Fibrillation and Augmented Contractile Response of the Tongue Following Strophanthin and Digitalis. ∗

Abstract

The response of the dog tongue to minimal break shocks applied to the intact or divided peripheral end of the hypoglossal nerve in the neck is greatly increased following the administration of digitalis-tincture or strophanthin. There is usually a fairly progressive increase in the response following the administration of the tincture preparation by way of the femoral vein. Injected into the lingual artery, fibrillation of that side of the tongue almost invariably follows and may persist for 30 minutes or an hour. Large doses applied this way may at first produce a heightened response to electrical stimulation with a subsequent failure. The injection of 1 mgm. of strophanthin by way of the femoral vein produces a powerful and usually acute response of the tongue. Spontaneous fibrillation of a coarse grade lasting almost an hour has been observed after the administration of this drug without nerve stimulation.

The action of digitalis bodies upon the tongue appears to be different from that upon ordinary striped muscle. Cushny 1 has pointed out that the more recent investigators find that cardiac glucosides only weaken the muscle, reduce its excitability, quicken the onset of fatigue, and finally paralyze it completely. The similarity between the pharmacodynamic effects of digitalis bodies upon both tongue and heart is an observation that further stresses certain morphologic and physiologic comparisons drawn between the two organs in a recent communication. 2