Ranunculus Sceleratus

[MARSH-CROWFOOT. NATURAL ORDER, RANUNCULACEiE.]

Smooth; lower leaves three-parted, segm. three-lobed, crenately incised, or entire ; carpel minute, pointless. Grows in wet places from Canada to Georgia. Stem rather thick, hollow, much branched, one to one and a half feet high. Lower petioles three to five inches long, with rather large, palmately three- to five-parted leaves.

Floral leaves or bracts mostly simple, lanceolate and entire. Flowers small, yellow. Calyx reflexed, as long as the minute petals. Heads of carpels only from two to three lines long.

(Wood.)

Eanunculus sceleratns or palustris is the most acrid and most poisonous of all the species of ranunculus. The whole plant pos- sesses an uncommon acridity, but especially the expressed juice ; the root is less acrid ; the leaves, while chewed, excite a burning sensa- tion in the mouth, accompanied with a profuse flow of saliva ; if the chewing is frequently repeated, the tongue becomes inflamed, ulcerated, rough, suspend the power of tasting, cleave to the tip of the tongue, set the teeth on edge, and render the gums painful and bloody. The leaves or blossoms, applied to the skin, cause in half an hour a slight itching, which is soon followed by redness, and in twelve hours by a blister that is slow and difficult to heal. Even the vapors of the recent plant are so acrid that they irritate the eyes and nose, and cause sneezing and lachrymation.

After dinner Krapf swallowed a leaf and a portion of the flower ; it caused a violent and peculiar pain in the bowels. Two drops of the juice excited even a still more troublesome feeling, the entire ■oesophagus seemed like inflamed. He poured a quantity of the juice down a dog's throat ; it became anxious, vomited, screamed ; after it had been killed and opened, the stomach was found con- tracted, some parts of it were very red, inflamed, the pylorus was swollen and of a red-blue color, it hardly remained pervious.

Scharf relates in his Ephemerides of Natural Curiosities that two Italians, who partook of the herb with vinegar in the form of salad, were attacked with pains in the stomach, oppression and anxiety, torpor of the intestinal canal, contortion of the eyes, spasmodic twitchings of the facial muscles and extremities, risus sardonicus, ■cold sweat, and that both died.

Tissot relates the case of a carman, who applied the leaves to his arm ; they soon drew a blister which spread over the whole arm ;

698 RANUNCULUS SCELERATUS.

lie was attacked with fever, delirium, inflammation of the brain, a species of hydrophobia, and finally gangrene.

Franz calls attention to the remarkable accord existing between the pure effects of the different species of the crowfoot tribe. Of the sceleratus he observes that, if gathered in May, it is quite mild, and, like the other species of crowfoot, loses its virtues almost en- tirely by drying and boiling. The following few symptoms are part taken from Kraft, and others from Gmelin's History of Vegetable Poisons. The effect of this drug is quicker or slower as one or the other organ is touched by the herb or juice.

When applied to the skin, sceleratus causes itching, pain, burning, redness of the skin. Blisters on the skin containing a thin, acrid, yellowish ichor. Kraft states of these blisters that they do not heal until the ichor becomes thick and purulent ; if the blister is not pricked, the red areola gradually disappears, and the blister dries up; this, however, likewise takes place, if the blisters are pricked. Obstinate ulcers ; according to Kraft these ulcers are almost incura- ble, Peruvian balsam alone has some effect upon them.

Portions of the sceleratus introduced into the mouth cause obsti- nate pains, burning, redness and inflammation of the tongue ; peel- ing and cracking of the tongue ; ptyalism ; dullness of the teeth, with stinging pains in the teeth at a subsequent period ; pain, swell- ing and redness of the gums, they bleed ; spoiled taste ; when boiling the plant, the vapor irritates the fauces, eyes and nose, and causes tears and mucus to flow.

Kraft swallowed two drops of the juice, which caused the follow- ing symptoms that continued for six days : Burning, continued and sometimes spasmodic (arthritic) pains of the throat and oesopha- gus; horrid pains in the stomach, with paroxysms of oppressive anxiety ; complete inactivity of the stomach ; long-lasting, very violent pains in various parts of the abdomen, which cannot be compared to any known pains, accompanied with slight fainting fits ; the pains in the abdomen are almost spasmodic- Gmelin has observed : Hiccough ; slight fainting fits ; spasms of the face, abdo- men and extremities ; cold sweats, death.

The following symptoms have been observed on animals : Cattle are attacked by what the German shepherds call the "cold fire," a species of gangrenous inflammation of the bowels ; the cattle refuse to eat, tremble, shiver, and the veins under the belly swell. (Schre- ber, Miscel. Writings, vol. iii., p. 71.)

RANUNCULUS SCELERATUS. 099

In the case of a dog, from two ounces of the juice poured into Jiis stomach, and left without any food for two hours after : After a first experiment no apparent symptoms.

After a second experiment, instituted a few days later, the dog became anxious, howled, threw himself about, writhed, and was very restless all night. Being killed, the stomach was found contracted, parts of it were found inflamed, red, excoriated on the inner surface, the papillae being very prominent; the pylorus was swollen, of a pale-red color, contracted so as to-be almost impervious.

The following symptoms have been contributed by Dr. Stapf and his friends, and show the unmistakable uniformity between the pure effects of the two species of crowfoot which have so far been incorpo- rated in our materia medica.

CEREBROSPINAL GROUP.

Laziness, want of disposition to perform any mental labor. Sad- ness and grief in the evening. Vertigo, vanishing of thoughts. Dull pain in the occiput, the whole head feels painful externally.

Painful pressure at the vertex as with a dull instrument. Pressing in the temples, from within outward. Long-continued boriug- sticking pain along the whole of the left fore-arm to the tip of the index-finger, where it is most violent. Frequent stitches in the dorsum of the hand.

Continual gnawing in the palm of the left hand. Gnawing and boring in the phalangeal bones of the right hand. Fleeting stitches in the tips of the ring- and index- fingers, and gnawing in their bones. Stinging, itching, prickling, smarting, etc., are felt in various parts of both the upper and lower limbs.

Sudden stitches in the forepart of the right big toe, as from a needle being thrust in, recurring at short intervals. Sudden stitches in the right big toe, changing to a burning. Boring and gnawing in the right big toe. Itching stitches in the toes of the left foot.

Intolerable itching and prickling in the feet.

CHILBLAINS. — These symptoms accord so perfectly with those of ranunculus bulbosus that it is unnecessary to point out their uni- formity in detail. On this occasion, however, we desire to call the attention of the reader to the probable success with which this drag may be used in a case of chilblains, internally as well as externally, of course, with becoming discretion.

ORBITAL AND AURICULAR GROUPS.

Pressure in the eyeballs, shortly after taking the drug, recurring

/

700 RANUNCULUS SCEI.ERATUS.

periodically for many days, and lasting for hours at a time. Lach- rymation, smarting, redness of the conjunctiva from the vapor. Stitches through the right ear. Aching pain in the right ear, with aching pain in the head and drawing in all the teeth.

FACIAL GROUP.

Slight drawing and feeling of coldness above the right eyebrow down to the cheeks as far as the corners of the mouth, for half an hour, in the evening. Feeling of coldness in the face. Sensation as if the face were covered with cobweb. Eisus sardonicus.

Franz asks : Is this symptom peculiar ? At all events risus sardonicus is a prominent symptom in cases of poisoning by the marsh crowfoot ; on which account some, like Delechamp, regard it as the herba sar- doa of the ancients ; this, however, is contradicted by Sprengel and Haller, who consider oenanthe crocata in this light.

PHARYNGEAL GEOUP.

The direct action of the herb upon the teeth and tongue has been described. Its action upon the tonsils is characteristically indicated in the following symptom : " Stitches in the tonsils ; swelling of the tonsils, with shooting stitches in the same." Whether this symptom can be relied upon as an indication for ranunculus sceleratus in

CHRONIC TONSILLITIS remains to be confirmed by experi- ence. If ranunculus should prove homoeopathic in such a case, additional symptoms will corroborate its use, especially the choking sensation which the marsh crowfoot causes in the throat, and the copious secretion of viscid phlegm of which the pro vers of the bulbous crowfoot have complained.

CHTLO-POIETIC GROUP.

This group presents almost the same symptoms as the bulbous crowfoot, such as : Pressure and sensation of fulness in the pit of the stomach, increased by external pressure, most violent in the morning; stitches in the pit of the stomach and in the skin of this region, causing an acute pain ; burning soreness behind the xiphoid cartilage ; stitches in the hepatic region ; pressure, as with a dull instrument, below the right false ribs, increased by a deep inspira- tion ; acute stitches in the region of the gall-bladder ; long stitches in the region of the spleen, worse when drawing a long breath.

HEPATALGIA. — These last mentioned symptoms show that ranunculus sceleratus has some specific action upon the liver and

RANUNCULUS SCELERATUS. 701

spleeu, and that these symptoms confirm very fully the specific rela- tion which the bulbous crowfoot was found to have to the same organs. It may not be superfluous to again call the reader's atten- tion to the specific uses which the crowfoot tribe, and more especially the two species of which we possess very full and reliable provings, may fulfil in hepatalgia, or, as we have previously defined it, neuro- sis of the liver, and in that frequently so distressing affection,

SPLENETALGIA, especially when acute stitches constitute the chief symptoms of this trouble, in which case it might likewise be described as

SPLENETIC STITCHES ; the name is really immaterial, pro- vided the essential relation and the corresponding elements of the two series are fully grasped and clearly comprehended.

Among the other abdominal symptoms we notice : Rumbling and pinching in the bowels ; a screwing pressure behind the umbilicus, at night; sensation as if a plug had lodged behind the umbilicus,, especially in the morning, for several days ; the abdominal walls are painful to contact ; sudden violent jerks in the lumbar region, dur- ing a walk in the open air, arresting the breathing ; the stools are watery and frequent, fetid, or there is a frequent urging as if diar- rhoea would set in, whereas a natural evacuation takes place.

THORACIC GROUP.

The chest feels weak and sore, he frequently draws a long breath. Painful stitches in the right chest, not aggravated by breathing. Stitches in the region of the heart. Frequent stitches behind the xiphoid cartilage. Contracting, pinching pain in the chest, right and left side, with stitching pain in the left side. The integuments of the chest feel sore. Pressure on the sternum causes stitches through the chest. Prickling and formication in the other parts of the chest and back.

SLEEP AND EEVER.

Wakefulness after midnight, frightful dreams about dead bodies, serpents, battles, etc. Chilliness while eating. He wakes after midnight for many nights in succession with heat over the whole body and violent thirst ; the pulse is full, soft, accelerated, eighty beats ; after the fever a perspiration breaks out over the whole body, especially on the forehead.

702 RHEUM.