Common names.- Black Cohosh. Blacksnake Root. Squaw Root. Rattle weed. General Analysis.- Through the brain and spinal cord Cimicifuga affects directly the entire nervous system, disturbing the nerve centers and producing a universal depressing irritant condition, which indirectly extends to the muscular system, and to the female generative organs, giving rise to various disorders indicating rheumatic and neuralgic disturbances of those parts. Cimicifuga is supposed to increase the contractility of unstriped muscular fiber, but to a less degree than by Ergot. The heartbeats are slower and stronger, and the arterial tension increased. In the brain, the primary action is to cause congestion, giving rise to vertigo, dilated pupils, and other symptoms resembling those of Belladonna , though less intense in their manifestations. The leading expression of the remedy is an anxious, nervous, irritable condition. Characteristic symptoms.