Abstract
Summary
The comparative toxicity of a series of physiologically potent drugs for cats was determined by repeated injection, under ether anesthesia, of dilute solutions of the respective substances. The results obtained emphasize the ambiguity of the terms commonly used to describe the potency of powerful pharmacological agents. Aeonitine, one of the most powerful alkaloidal poisons, is classed as a heart drug; nicotine, another highly poisonous alkaloid, is employed with impunity in the form of tobacco; and ouabain, generally regarded as but a valuable heart tonic, is in point of dosage the most lethal substance the writer has examined and about 10 times as toxic as any specimen of cobra venom tested. In order to convey adequate information with regard to the potencies of pharmacological agents, it is absolutely essential to state accurately the method of assay employed; that is, to specify (1) the species of animal employed, (2) concentration of the drug, and (3) its channel, and (4) speed of administration.
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