Our navigation bar is loading . . .

 


 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.  




 

JCSM's Top 1000 Christian Sites - Free Traffic Sharing Service!


Do you need volunteer, community service, work, military or court hours?

Click here and add this page to your favorites!

Return to the JCSM Study Center!

Encyclopedia Britannica



SCAMMONY

This article appears in Volume V24, Page 287 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SAR-SCY
SCAMMONY , a plant, Convolvulus scammonia (Gr. oKap.wvia), native to the countries of the eastern
part
  of the Mediterranean basin; it grows in bushy
waste
  places, from Syria in the
south
  to the Crimea in the north, its range extending westward to the Greek islands, but not to northern Africa or Italy. It is a twining perennial, bearing
flowers
  like those of Convolvulus arvensis, and having irregularly arrow-shaped leaves and a thick fleshy root. The dried juice, " virgin scammony," obtained by incision of the living root, has been used in
medicine
  as .scammonium,' but the variable quality of the drug has led to the employment
of scammoniae resina, which is obtained from the dried root by digestion with
alcohol
 .
The active principle is the
glucoside
  scammonin or jalapin, C34Hi,6O,e. The dose of scammonium is 5 to lo grains, of scammony
resin
  3 to 8 grains. Like certain other resins, scammony is inert until it has passed from the stomach into the duodenum, where it meets the bile, a chemical reaction occurring between it and the taurocholate and glycocholate of sodium, whereby it is converted into a powerful purgative. Its action is essentially that of a hydragogue, and is exercised upon practically the entire length of the alimentary canal. The drug is not a cholagogue, nor does it markedly affect the muscular coat of the bowel, but it causes a
great
  increase of secretion from the intestinal glands. It acts in about four
hours
 . In large doses it is, of course, a violent gastrointestinal irritant. In consonance with the statement that scammony acts only after admixture with the bile, is the fact that hypodermic or intravenous injection of the drug produces no purgation, or indeed any other result. The drug frequently kills both the round-worm and the tape-worm, especially the former, and is therefore an anthelmintic. It is not largely used, but is very effective in the treatment of severe constipation, especially in children.


End of Article: SCAMMONY


If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SAR_SCY/SCAMMONY.html">
SCAMMONY
</a>
(Previous)
SCAMILLI IMPARES (" unequal steps," Fr. escabea... 		(Next)
SCAMP

 


 
 


JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA  92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-2012.
 

 

Sponsored Advertisements

Online First Aid and CPR Certification  .  DHA Solutions  .  PB Happy Hour Specials  .  Improvising Made Easy For Guitar and Bass  .  The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained  .  Home Equity Loans  .  First Aid and CPR Online  .  San Diego Music Lessons  .  10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings  .  Blow Up Your Site (For Free!)  .  San Diego DUI Lawyers  .  Jason Gastrich  .  Jordan Faith Gastrich  .  Divorce Secrets Revealed  .  Post Your Ad Link Free  .  San Diego Soccer Training  .  JCSM  .  Download Sermons  .  Custom Religious Banners, Build A Sign  .  Christian Singles Dating  .  Christian T-Shirts  .  Healing Christian Prayer  .  Bumper Authority  .  Personalized Blogs and Email  .  San Diego Haircuts  .  The Do the Math Diet  .  Stop Twitter Spam  .  Christian Conservative Work at Home Network  .  The Website of the Lord