Bryonia acts especially and powerfully upon the serous membranes and the viscera they contain, more particularly the pleurae and lungs ; next the brain, and finally the liver. Then comes the action upon the synovial membranes and muscular fiber, and last upon the mucous membranes of the respiratory and alimentary tracts. The condition set up is not one of acute inflammation, but rather of subacute ; more closely simulating that condition when infiltrations, exudations, or effusions are about to occur, the symptoms indicating a condition intermediate between inflammation and nervous irritation. When, however, the synovial membranes and the muscular fibers are involved, the inflammation, while still being more subacute in its character, partakes more decidedly of a rheumatic or arthritic nature, and possibly this condition may be said to always characterize the Bryonia inflammation, regardless of the tissues involved. The most characteristic expressions of Bryonia are its stitching, tearing pains, and the aggravation of all its symptoms by motion. Characteristic symptoms.