat or dog, when it is applied directly to the vomiting center decribed by Thumas, and which lies in the floor of the fourth ventricle.
Intravenous injections of tartar emetic induce vomiting after varying intervals of time, largely dependent on the size of the dose. This emesis is not prevented by the removal of the gastrointestinal tract, or by the removal of the celiac plexus and simultaneous cutting of the vagi below the diaphragm, but it is profoundly influenced by cutting the vagi in the neck, or paralyzing the vagus endings with atropin; it is apparently abolished by severing all nervous connection between the heart and centers by removal of the stellate ganglia and cutting the vagi in the neck, in the cat.
The investigation is being continued.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.